"I don't know how long the Centre will stay and when it will cease to exist. We are trying to ensure that it stays," she said at the first political convention of Trinamool Yuva.
She believes that Trinamool will emerge as a party worth reckoning in the national political scenario.
Despite Mamata's pledge to support the UPA government, it is not willing to give any respite to the Manmohan Singh government in its opposition to FDI in retail and the Pension Bill. Trinamool parliamentary party leader Sudip Bandyopadhyay described these bills as "controversial" and said retail traders were worried over the entry of FDI in retail.
The Trinamool Yuva meeting was aimed at giving a boost to the image of the chief minister which has taken a beating of late on issues like the arrests of Belpahari farmer Shiladitya Chowdhury and Jadavpur University teacher Ambikesh Mahapatra and some of her public statements on alleged rapes. Some Trinamool leaders assembled on the dais sought to bestow on the chief minister a somewhat exalted image and said that she has progressed from being "an individual to an institution."
Mamata described herself as a champion of human rights and said the Press Council chairman who had been critical of her, has recently written her a letter, seeking her opinion on the media.
The chief minister accused the media of inciting rapes and spreading lies to "help bring back the CPM to power". "Just because you own a channel, you cannot incite rapes and suicides. Speak the truth. Do not incite crime," she said, adding that the trend of "fabricating stories" started with baby deaths at a state-run hospital and alleged farmer suicides.
"Now they have picked up rapes. First there is 'breaking news'. Then there is a contradiction. If the complaints are genuine, the administration will take steps. But if you lie, the police will lodge diaries against you," she warned.
"Now the media is run by business houses. They instruct the spreading of canards. I have been told by (urban development minister) Firhad Hakim that Rs 50,000 and Rs 1 lakh is being paid for whatever the media says. They also lodge (case) diaries if necessary, and then withdraw it," Mamata said, clarifying that she was not indicting all the media houses. "I do not say that all media is bad. Some media does this."
She asked the Trinamool Yuva to project a "good image" of Trinamool and "protest, democratically, against all smear campaigns".
Her partymen heaped praise on her saying that her Singur and Nandigram agitations were "the biggest democratic movements in India". "Now the country needs you," a leader said, projecting her as the future prime minister. Most of these statements were made when Mamata had not reached the venue.
Senior leaders like Amit Mitra and Saugata Roy tempered the eulogies with factual assessments of the achievements of the government. Mitra pointed out how the tax realization in April and May increased by 30% without any increase in tax rates. The secret, he said, was computerization.
Roy said the PWD has issued work orders for 92 projects in three months that will benefit 'Jangalmahal'. Roy reiterated the government's achievements in Darjeeling.
Mamata said that though Trinamool's opposition to forcible land acquisition had inconvenienced many, industries and investors were still flocking to the state. Nearly 16 railway factories that are being set up in Bengal can serve as engines of growth, she pointed out.
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