Kolkata:TMC MLA Manoranjan Byapari on Saturday said his controversial Facebook post in which he had stated he was "feeling suffocated in politics" shouldn't be politicised because it was an "emotional outburst" as he could not help every distressed person who looks up to him as a 'masiha' (saviour) for being a people's representative. In a Facebook post on Thursday, the Dalit writer-turned-first-time MLA from Balagarh seat in Hooghly district wondered whether it was his mistake to join politics as he could not solve everyone's problems which gives him sleepless nights.
"The FB post was triggered by my helplessness after getting SOS calls from two families seeking admission in hospitals. There are many such examples. People think we have a magic wand to solve all problems in their lives," the writer of acclaimed books like 'Itibritte Chandal Jibon' (Interrogating my Chandal life) and 'Batashe Baruder Gondho' (Smell of gunpowder in the air), told PTI. Byapari, however, asserted that he would continue to be the legislator which would enable him to help people in need.
"I move around on an e-rickshaw in my constituency to reach out to people in need," he said. "In my books, I depicted real-life situations involving poor people and was paid for my writings. I often thought the money I got for such literary works should reach
the people whose plight I had projected in my writings. This was the conflict I had often faced," Byapari said, adding this
also influenced his decision to take a plunge into politics. After the Facebook post that went viral, Byapari put up another post on Friday saying, "Our Didi Mamata Banerjee has taken several humane steps to remove the misery of people and will continue to do so."
He said that his first post that caused stir had no conflict with the humane approach of Banerjee, who "wants to help the needy but she could have done more had the Centre not been the stumbling block". "Instead of releasing central funds, the BJP plots to
prevent the TMC government in West Bengal from doing its work. I have visited River Ganga bank erosion-affected areas in my constituency and seen how people have been affected as no effort was made by the Centre to prevent erosion.