Mahasweta Devi wants Mamata Banerjee as Prime Minister

KOLKATA: Praising Mamata Banerjee for her work for the weaker sections, eminent litterateur Mahasweta Devi today said she would like to see the West Bengal Chief Minister as the country's Prime Minister.

"I have full faith and confidence in her. I want to see her in the seat of power in Delhi. She is probably competent enough to be the Prime Minister," said the writer-activist, who has got a number of awards like Magsaysay, Jnanpith and Padma Vibhushan.

The 88-year-old has a blow-hot, blow-cold relation with Banerjee. Devi supported her during the Singur and Nandigram movements, but when the TMC government came to power in West Bengal, the writer had called the state government "fascist" but retracted later.

Speaking at a TMC rally, Devi described Banerjee as a humanist, fighter and pro-people leader who has dedicated her life for the uplift of weaker sections of society, including minorities and tribals.

"In my lifetime, I have never seen such a mammoth rally. It seems that even during the rallies of Indira Gandhi and Mujibur Rahman, this many people did not come," the author said, adding that she had gained the trust of the people after they saw her work in the last three years.

Her work to restore peace in Junglemahal and Darjeeling Hills have no comparison, Devi told the rally.