The saffron party promised to build a quot;Sonar Bangla quot; by providing employment, strengthening social security schemes and vowing to clear the implementation of the CAA Act.
Tag: Bengal elections
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‘Didi will score 10 goals even with broken leg’: Trinamool MP Dev backs Mamata
By PTI
JHARGRAM: Trinamool Congress MP Dev on Sunday claimed that the work done by the Mamata Banerjee government in West Bengal is unparallel, asserting that she would score 10 goals in the upcoming elections even with a broken leg.Addressing an election rally at Silda in the Jhargram district, the Tollywood superstar hit out at the BJP over the rise in fuel prices.
“The work done by Mamata Banerjee in the last 10 years is unparallel. No other chief minister in any other state has done such great work ever. Because of the work done by her, ‘Didi’ can score 10 goals even with this broken leg,” Dev said amid chants of ‘Khela Hobey’ (game will happen) from the crowd.
“It will be a game to take people on the path of development, and people will ensure to end the game of those who play politics of religion. The people of Bengal will win the game,” he said at the rally, which saw a massive gathering to see the superstar amid sweltering heat.
The Trinamool Congress leader said that women in Bengal are more secure than those in other states, slamming the BJP for “false propaganda”.
Dev was campaigning for TMC’s Binpur candidate Debnath Hansda.
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Bengal polls: Left holds roadshow, says will change land acquisition policy if voted to power
Express News Service
KOLKATA: The Left Front held a roadshow in south Kolkata on Saturday with the candidates of five Assembly constituencies. The roadshow travelled along the road in the densely populated areas with the candidates contesting in the upcoming Assembly elections.The candidates who filed nominations are Sujan Chakrabarty in Jadavpur, Satarup Ghosh in Kasba, Samita Harchowdhury in Behala East, Nihar Bhakta in Behala East, and Debdyut Ghosh in Tollygunge.
ALSO READ | Bengal polls: Modi castigates Didi’s poll pledges, says TMC looted state for 10 years
“We received an overwhelming response from the electorates during the roadshow. We are confident that all these five candidates will bag victory in their constituencies,” said Chakrabarty.
Left Front chairman Biman Bose said if the alliance comes to power in Bengal, the new government will introduce a new land acquisition policy where the owners’ consent will be required.
The announcement is said to be significant because the erstwhile Left Front’s land acquisition policy triggered a largescale movement in Nandigram and Singur spearheaded by the then opposition leader Mamata Banerjee.
When asked what prompted the decision, Bose said, “We have taken a lesson from the past.”
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Bengal polls: Modi castigates Didi’s poll pledges, says TMC looted state for 10 years
Express News Service
KOLKATA: Referring to TMC’s election manifesto, Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Saturday attacked Bengal CM Mamata Banerjee alleging that she released the list of promises after looting the state for the past 10 years.The PM also accused the TMC supremo of snatching away 10 years from the lives of Bengal’s youths.
Addressing a rally in Kharagpur, the erstwhile constituency of the BJP’s state president Dilip Ghosh where the party pitted Bengali actor Hiranmoy Chatterjee, Modi said, “Now you are making 10 promises in your party manifesto. People of Bengal trusted you and gave you 10 years but you turned to be a traitor.”
ALSO READ | The game is over: PM Modi, BJP lash out at Mamata Banerjee in Bengal
Modi took a jibe at Mamata over the ‘nephew’ issue. “India is moving towards a single-window system to encourage ease of doing business. In Bengal, there is only one single window which is bhaipo (nephew) window,” he said.
The PM also slammed Mamata for her opposition to the Centre’s educational policy. “The new education policy allows youths to pursue higher education in regional languages. Didi has emerged as a wall between the young students and their dream. The TMC is running extortion rackets, mafia raj, syndicate culture and playing game of appeasement politics. If anyone protests in Bengal, Didi puts him in jail. After wresting power in Bengal, BJP-led government will establish rule of law in the state.”
While urging the electorates to cast their votes without fear, Modi asked the police and administrative officials to follow the Constitution.
Retaliating Modi’s attack, Mamata Banerjee, who addressed rallies in neighbouring East Midnapore district, branded the BJP as a party of “biggest extortionists”. “Modi ruined the country’s economy. It has sold railways, BSNL, insurance agencies. It is the worst political party. In BJP-ruled states, Dalit women are set ablaze. Even in the party, women workers are not safe. It is a party of extortionists,” she said.
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The game is over: PM Modi, BJP lash out at Mamata Banerjee in Bengal
By Online Desk
Prime Minister Narendra Modi Saturday launched a frontal attack on West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee, alleging her lawmaker nephew Abhishek was the only “single window” in the state without crossing which no work gets done.He also accused the TMC supremo of presiding over an administration full of ‘tolabaj’ (extortionists) and corrupt people.
The PM blamed both the Congress and the Left front as well for being an impediment to development in the state during their political reign.
“Yesterday WhatsApp, Instagram & Facebook were down for 50-55 min, everybody got worried. But in Bengal, development, & dreams have been down for 50-55 years. First, it was Congress, then Left, and now TMC, who’ve blocked state’s development,” Modi said at the poll rally.
West Bengal supports BJP! Watch from Kharagpur. https://t.co/y0tHE5HvhJ
— Narendra Modi (@narendramodi) March 20, 2021Attending his second rally in the election-bound state in three days, the prime minister alleged Banerjee was engaged in “khela” (game) of appeasement for vote bank politics.
“Industrial units are getting shuttered. You know, a single-window system is created for speedy clearances for industries. In Bengal, too, exists a single window. The single window of ‘Bhaipo’ (nephew) without crossing which no work gets done,” he said without naming Banerjee’s nephew and Diamond Harbour MP Abhishek Banerjee.
“You have seen destruction by Congress & the Left. TMC ruined your dreams. In the last 70 years, you gave opportunities to everyone but give us 5 years, we will free Bengal from the 70 years of destruction, we will sacrifice our lives for you,” he said.
Single Window System by the Department of Policy for Industry and Internal Trade’s supports the ease of business policy by allowing a single window system to provide clearances to investors and bringing together all stakeholders.
The accusations come just a day before the Bharatiya Janata Party is set to unveil its manifesto for West Bengal polls.
The BJP has often accused Abhishek of running syndicates that extort money from common people.
In local parlance, syndicates refer to gangs run by TMC toughs who sell substandard construction material to people at exorbitant rates.
Rejecting the outsider tag Mamata Banerjee has given to his party, the prime minister said,”The BJP is the only real party of Bengal. Syama Prasad Mookerjee founded Jana Sangh, the BJP’s forerunner. He was the son of Bengal.”
Ridiculing Banerjee over the “khela hobe” (game will happen) slogan, Modi said “Didir khela shesh hobe, vikas aarambh” (Didi’s game will be over and development will start).
Referring to the ‘Ayushman Bharat’ health insurance scheme, the prime minister said the TMC government has not implemented it as it thought the Centre will get credit for the measure.
“Mamata Didi stands like a wall to block central schemes,” he alleged.
He claimed the previous Congress, Left and the current TMC governments had all stalled West Bengal’s development.
Modi also spoke about the alleged killing of around 130 BJP workers by TMC activists since the 2018 panchayat elections.
“Mamata Didi runs a school of brutality where ‘tolabaji’ (extortion), cut money, syndicate and anarchy are part of the syllabus,” he alleged.
Bengal BJP chief Dilip Ghosh also lashed out at Mamata.
“Those who said Khela Hobe, have broken their leg and left the field. ‘Khela hobena, khela shesh hoye geche’ (the game is not on, the game is finished). It’s time for development,” he said.
“Today the state government is on a wheelchair. The government has lost the ability to stand on its own legs. You cannot fool the people of Bengal by showing them plaster, broken leg or a wheelchair,” Ghosh added further.
Elections to the 294-member West Bengal state Assembly will be held in eight phases starting from March 27 with the final round of voting taking place on April 29. The counting of votes will take place on May 2.
(With inputs from PTI, ANI)
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Saradha ghost returns as more officials, Trinamool candidates get summons ahead of polls
By Express News Service
KOLKATA: With the state heading towards the first of its eight-phase poll schedule, Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) and Enforcement Directorate (ED) swung into action on Friday and issued summons to two IAS officers, including a principal secretary, former director general of police and security advisor of Mamata Banerjee’s government.Earlier on Friday, CBI interrogated two Trinamool Congress candidates in connection with the Saradha chit fund scam.
Madan Mitra, who is contesting from Kamarhati constituency, and Jorasanko candidate Vivek Gupta appeared before CBI sleuths.
Mitra, who has been fielded by the party from Kamarhati assembly constituency, was, in the past, arrested by the CBI for his alleged involvement in the case, and later granted bail.
“I will always co-operate with the central agency. They summoned me and I visited their office. They asked questions and I replied,’’ said Mitra.
Gupta, who is contesting the elections from Jorasanko seat, admitted that he knew Sudipto Sen, the owner of the blacklisted firm, and said he visited the ED office to submit income tax details.
The ED issued summons to principal secretary B Gopalika, asking him to visit its office on March 24 in connection with a probe into the controversial 2017 disinvestment of the West Bengal government’s stake in Metro Dairy, which was India’s first public-private partnership in the dairy sector.
The CBI summoned former IPS officers Surajit Kar Purkayastha and and Rajat Majumdar. Purkayastha is presently serving as security advisor to the state government, in connection with the Saradha scam.
Sources in the agency said Purkayastha was seen attending an event organised by Saradha and delivering a speech.
Majumdar, the former DGP of West Bengal, was earlier apprehended by the CBI in the chit fund case.
The Calcutta High Court later granted him bail.
The central agency also issued summons to IPS officer LN Meena, who was the commissioner of Asansol commissionerate, and IAS officer Arun Prasad, district magistrate of Bankura, in connection with a coal pilferage case.
Shah to release Bengal manifesto on Sunday
Union Minister for Home Affairs and former BJP chief Amit Shah will release the party’s manifesto for the West Bengal Assembly elections on Sunday.
The manifesto has been prepared on the basis of an outreach programme in which public suggestions were taken, on the lines of the 2019 Lok Sabha elections.
Shah will be on a one-day visit of West Bengal to release the manifesto.
(With PTI Inputs)
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‘Didi is Dictatorial, Insensitive, Dreadful and Incompetent’: Shivraj tears into TMC in Bengal
Express News Service
BHOPAL: Madhya Pradesh CM Shivraj Singh Chouhan returned to the eastern state to hit the campaign trail on Friday.Chouhan, the four-time MP CM, lashed out at the ruling TMC and its supremo and West Bengal CM Mamata Banerjee at two poll rallies in Moyna and Khejuri Assembly segments of Purba Medinipur district.
Addressing one of the rallies in support of former Team India fast bowler and presently BJP candidate from Moyna seat Ashoke Dinda, the MP CM terming Didi as “dictator, insensitive, dread and incompetent.”
“Mamata Didi talks about Maa, Maati, and Manus, but actually, she has humiliated an old mother (referring to the thrashing of an elderly woman in Bengal), she has also coloured Bengal’s soil with blood by killings innocent people, particularly BJP workers. Mamata means love, care, and warmth, but Didi you are actually its opposite — nirmam (cruel),” Chouhan said.
ALSO READ | BJP old-timers shedding tears as party fielded TMC turncoats, says Mamata at rally
“Didi means elder sister who takes care of everyone, but here Didi has a different meaning D (Dictator), I (Insensitive), D (Dread) and I (Incompetent) and TMC means T (Terror), M (Murder), and C (Corruption). Even I’m a four-time CM, but you won’t hear anything like cut money and tolabaji in Madhya Pradesh, as it’s only heard in Bengal. I’m warning all TMC goons, let May 2 come and Didi go, and each of the TMC goons will be taught befitting lessons after BJP comes to power.”
“I come from Madhya Pradesh, which has been turned into a developed state with the cooperation of the Narendra Modi-led central government, but here in Bengal, Didi has destroyed the eastern state completely in 10 years. I’m openly saying from this stage that Mamata Didi you’re aksham and ayogya (incompetent) and have destroyed West Bengal,” alleged Chouhan.
Chouhan further said, “The TMC is using Didi’s leg injury for the sympathy vote, but it seems that leg injury has actually affected the mind.”
The MP CM also met families of long-time BJP and RSS workers in West Bengal’s Purba Medinipur district and relished traditional Bengali lunch at the house of a long-time RSS worker Ram Prasad Manna.
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‘Didi stood with terrorists after Batla, Pulwama’: Modi brings back nationalism as poll plank
Express News Service
KOLKATA: Making nationalism a poll plank as it did in the 2019 Lok Sabha elections, Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Thursday hit out at TMC chief Mamata Banerjee who had criticised the Army and termed the Batla House encounter as a false case“The people of Bengal have not forgotten who you stood with after the Pulwama attack and criticised the Indian Army. No one has forgotten how Mamatadidi and a few other parties have behaved when the Batla House encounter took place. These people stood with the terrorists at that time and raised questions on the encounter. A court recently convicted one of the terrorists with capital punishment,” said Modi, while addressing a rally in Junglemahal’s Purulia district.
Taking a jibe at the TMC on the alleged extortion and cut money issues, Modi said, “BJP believes in DBT which means ‘direct bank transfer’ when Didi believes in TMC which is ‘transfer my commission’. TMC’s days are numbered in Bengal.”
ALSO READ | Mamata asks ‘Marxist friends’ not to vote for CPI-M, Congress
Referring to the incident in which the Bengal CM was injured, the PM said, “Like millions of other women, for me, Didi is also a daughter of the nation. When she got injured, I was worried. I pray for her speedy recovery.”
Referring to Khela Hobe (There will be a game), which Mamata is raising at every public rally, Modi said, “Didi bole khela hobe, BJP bole Chaakri hobe. Didi bole khela hobe, BJP bole shiksha hobe. Didi bole khela hobe, BJP bole vikas hobe. Khela sesh hobe, vikas aarambh hobe (Didi says there will be a game. BJP says, there will be employment, education, development, and education. The game will over and development will begin.”
The PM also accused Mamata of encouraging the Maoists in Bengal, who have waged war against the country, for her political gain.
Modi said, “After practicing politics of appeasement in Bengal, suddenly there seems to be a change in Didi. This is not the transformation of the soul. This is fear of defeat.”
Meanwhile, Mamata slammed the Modi government while addressing a rally at Garbeta in the adjoining West Midnapore district sitting on a wheelchair with her left foot in a cast.
Mamata said she is roaming with her injured leg because there is a snake at the doorstep of the state. “Blood is still clotted in my leg. But I cannot sit idle at home when there is a snake at the door-step of your house?” she asked.
Asserting the TMC will never allow the National Population Register (NPR) in Bengal, Mamata said, “The BJP will omit names of voters if they are not found at home during the visit of enumerators. They will just evict you. But we will not allow them to exercise the practice in Bengal. Not a single member of any family can be evicted.”
Admitting that the relief doled out after cyclone Amphan her government might have missed out one or two beneficiaries, Mamata alleged BJP leaders were seen nowhere during the crisis.
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Bengal polls: Mamata urges Left supporters to vote for Trinamool; CPM hits back
By PTI
KOLKATA: West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee Wednesday appealed to Left Front supporters to vote for TMC candidates in order to defeat the divisive BJP in West Bengal.She thanked the Left minded people in the state for coming out with the “no vote to BJP” campaign.
Banerjee is facing one of the most difficult political challenges of her life.
She is facing a stiff challenge from BJP in the coming state poll after helming West Bengal for a decade.
“It is imperative for the sake of the state to stop BJP from coming to power in Bengal. I would like to thank my Left minded friends for coming out with the no vote to BJP campaign.”
ALSO READ | Bengal polls: Jhargram’s elderly woman casts first vote through doorstep facility
“At the same time I would like to tell them that since the Left cannot come to power, its supporters should not waste their votes by casting it in favour of LF.”
“Instead the LF supporters should vote for TMC to defeat the BJP, Banerjee told reporters while releasing her partys election manifesto.”
Her comments come in the backdrop of several TMC leaders openly asking the Left parties to come out in support of TMC to stop the saffron party’s march in the state.
The CPI-M led Left Front has rejected the appeal and blamed the ruling TMC for the rise of the saffron camp in West Bengal.
ALSO READ | Bengal polls: BJP names candidates for four seats for third phase
“Unfortunately, Bengal is now witnessing a threat from outsiders who want to foster divisive mentality and disrupt harmony. It is imperative for us to avert this threat. I promise that I will stand by each and every person of Bengal across all communities to protect their fundamental rights, she said. I will be forever indebted to my motherland. Being a daughter of Bengal I have dedicated my whole life for the state,” Banerjee added.
She called BJP a political virus and slammed the Centre for trying to destroy the federal fabric of the state.
“Arvind Kejriwal’s AAP is running an elected government in Delhi. Yet the Centre is trying to give more powers to the Lt Governor, who is nominated. We condemn such actions,” she added.
She also said on Wednesday that Lord Ram worshipped Goddess Durga as she is much superior to him.
Addressing the people of Jhargram and Binpur constituencies at a poll rally here in Jhargram district which has a sizeable Adivasi population, she claimed that the BJP will not allow them to take the name of ‘Marang Buru’, whom the Santhals consider as the supreme source of power, but they will have to chant “Jai Shri Ram” (Glory to Lord Ram).
“They (BJP) are saying that you will not be able to practise your religion, you will have to chant Jai Shri Ram. But you will not be able to say Jai Siya Ram,” Banerjee said.
“Ram performed the puja of Devi Durga (in the Ramayana). Maa Durga is much superior to Ram, that is why he worshipped Maa Durga,” the West Bengal chief minister told the meeting.
ALSO READ | Bengal polls: Another police observer arrives in state, Howrah SP removed
BJP leader and Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath told an election rally on Tuesday that Banerjee gets livid at the chant of Jai Shri Ram and now she has started visiting temples and is reciting ‘Chandi path’, an ode to Goddes Durga.
On the BJP’s accusation that her government created hurdles in the immersion of the idol of goddess Durga, Banerjee said that the Trinamool Congress dispensation gave Rs 50,000 to each club for performing the Durga puja, the biggest festival of the state.
Alleging atrocities on women in BJP-ruled Uttar Pradesh, she claimed that it is a party of Duryodhana and Dushasana, villainous characters in the Mahabharata.
Apparently referring to the saffron partys allegation that the TMC is pursuing the politics of appeasement of minorities, Banerjee said her government works with the people of all religions and castes for the development of the state.
The TMC boss alleged that the BJP creates rift between people on religious lines.
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Bengal polls: BJP names candidates for four seats for third phase
By PTI
KOLKATA: The BJP on Wednesday released the names of four candidates for the third phase of West Bengal assembly elections, with actor Paapia Adhikari finding a place in the list.The central election committee of the BJP named former Congress leader Anupam Ghosh, who joined the saffron party a couple of years ago, as its candidate for the Jagatballavpur constituency in Howrah.
While Adhikari will contest from the Uluberia Dakshin seat in Howrah district, Chandan Mandal and Bidhan Parui are the saffron party’s choice for Baruipur Purba and Falta respectively in South 24 Parganas district, the BJP said.
Barring these four seats, the party has declared candidates in other constituencies going to polls in the third phase.