On Thursday, West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee halted a statewide effort to remove street vendors that began on Tuesday.
“I am not proceeding with the eviction at the moment. The hawkers have requested a month to resolve the issue. Meanwhile, our survey to identify hawking and no-hawking zones will continue. No new hawkers should be allowed during this period,” she stated.
On Tuesday, police and civic authorities initiated a statewide drive to remove roadside vendors after the chief minister criticized some of her cabinet ministers and bureaucrats for encroaching on government land and corruption.
Banerjee, who conducted a review meeting on the matter, formed a committee of ministers, police, and hawker union representatives to conduct a survey and report to her office within 15 days.
The chief minister attributed the issue to the police and some political leaders, noting that councillors might face consequences.
“A section of the police and local leaders are responsible for this issue. Initially, they allow vendors to set up stalls and later try to remove them. I am against this. If any councillor permits this, they will be arrested,” Banerjee warned.
Hours later, Trinamool Congress leader Debasis Pramanik from Jalpaiguri in north Bengal was arrested by the CID on charges of land grabbing. Pramanik is closely associated with Goutam Deb, TMC leader and Siliguri mayor.
Political commentator Biswanath Chakraborty suggested that Banerjee’s stance on street vendors is connected to the BJP’s improved performance in urban areas during the recent Lok Sabha elections. Chakraborty noted that the BJP led in at least 74 of the 128 civic bodies in the state. In Kolkata, the BJP was ahead in at least 47 out of 144 civic wards. It is speculated that many BJP supporters in the state elections were non-Bengalis.
At meetings on Monday and Thursday, the chief minister emphasized that outsiders were settling in the state and that Bengal was rapidly losing its identity.
“Banerjee is a seasoned leader, and this decision is more political than administrative. The TMC has analyzed the Lok Sabha results down to the booth level and identified the booths where it was lagging. She is raising the issue of Bengali identity because she knows that the Hindi-speaking section voted against her,” explained political analyst Rabindranath Bhattacharya.
The BJP dismissed the 72-hour eviction drive by police and civic authorities as a facade.
“The TMC is lagging in civic bodies. The party is behind in at least five wards in the Bhawanipore assembly constituency, represented by Mamata Banerjee. A consensus against the TMC is emerging. Questions are being raised about this,” said BJP spokesperson Samik Bhattacharya.
