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Tag: INDIA alliance

  • ‘Will Wait And Watch…’: Mamata Banerjee Signals INDIA Alliance May Stake Claim To Form Govt In Future |

    West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee on Saturday said that just because the opposition INDIA bloc hasn’t claimed the right to form the government yet, it doesn’t mean it won’t try again tomorrow. The Trinamool Congress Chief said that her party will “wait and watch” and that she would be pleased to see the “weak and unstable” BJP-led NDA government overthrown.

    Banerjee led her party to a resounding victory in West Bengal, securing 29 of the 42 Lok Sabha seats in the state, while the main opposition BJP was reduced to 12 seats and the Congress to one, ensuring the TMC’s continued dominance in the state.

    “The country needs change; it desires change. This mandate was for a change. We’re waiting and monitoring the situation. This mandate was against Narendra Modi, so he should not be appointed prime minister this time. After meeting with newly elected TMC MPs, Banerjee told reporters that someone else should have been allowed to take over.

    “The BJP is forming the government in an undemocratic and illegal manner. Although the INDIA bloc has not yet staked a claim to form the government, that does not mean it will not do so tomorrow. “Let us wait for a while,” she said. The TMC supremo has announced that the party will not attend the new government’s swearing-in ceremony.

    “I would be happy to see that this unstable and weak government at the centre is out of power,” Banerjee stated. She stated that TMC MPs in the Lok Sabha and Rajya Sabha will seek the repeal of the Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA).

  • Mamata Banerjee Not To Attend INDIA Bloc meet On June 1, Cites Polling, Post-Cyclone Relief Work |

    New Delhi/ Kolkata: West Bengal Chief Minister and TMC supremo Mamata Banerjee on Monday said she will not attend the meeting of the INDIA bloc on June 1 due to the last phase of Lok Sabha polls and ongoing relief work after cyclone ‘Remal’ hit the state’s coastal regions.

    According to sources, Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge has convened a meeting of the INDIA bloc leaders in the afternoon of June 1, coinciding with the last round of polling.

    Addressing an election rally in Kolkata, Banerjee mentioned her inability to attend the INDIA bloc meeting due to the scheduled elections in the state on that day.

    “The INDIA bloc meeting has been fixed on June 1. But I have already said I can’t go on June 1 as there is an election in our state on that day. So far I know there are elections in Punjab, UP and Bihar. Voting will continue till 6 pm, and at times it extends beyond that (6 pm),” she said.

    Banerjee highlighted the dual challenges of post-cyclone relief work and ongoing elections, emphasising her priority towards relief efforts.

    “How can I leave everything behind and go? My priority is relief work. Even if I am holding a meeting here, my heart goes out to those people (affected by the cyclone),” she said at the Kolkata rally.

    Cyclone Remal, with wind speed reaching 135 kmph, claimed four lives in West Bengal and caused extensive damage to infrastructure and property in the state’s coastal areas as it tore through West Bengal and Bangladesh, officials reported on Monday.

    The TMC had withdrawn from the INDIA bloc in West Bengal in January but affirmed its commitment to remain part of the opposition alliance at the national level.

    During the election campaigns in the last two months, Banerjee had expressed confidence that the INDIA bloc would win the Lok Sabha elections and affirmed her involvement in the anti-BJP alliance at the national level.

    Sources in the TMC revealed that voting will be conducted on nine seats, including two seats in Kolkata, in West Bengal on June 1, which are crucial for the party.

    Apart from the Kolkata Dakshin and Kolkata Uttar, other constituencies in the state that will go to polls on that day include Jadavpur, Dum Dum, Barasat, Basirhat, Jayanagar, Mathurapur and Diamond Harbour.

    TMC supremo Mamata Banerjee, its national general secretary Abhishek Banerjee and other top leaders will exercise their franchise on the day, and, therefore, they will be unable to attend the meeting, a source said, adding that the party has attended all meetings of the opposition bloc so far.

    The source added that the TMC has conveyed this to the organisers.

    The first meeting of the opposition bloc Indian National Developmental Inclusive Alliance (INDIA) was held in Patna on June 23 last year, followed by meetings in Bengaluru on July 17-18, 2023, and in Mumbai between August 31 and September 1, where the opposition parties adopted resolutions to contest the Lok Sabha elections unitedly.

    The fourth meeting of the opposition bloc was held in Delhi on December 19.

    The next gathering of opposition leaders took place in Delhi on March 31, where top leaders shared the stage at the “Save Democracy” rally held against the arrests of Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal and former Jharkhand CM Hemant Soren. A similar ‘Ulgulan’ rally was held in Ranchi on April 21.

    The TMC has been part of all these meetings and rallies.

    At the March 31 rally in Delhi, TMC’s parliamentary party leader in Rajya Sabha, Derek O’Brien, announced that the party would remain part of the INDIA bloc.

    The TMC, which is in power in West Bengal, does not have any seat-sharing deal with the Congress or any other INDIA bloc partner in its home state. But its candidate Laliteshpati Tripathi in Uttar Pradesh’s Bhadohi has been supported by ally Samajwadi Party.

    Twenty-eight opposition parties came together to form the INDIA bloc. However, some parties such as Nitish Kumar’s Janata Dal (United) and the Rashtriya Lok Dal (RLD) later switched over to the NDA.

  • Calcutta HC order slap in face of those indulged in vote bank politics: Chhattisgarh CM

    Chhattisgarh Chief Minister Vishnu Deo Sai on Thursday hailed the Calcutta High Court’s decision to scrap the OBC status of several classes in West Bengal, calling it a slap in the face of those indulged in appeasement politics through “religion-based” quota. The HC on Wednesday struck down the OBC (Other Backward Class) status of several classes in Bengal, finding such reservations under a 2012 Act to vacancies in services and posts in the state illegal. It observed that the inclusion of 77 classes of Muslims in the list of backward categories was to “treat them as vote bank”.

    West Bengal Chief Minister and TMC supremo Mamata Banerjee has asserted that she will not accept the order and hinted that her government could challenge it in the Supreme Court.

    Asked about Banerjee’s statement, Sai told reporters here, “We welcome the decision of Calcutta High Court over religion-based reservation. It is a slap in the face of those who practise vote bank and appeasement politics by giving religion-based reservation.” Later, Sai claimed in a statement that Congress and the opposition INDIA bloc have been conspiring to “murder the Constitution”. AllUttar PradeshMaharashtraTamil NaduWest BengalBiharKarnatakaAndhra PradeshTelanganaKeralaMadhya PradeshRajasthanDelhiOther States”We all know that religion-based reservation has no place in the Constitution. On Wednesday, the Honourable Calcutta High Court scrapped all the religion-based OBC certificates issued in West Bengal after 2010. This is a big decision for the OBC, tribals and all backward communities in the country,” he said. The judgment shows how Mamata Banerjee’s government was taking ahead the “policy of appeasement in an unconstitutional manner”, he said. “INDI alliance has been continuously robbing the rights of tribals and backward classes and wants to snatch their rights and hand them over to Muslims, just because of its vote bank politics. It is highly condemnable,” Sai said. Neither BJP nor backward, tribals and Dalits will tolerate the politics of appeasement of Congress and its alliance, he said. “What is even more serious is that the West Bengal CM has said that she will not accept this decision and will not implement it. It is very unfortunate”, he added.

  • Arvind Kejriwal: “If a dacoit gets bail, then there is no point in celebrating”: BJP’s Agnimitra Paul on interim bail to Arvind Kejriwal

    Slamming the Aam Aadmi Party for “celebrating” the Supreme Court’s granting of interim bail to its leader, Arvind Kejriwal, Agnimitra Paul, the BJP MLA from Asansol in West Bengal, said, “If a dacoit gets bail, then there is no point in celebrating.”

    “If a dacoit gets bail, then there is no point in celebrating. He is a hypocrite who once said that he was against misgovernance, but now he has become the face of misgovernance. Whoever has looted the public money has to go to jail,” Paul told ANI.

    Kejriwal was released from jail after spending over 50 days following his arrest by the Directorate of Enforcement on March 21 in connection with the Delhi excise policy case. He has been granted interim bail till June 1 with conditions that he shall not visit the Office of the Chief Minister or the Delhi Secretariat.Opposition parties across the country welcomed the Supreme Court’s decision while the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) said that the CM has not been proven “innocent”.AllUttar PradeshMaharashtraTamil NaduWest BengalBiharKarnatakaAndhra PradeshTelanganaKeralaMadhya PradeshRajasthanDelhiOther StatesCongress Lok Sabha candidate from North-East Delhi, Kanhaiya Kumar, said on Friday that the Supreme Court’s granting of interim bail to Kejriwal is a befitting reply to those who want to impose dictatorship in the country.”I would like to congratulate the entire country because Arvind Kejriwal has been given bail by the Supreme Court. This is a befitting reply to those who want to impose dictatorship in the country,” Kumar told reporters here. “Democracy will prevail in the country, and INDIA alliance will continue its fight against the NDA. People want change in the country as well as Delhi,” he added.CM Kejriwal received a warm welcome from supporters as well as his family members on returning from prison.

    “I had promised to come back soon, here I am,” Kejriwal said while addressing supporters enroute his residence from jail.

    The Chief Minister is also scheduled to meet the press on Saturday at 1 pm at the Aam Aadmi Party office in Delhi.

    AAP leaders including Gopal Rai, Atishi, Saurabh Bhardwaj, Swati Maliwal and Kailash Gehlot thanked the top court for granting interim bail to the party chief.

    Delhi Minister and AAP leader Gopal Rai said, “There is a wave of happiness in the entire country. SC’s decision has shown a ray of hope. The entire country is thankful to the SC. The fight against dictatorship and to save democracy and constitution will be strengthened after the release of Arvind Kejriwal.”

    Delhi Minister and AAP leader Atishi called it a “historic day” and said that it is a victory for democracy and the Constitution. “It is a historic day, not just for AAP but the entire country. BJP has left no stone unturned to turn it into a dictatorial country…SC’s decision has given hope to the people that there will be an end to this dictatorship. It is a win of the democracy & constitution,” Atishi said.

    Delhi BJP President Virendra Sachdeva said, “He has been granted bail for the election campaign till June 1 but what after that? Getting interim bail does not mean that you have been proven innocent. It will not affect the elections, BJP will win all 7 seats of Delhi.”

    Supreme Court lawyer Shadan Farasat representing Arvind Kejriwal said that the order is operable till June 2 adding that there are no restrictions on what he can say or not say in his election campaigning.

    Earlier in April this year, AAP MP Sanjay Singh was released on bail from Tihar jail following the top court’s order. Singh was released after spending over six months in jail in connection with the excise policy case.

    The AAP supremo is likely to participate in the election campaigns of the party in the run-up to the general elections in Delhi scheduled to be held on May 25.

  • Rahul Gandhi reacts to PM Modi’s ‘Adani-Ambani’ jibe: ‘He has personal experience of tempo’ – The Economic Times Video

    During a joint rally of the INDI bloc, Rahul Gandhi, Congress MP and Lok Sabha candidate for Wayanad and Raebareli responded to Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s recent ‘deal with Ambani-Adani’ remark and claimed that Modi mentioned the names of his two friends out of fear of losing the elections. Gandhi pointed out that Modi had given thousands of speeches over the past decade but never mentioned Adani and Ambani. According to Gandhi, Modi took their names because he believed they could save him. He even knows how Adani sends money in a tempo, which is a personal experience for him. Gandhi warned the audience that the BJP would attempt to divert their attention in the coming days but urged them to stay focused on the central issue of the General Elections in India, the Constitution of India.

  • Out going Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla: Congress, Rahul Gandhi trying to spread fake news – The Economic Times Video

    Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla who is contesting from the Kota Lok Sabha constituency clarified on Wednesday that the existing system of reservation will not be scrapped and the Constitution will not be amended even if the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP)-led NDA alliance wins more than 400 seats in Parliament. “People know that Congress has no leadership, policies and intention to work. INDIA alliance has not declared Rahul Gandhi as their PM candidate, Congress has also not declared their PM candidate. Congress is trying to contest elections by dividing people based on religion. They are also trying to contest the election by spreading fake news. As people started chanting PM Modi’s ‘400 paar’ slogan, they started saying if we crossed 400 seats, we would change the constitution. Congress is trying to scare society by spreading fake news and wrong information…”, said the out going Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla.

  • `Undeclared Emergency Imposed…`: Tejashwi Yadav Hits Out At BJP – Watch

    Tejashwi Yadav questioned PM Modi about his promise of giving two crore jobs every year.

  • Loktantra Bachao Rally: INDIA bloc’s ‘Loktantra Bachao’ rally in Delhi today to protest against CM Arvind Kejriwal’s arrest – The Economic Times Video

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  • INDI Alliance Back On Track? Congress Confident Of Seat-Sharing Deal With TMC, AAP Soon |

    New Delhi: The Congress is hopeful of soon finalising the Lok Sabha poll seat-sharing arrangements with INDIA bloc allies AAP and TMC, sources said on Friday, days after the principal opposition party arrived at an understanding with the Samajwadi Party in Uttar Pradesh. Sources said while the talks with the Arvind Kejriwal-led AAP have almost been concluded, discussions are still underway with the Mamata Banerjee’s TMC.

    The sources expressed hope the leadership would work out a solution soon accommodating the expectations of all parties.The TMC, which is the ruling party in West Bengal, has sought two seats in Assam and one in Meghalaya, which are being discussed. But a senior leader said the Congress is not keen to give away the Meghalaya seat.

    There are 14 seats in Assam and two in Meghalaya. As for the understanding with the AAP, the talks between the two parties are almost over with the AAP contesting four seats in Delhi and the Congress three.However, the sources said the AAP has also sought one seat in Haryana and two in Gujarat which included Bharuch, where the late Congress leader Ahmed Patel hailed from. The AAP has already declared Chaitar Vasava as its candidate on the seat.

    The sources, however, said Rahul Gandhi is learnt to have put his foot down on the seat considering the party is “emotionally attached” to due it being Patel’s home turf. Patel’s son and daughter are seeking a ticket from Bharuch and talks are being held with the AAP leadership to agree to another seat.

    Patel’s son Faisal, who is a contender for the seat, said in a post on X, “Honorable Shri Rahul Gandhi Ji, you listened to me and the Bharuch Congress workers.” “By supporting us, I and my fellow Bharuch Congress workers have been honored. I promise you that I will live up to your faith by winning the Bharuch Lok Sabha,” he said indicating that the Bharuch seat would remain with the Congress.

    INDIA bloc parties are together and will fight the polls in alliance, the sources said.A senior party leader also said that seat-sharing talks in Maharashtra are over after top party leadership held discussions with leaders of Shiv Sena (UBT) Uddhav Thackeray and NCP supremo Sharad Pawar in the MVA.

    The sources said a formal announcement is delayed because of seats to be given to Prakash Amvedkar’s party.Meanwhile, AAP leaders also said certain new developments are delaying an official seat-sharing announcement with the Congress.

    The sources claimed the Congress has expressed willingness to contest North East, Chandni Chowk and North West Delhi seats. Earlier, an agreement was reached that the Congress will contest East, North East and Chandni Chowk seats. Udit Raj won from North West Delhi Lok Sabha seat as a BJP candidate in 2014 polls. He quit the BJP and joined the Congress after being denied a ticket in 2019.

    All the 7 Lok Sabha seats in Delhi including North West Delhi were currently held by the BJP. Raj is considered as a front runner probable of the Congress from the seat.

    Earlier in the day, AAP general secretary (organisation) Sandeep Pathak in a press conference said that the talks between the two parties are in the “final stages”. Announcements for all the states will be made simultaneously, hopefully “very soon”, he said.Pathak sought to play down the development related to Bharuch seat, saying “its not a big deal.”

    Faisal on Thursday said that if Bharuch Lok Sabha seat went to the AAP, he and other “conscientious” Congress workers will not support its candidate. Pathak said, “We will settle the issue mutually. In an alliance such situations and statements come up. We will address it maturely.”

  • `Mamata Ji Part Of…`: Rahul Gandhi Denies Rift In INDIA Alliance, Claims Seat-Sharing Talks On

    Gandhi’s statement came a week after Banerjee announced that her party Trinamool Congress (TMC) will contest the Lok Sabha elections in West Bengal alone.