News Analysis India

Tag: Mamata Banerjee

  • SSC scam: Trinamool, Opposition hit out at each other; job aspirant attempts suicide

    By PTI

    KOLKATA: An School Selection Commission job aspirant who was among those participating in a demonstration near Mayo Road demanding jobs, tried to commit suicide by hanging herself from the branch of a tree using her dupatta on Thursday.

    The incident happened after the students were stopped from going to the Raj Bhawan to submit a deputation.

    The aspirant was rushed to a nearby hospital where she was discharged after initial treatment, police said.

    The incident took place following a clash between the police and the SSC job aspirant when they tried to march towards Raj Bhawan to submit a deputation.

    Following the incident, a BJP delegation went to Raj Bhawan to meet Governor Jagdeep Dhankhar.

    Later, Governor Jagdeep Dhankhar tweeted a video showing an unidentified woman trying to hang herself in the presence of a senior police officer.

    The SSC job aspirants have been demonstrating demanding immediate placements for around 145 days, 

    Meanwhile, Opposition parties of West Bengal on Thursday demanded the resignation of Education Minister Partha Chatterjee and his deputy Paresh Chandra Adhikari from their posts in the wake of the CBI investigation in the SSC scam, even as Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee threatened to expose “illegal” recruitments made during the erstwhile Left Front regime.

    As the CBI questioned the two ministers on consecutive days since Wednesday on Calcutta High Court orders in connection with cases related to the scam, Banerjee accused the BJP-led central government of unleashing a “Tughlaqi raj” in the country and “misusing federal agencies to settle political scores”.

    The agency has been investigating a number of cases where teaching and non-teaching staff were allegedly appointed illegally in schools following recommendations by the West Bengal Central School Service Commission (SSC).

    BJP state president Sukanta Majumdar and senior CPI(M) leader Sujan Chakraborty demanded that both ministers should resign for their alleged involvement in the scam.

    In an apparent reference to the CBI investigation into the SSC scam, Banerjee said, “A lot of things are being said about discrepancies in recruitment. People are well aware of those who are involved in corruption. They don’t like such people, nor do I. If someone has committed any wrong, the law will take its own course.

    “But this vilification campaign should stop. During the Left Front regime, transfers were made and jobs were given by writing down names on (plain) paper. I will reveal the irregularities soon.”

    Reacting to the allegation of the TMC supremo, CPI(M) leader Sujan Chakraborty claimed that Banerjee is trying to divert attention by blaming the Left Front government.

    “The allegations are baseless. If there was any wrongdoing in recruitments during the Left rule, let the TMC prove it. We are not afraid of any investigation. Both the ministers should immediately resign from their posts,” Chakraborty said.

    The Central Bureau of Investigation had on Wednesday quizzed senior TMC leader and Industry Minister Partha Chatterjee as the alleged recruitment scam had taken place when he was the education minister.

    Adhikari who is the minister of state for education was grilled on Thursday by CBI sleuths regarding a case of alleged illegal appointment of his daughter as a teacher in a state government-aided school.

    BJP state president Sukanta Majumdar mocked Adhikari for disappearing all of a sudden instead of appearing before the CBI.

    “It seems some magic was going on as the minister suddenly went missing and again reappeared. This only proves how those guilty are trying to evade the investigating agencies. He should resign as minister,” Majumdar said.

    The court had directed Adhikari to appear before the CBI on May 17.

    He was seen to board the Kolkata-bound Padatik Express train at Jalpaiguri Road station in north Bengal along with his daughter on May 17 night but had remained untraceable since then.

    Following fresh high court orders, he appeared before the CBI on Thursday evening after initially failing to meet the 3 pm deadline set by the court on Thursday.

    Senior TMC leaders maintained a stoic silence on the issue.

    “The law will take its own course. We don’t want to comment on this issue as of now as it is sub-judice. Those who have been summoned are yet to comment. So, it won’t be right to make any on behalf of the party,” TMC spokesperson Kunal Ghosh said.

    Senior leader and minister Shashi Panja also refused to comment saying that the matter is sub-judice.

  • After TMC leader grilled by CBI, Mamata threatens to expose ‘job scam’ during Left regime

    By Express News Service

    KOLKATA: A day after her party’s secretary general Partha Chatterjee was grilled by the CBI in connection with an alleged recruitment scam in schools, Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee threatened to expose alleged irregularities in state government jobs during the Left Front regime.

    “The CPI(M) would issue hand-written chits which used to be enough to get government jobs. I have not disclosed it till date showing my political courtesy. From now on, I will unfold the chapters one after another,” Mamata said on Thursday while addressing a rally in Jhargram, which once became the epicentre of the Maoist movement in Jungle Mahal.

    Political observers in the state noted that Mamata’s threat about the alleged scam in government jobs during the Left Front’s tenure which ended 11 years ago comes on the heels of the ongoing controversy related to alleged irregularities in recruitment in schools which the CPI(M) is trying to use as a political tool against the ruling Trinamool Congress.

    Without mentioning the CBI probe into the alleged recruitment scam, which is said to have embarrassed the ruling party, the Bengal CM hit out at the BJP-led Centre alleging it is using the central agencies after failing to win the 2021 Assembly elections. “Now they are eyeing the 2024 Lok Sabha elections. They are using the central agencies vindictively. It is because the BJP failed to win the Assembly elections in Bengal. Now they are trying to achieve their political goals by using the agencies. The mandate given by the electorate in Bengal in the Assembly polls made it clear that they (BJP) have no hope in 2024,” she said.  

    Launching a blistering attack on both the CPI(M) and BJP, Mamata accused the two parties of being allies in Bengal politics. “They are two brothers in West Bengal’s politics and Bengal’s electorate is aware of it. These two parties are trying to prevent us from doing development work. But the TMC cannot be stopped. We will give a befitting reply in the coming elections,” she said.

    The rise of the BJP in Bengal is said to be at the expense of the CPI(M)’s vote-bank. A considerable chunk of the electorate, who had been loyal to the communist party, decided to support the BJP aiming to derail Mamata’s government in the 2021 Assembly elections. The saffron camp took its tally from three to 77 in the 294-seat Assembly but the target was left unachieved.

  • Pray Buddha’s teachings inspire people to follow path of peace, and non-violence: Mamata

    Buddha Purnima is observed in much of South Asia and East Asia to commemorate the birth of the founder of Buddhism.

  • ‘She is very close to me’: After Shah visit to his home, Sourav talks of his relation with Mamata

    By PTI

    KOLKATA: A day after Union Home Minister Amit Shah paid a visit to his residence and had dinner with his family, which grabbed attention, BCCI president Sourav Ganguly Saturday spoke of his close relation with Chief Minister, who is known to be a strident critic of the BJP.

    Ganguly, former Indian cricket team captain, also showered praise on minister and city mayor Firhad Hakim describing him as a person who can be approached by anyone at any time of the day.

    “Our honourable Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee is a person very close to me. I had approached her to help up this institute,” he said at the inauguration programme of a private hospital here.

    The former southpaw said, “I am also very close to Firhad Hakim. He has been seeing me since I was in Class 1. He has been our family friend. All who approach him get help. I too have called him several times,” Ganguly said.

    Shah’s visit to Ganguly’s residence on Friday had fuelled speculation that the former cricketer would join politics soon.

    The dinner was reported to be a close family affair where besides Ganguly and his wife danseuse Dona Ganguly, the cricketer’s elder brother Snehasish Ganguly and other family members were hosts.

    Shah was accompanied by BJP idealogue, Swapan Dasgupta, the party’s state president Sukanta Majumdar and the Leader of Opposition in West Bengal assembly, Suvendu Adhikari.

    Aware of the conjectures, Ganguly had said on Friday, “Many speculations are rife, but I have known him (Shah) since 2008. While playing, I used to meet him. There’s nothing more than that”.

    He had also pointed out he had worked with Shah’s son, Jay Amitbhai Shah, in the Board of Control for Cricket in India.

    Jay Shah is the BCCI secretary.

    Dona Ganguly had said there was no discussion on politics during Shah’s visit to the Ganguly residence.

    “It is human to speculate. But if there is any news, everyone will know.”

    She had also said, “I don’t know whether Sourav will enter politics or not. But he will do well if he joins politics. I believe he will do good work for the people”.

    Ganguly had visited the state secretariat on April 28 and met Banerjee regarding allocation of land to the Cricket Association of Bengal (CAB), of which he is the president, to build a stadium.

    Political analyst Biswajit Chakraborty described Ganguly as a “businessman” who is trying to maintain good terms with the central and state governments so that his business runs smoothly.

    “Ganguly is doing this for his own benefit. He knows that he has to keep both the Centre and Mamata Banerjee happy so that his business keeps running. He has been balancing quite nicely,” Chakraborty told PTI.

    Another analyst called Ganguly a “perfect gentleman” who was doing a “balancing act”.

    “Ganguly is an immensely intelligent man. I guess Shah had come to his residence yesterday to evaluate how much Ganguly is ready to plunge into politics. And today, he (Ganguly) spoke about his closeness to the CM. Though I do not see any significance in it, I think he is doing it because he has to survive both nationally as well as in the state,” he added.

  • Mamata accuses Centre of ‘tormenting’ people by raising fuel, cooking gas prices

    By PTI

    KOLKATA: After the news of a hike of Rs 50 in the price of a domestic LPG cylinder, West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee on Saturday alleged that the BJP-led central government is “tormenting” the people of the country by regularly raising prices of fuel.

    She also accused the Centre of conducting a “great Indian loot” by hiking prices of petrol, diesel, LPG and other essential commodities.

    “The Union government must immediately stop tormenting the people of India! By repeatedly increasing fuel prices, LPG prices & prices of essentialcommodities, @BJP4India is actually conducting a GreatIndianLoot. People are being fooled,” Banerjee said on Twitter.

    The price of domestic cooking gas was increased by Rs 50 per cylinder on Saturday, the second increase in the last two months, taking the price to Rs 1,026 in Kolkata.

    The price of an LPG cylinder varies across cities depending on the local taxes.

  • Mamata to attend national conclave in Delhi on Apr 30, appointment with PM sought 

    By PTI

    KOLKATA: West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee will visit New Delhi on Friday to participate in a national conclave where Prime Minister Narendra Modi is also an invitee, a senior state secretariat official said on Monday.

    The conclave on pendency of cases across courts in the country is scheduled for Saturday.

    Chief Justice of India N V Ramana, several high court judges and chief ministers have been invited to the event, which is expected to be inaugurated by the PM, he said.

    Asked whether the Trinamool Congress supremo would be meeting Modi in the national capital, the official said an appointment has been sought with the prime minister, but the “response is still awaited”.

    The details of Banerjee’s itinerary are not known yet.

    Banerjee had met Modi in New Delhi during her last visit in November 2021.

  • Ballygunge by-poll: Babul Supriyo confident of winning election, says West Bengal is with ‘Didi’, TMC

    By ANI

    BALLYGUNGE: As the counting of votes cast in the by-poll to the Ballygunge Assembly seat is underway, TMC candidate Babul Supriyo on Saturday exuded confidence in winning the election and said the people of West Bengal are with Chief Minister and Trinamool Congress supremo Mamata Banerjee.

    “I’m confident. The 41 per cent voters turnout here rubbished the opposition’s unnecessary claim of false voting. Had that been the case, would turnout have been this huge? West Bengal is with Didi and TMC”, said Babul Supriyo.

    The by-polls were necessitated after former Union Minister Babul Supriyo resigned as the Lok Sabha MP of Asansol after resigning from the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP). He later joined the Trinamool Congress (TMC). The Ballygunge Assembly seat by-poll was necessitated after the demise of state Minister Subrata Mukherjee.

    Speaking on the Asansol Lok Sabha by-poll, Supriyo said, “Asansol has given me much love and I will always appreciate it. Shatrughan Sinha’s victory is also certain. Before reaching the final phase of the result every moment is interesting and let’s enjoy the journey.”

    The TMC has fielded yesteryear actor Shatrughan Sinha in Asansol, which has a substantial Hindi-speaking population, while the BJP has nominated Asansol Dakshin MLA Agnimitra Paul from the constituency.

    In the state Assembly elections last year, Trinamool Congress (TMC) won 213 seats while BJP on the other hand garnered 77 seats in the 294-seat state Assembly.

    In the 2019 Lok Sabha polls, Supriyo had defeated TMC candidate Moon Moon Sen by a massive margin of 1,97,637 votes, securing 51.56 per cent of the total votes polled. In 2014, Supriyo’s victory margin was 70,480 votes.

    Bye-election to a Ballygunge Assembly seat and Asansol Lok Sabha seat was held on April 12.

    On the polling day, BJP’s Lok Sabha by-poll candidate Agnimitra Paul alleged that TMC workers thrashed her security personnel and pelted stones at her convoy while TMC candidate Babul Supriyo alleged electoral malpractice by BJP. 

  • Probe gets compromised if people in authority are judgmental: Bengal guv on Hanskhali rape case

    By PTI

    KOLKATA: In an apparent dig at West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee over her remarks on a minor girl’s alleged rape and subsequent death in Nadia district’s Hanskhali area, Governor Jagdeep Dhankhar on Tuesday said that the investigation could get compromised if people in authority “indicate judgmental stance”.

    He said that such approaches could “scuttle fair probe”.

    Dhankhar also called upon the state chief secretary and the DGP to brief him on the incident by 4 pm on Wednesday.

    “Criminal Investigation in shameful rape #Hanskhali leading to victim death is tainted & compromised when people in authority & constitutional position indicate judgmental stance,” the governor tweeted, without naming anyone.

    Dhankhar, who has had several run-ins with the TMC government in the state over multiple issues, also said, “This against the law approach scuttles fair & independent probe as police is forced to toe such line (sic).”

    Banerjee had on Monday expressed doubt over the cause of the girl’s death, although her family attributed it to gang rape, and wondered if the demise of the Class 9 student could have been caused after being slapped by someone.

    Maintaining that the victim had an affair with the accused, the son of a TMC leader, Banerjee also wondered if she was pregnant. Two persons, including the TMC leader’s son, have been arrested in the case thus far.

    The governor also called upon the chief secretary and the director general of police (DGP) to brief him, by Wednesday evening, on the alleged incidents of attacks on Ram Navami processions in Howrah on Sunday.

  • Wonder if minor died after being slapped, Mamata on Hanskhali ‘gang-rape’

    By PTI

    KOLKATA: West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee on Monday expressed doubt about the cause of a minor girl’s death which her family attributed to gang rape, and wondered if the class 9 student of Hanskhali in Nadia district died after a fall after being slapped by someone.

    Asserting that the victim had an affair with the accused, a Trinamool Congress leader’s son who was arrested, Banerjee wondered if she was pregnant.

    The chief minister also asked why the girl’s family members lodged a police complaint five days after her death and cremating the body.

    Opposition parties described Banerjee’s statement as “shocking” and alleged that she seeks to shield the accused as he is the son of a leader of her party.

    West Bengal Governor Jagdeep Dhankhar sought an urgent report from the state chief secretary on the alleged gang rape and death of the minor girl. The girl died after she was allegedly gang-raped at a birthday party at the house of the accused on April 5.

    She was bleeding profusely when she returned home and died later that night, according to her parents who lodged a police complaint on April 10.

    “The police are yet to understand the cause of the death. I had asked them. Will you call it rape or was she pregnant? Was it (the fallout of) a love affair? Have you enquired about these? This is an unfortunate incident,” Banerjee said while inaugurating the Biswa Banga Mela Prangan here.

    She said that her family members and local people knew about the affair between the girl and the accused. “You (girl’s family) also conducted the last rites of the body. I am talking as a layman. From where will they (police) get the evidence whether she was raped or she was pregnant or there was any other reason such as she was slapped by someone after which she fell ill,” Banerjee said.

    A detailed investigation is being carried out, she said adding that she will ask the state commission for protection of child rights to take up the case. “I do not have any word to sympathise with the family,” Banerjee said.

    Those who are in relationships should be cautious so that people in the guise of being friends cannot harm them, she added.

    The girl died on April 5 and the police got the information on April 10, the TMC supremo said and asked about the cause of the delay.

    Banerjee also alleged that a section of the media is trying to tarnish the image of West Bengal but she would lay down her life to protect her “motherland”.

    She questioned why the Press Club Kolkata, as well as the Press Council of India, are silent when seven journalists were stripped to their underwear in Madhya Pradesh for allegedly writing reports against the BJP government.

    The opposition BJP panned Banerjee for her comment and wondered whether her remarks were aimed at influencing the probe.

    “Shocking statement by Bengal CM Mamata Banerjee, who trivialises the brutal rape and murder of a 14-year-old girl in Nadia’s Hanskhali. She questions the victim and asks if it was a love affair or a case of unplanned pregnancy gone awry! Because the accused is TMC leader’s son,” senior BJP leader and the party’s co-in charge of West Bengal, Amit Malviya, tweeted.

    Echoing him, the Leader of the opposition Suvendu Adhikari said such kind of comments only prove how Banerjee is trying to influence the probe and shield the culprits.

    “When any such incident occurs in BJP-ruled states, she is the first to protest against it. But when similar incidents take place in West Bengal, she tries to shield the culprits. It is shameful that despite being a woman chief minister, she is making such comments. This is the real picture of the lawless situation of Bengal,” he said.

    The CPI(M) and the Congress also slammed Banerjee for her comments.

    Leader of the Congress party in Lok Sabha and state Congress chief Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury claimed that several such incidents happening in West Bengal go unreported.

    “We don’t get to know about them. Now we have come to know about this incident. What has happened is horrific. The ruling party is trying to influence the probe,” he said.

    Senior CPI(M) leader Sujan Chakraborty alleged that the incident proves there is lawlessness in Bengal.

    The ruling TMC condemned the incident but said it should not be politicised.

    “The police are investigating the matter and have also made an arrest. Let the investigation be over. The opposition should not try to politicise the matter,” TMC spokesperson and state general secretary Kunal Ghosh said.

    The girl’s mother had on Sunday told reporters that from the sequence of events and after talking to the people present at the party, “we are sure she was gang-raped by the accused and his friends”.

    She also alleged that a group of people forcibly took the minor’s body for cremation even before her death certificate was issued.

    Meanwhile, a petition was filed before the Calcutta High Court on Monday seeking a CBI probe into the alleged rape and resultant death of the minor girl. The petitioner’s lawyer said the matter is likely to be mentioned before the court on Tuesday.

  • ‘What about Visva-Bharati?’: West Bengal CM Mamata Banerjee amid Aliah University row

    By PTI

    KOLKATA: Stating that her government took action against the former TMCP student leader who heckled the vice-chancellor of state-run Aliah University, West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee on Monday sought to know what steps were initiated against the VC of Visva-Bharati, a central university.

    Giasuddin Mondal, a former leader of the TMC’s student wing, was seen in a purported video threatening and verbally abusing Aliah University VC Mohammad Ali, following which he was arrested.

    “Police have already made an arrest in the Aliah University incident. What is happening in Visva-Bharati and Bolpur? How many people have been arrested there? Has the VC of Visva-Bharati been arrested?” she told reporters at the state secretariat.

    “A section (community) studies in Aliah University. All are good. There can be discontentment among the students of Aliah University. The one who hurled abuses has been arrested by police. Here police take action,” she added.

    Banerjee’s comments came in the backdrop of ceaseless student protests at the Visva-Bharati in Bolpur’s Santiniketan over a host of issues.

    “Is there any action taken in Visva-Bharati against what this ‘bhadralok’ (gentleman) is doing there,” she said, in an apparent dig.

    Incidentally, Visva-Bharati praised the police and said that similar steps should be taken against those students who had gheraoed senior varsity functionaries last month and used abusive words.