News Analysis India

Tag: Mamata Banerjee

  • Mamata convenes meeting of TMC top brass amid growing internal strife

    By PTI

    KOLKATA: Amid the ongoing internal strife in the TMC, its supremo and West Bengal Chief Minister has convened an emergency meeting of the party’s top officials at her residence on Saturday evening, sources in the ruling camp said.

    According to the sources, just six senior leaders — national general secretary Abhishek Banerjee, secretary-general Partha Chatterjee, state party president Subrata Bakshi, and ministers Firhad Hakim, Aroop Biswas and Chandrima Bhattacharya — have been asked to attend the meeting.

    “The meeting will be held tomorrow at 5 pm to discuss the present political situation in the party. The statements and counterstatements that are being given by some leaders have not gone down well with the party supremo. This has to stop somewhere. Our party supremo is likely to give out a message to all the leaders,” a senior TMC leader said on condition of anonymity.

    The sources also said that Banerjee, who is yet to form a new working committee of the party, is likely to discuss strategies for the upcoming civic polls on February 28.

    The infighting in the ruling TMC escalated on Friday as leaders considered to be close to party national general secretary Abhishek Banerjee took to Twitter to advocate the “one person one post” policy, according to which a member of the party should be allowed to hold just one position.

    A section of old guards, including Hakim, termed the move as violation of party discipline.

    The recent spat comes in the backdrop of the perceived power struggle in the party and apparent differences between the generation-next leaders and the old-timers.

    Hakim, who is the state housing and transport minister as well as the city mayor, said the party does not endorse any such theory, and some leaders have given out “misleading” posts.

  • BJP government trying to snatch away rights of common people: West Bengal CM Mamata Banerjee

    By PTI

    KOLKATA: West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee Thursday took a dig at the BJP-led government at the Centre for its attempt to introduce the National Register of Citizens (NRC) and National Population Register (NPR) in the country and said it was an attempt to “snatch away” the rights of the common man.

    She said the Centre is selling off the country by disinvesting governmental concerns and expressed concern over a lot of the people in the situation.

    “Farmers are not getting the minimum support price and they (the Centre) are selling Railways, SAIL, Air India, Coal India and everything. If the country itself is sold, then how will its people survive?,” Banerjee said at a state government programme where freehold title deeds were handed over to eligible refugee families.

    Keeping up her condemnation of the BJP, the TMC supremo, who is one of its strident critics, said “They (the BJP) do not give people their rights, on the contrary take them away in the name of NRC and NPR. We (TMC) do not snatch away the rights of the people because we believe that it is the Constitution which has given it,” she added.

    Banerjee said that people in the country were not getting justice and attempts were being carried out to “alter” the country’s history and demolish its heritage.

    “People do not get justice…They are being told lies. The history of the country is being altered suddenly, heritage is being demolished. Women, minorities, SCs, STs and OBCs are being tortured. There are attempts to make people forget the original root of the Hindu religion,” she said.

    The chief minister was also critical about the Centre’s role in combating Covid-19 and alleged that the countrywide vaccination drive was delayed by it.

    “You (Centre) are not ashamed that so many lives were lost in the pandemic. You delayed providing vaccines to the people. On the certificates for Covid vaccinations you are printing (PM) Modiji’s photographs. And then you are taking credit for vaccinating the people!” she said.

    Questioning the spending of the PM Care Fund has been spent, Banerjee said that the Centre was not paying the states their dues.

    “You (the Centre) give funds to the state from the taxpayers’ money and that also not on time. We (Bengal) are yet to receive Rs 80,000-90,000 crore,” she said.

    The feisty leader also fired a fresh salvo at the Centre’s central vista project and the hologram statue of Netaji Subhas Chandra Bose at the India Gate in New Delhi, which she said, has gone “missing”.

    “In Delhi the BJP is destroying everything. They had recently put up a hologram statue of Netaji Subhas Chandra Bose but now even that is not there,” she mocked.

  • SC grants anticipatory bail to Mamata’s poll agent Supiyan in murder case

    By PTI

    NEW DELHI: The Supreme Court on Wednesday granted anticipatory bail to Trinamool Congress (TMC) leader S K Supiyan, who was the election agent of Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee in Nandigram during last year’s assembly elections, in a murder case.

    A bench of Justices L Nageswara Rao and Abhay S Oka, however, imposed several conditions while granting the relief to Supiyan.

    The apex court noted that the incident is of May 3, 2021 and though two charge sheets have been filed on 5th October 2021 and 9th January 2022, Supiyan has not been named as an accused therein.

    It also took note of the fact that the appellant was not named in both the charge sheets filed thereafter.

    “Considering the peculiar facts of the case, we are of the view that the appellant deserves to be granted pre-arrest bail. However, the appellant will have to fully cooperate with the respondent-CBI for investigation and will have to remain present for investigation as and when called upon by the investigating officer,” the bench said.

    It added: “We make it clear that the pre-arrest bail granted to the appellant is liable to be cancelled if it is found that the appellant is not cooperating for the investigation. We further make it clear that we have not made any adjudication on the merits of the controversy.”

    The top court on February 4 had reserved its order when the CBI had said that Supiyan has been running away from the investigation in the murder case of a BJP worker being probed by it.

    The CBI took over the investigation of the case on August 30, 2021.

    The CBI is probing the death of BJP worker Debabrata Maity, who was allegedly attacked in Nandigram.

    The high court had directed the probe agency to investigate post-poll violence cases in the state.

  • West Bengal CM Mamata Banerjee arrives at Lucknow, Akhilesh Yadav receives her at airport

    By PTI

    LUCKNOW: West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee on Monday reached Lucknow, where she will address an election rally and hold a joint press conference with Samajwadi Party president Akhilesh Yadav during her two-day visit ahead of the state Assembly polls.

    Yadav welcomed her at the Amausi airport here and shared this information on Twitter.

    “We defeated together in Bengal, now we will defeat in UP. This is a promise to Didi, we will emerge winners. Warm welcome and greetings to Didi in UP,” the SP chief tweeted sharing a picture with Banerjee.

    Mamata Banerjee, who came out of the airport with the SP chief, was also welcomed by her party workers.

    On Tuesday, Banerjee is scheduled to reach the SP office where she will address a joint press conference with Akhilesh Yadav.

    Apart from this, she will address a virtual rally.

    Before leaving for Lucknow, Banerjee in Kolkata gave a call to defeat the BJP in the coming elections.

    She said Yadav has invited her to campaign for the BJP.

    “We (TMC) want BJP to be defeated and Akhilesh to win Uttar Pradesh. All of us should support him in the fight against the BJP. That is the reason we have decided not to contest in Uttar Pradesh this time,” Banerjee, who is the Trinamool Congress chief, told reporters in Kolkata.

    Banerjee said she will visit Varanasi later in February but the date is yet to be fixed.

  • ‘What compulsion do you have?’: Smriti slams Akhilesh for seeking Mamata’s support

    By PTI

    NOIDA: BJP leader Smriti Irani on Monday hit out at Akhilesh Yadav, wondering why the Samajwadi Party president was seeking support of Trinamool Congress supremo and West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee who had “insulted” the people of Uttar Pradesh.

    While addressing a poll programme in Gautam Buddh Nagar’s Jewar, the Union Minister claimed Yadav’s reach out to Banerjee was an indication that he is “not getting people’s support on his own strength”.

    Irani claimed Yadav was seeking support from Banerjee despite her insulting the traditions, culture and food habits of the people of Uttar Pradesh.

    “I want to ask Akhilesh ji, what has happened now that you want support of those who had forgotten the glorious past of this state and openly insult the residents of the state. What compulsion do you have?” she said.

    “But Akhilesh ji is definitely giving indications that he is not getting public support on his own strength,” she added.

    Irani was addressing a gathering in support of BJP’s Jewar MLA Dhirendra Singh, who is once again in the fray from the seat for assembly polls.

    The Lok Sabha MP from Amethi said it was her good luck that she has been elected to parliament from Uttar Pradesh, which has been not only known as the land that has defined ‘sanskar, sanskriti’ but is also the land which is redefining development in India’s politics.

    Quoting the remarks of MLA Singh, she said the BJP has accomplished in five years in Jewar what could not be done even in 70 years.

    “It’s not easy that an international-level airport gets built in an assembly area or a medical device park for manufacturing modern equipment,” she said, talking of the big ticket projects Jewar has got since the BJP came to power in Uttar Pradesh in 2017.

    Polls in Gautam Buddh Nagar in western Uttar Pradesh are scheduled for February 10 during the first phase of elections in the state.

    Results will be declared on March 10.

  • ‘Spinal blow by CM to police’: Dhankhar pans Mamata for publicly asking senior cop whether Bengal Governor interferes

    By PTI

    KOLKATA: West Bengal Governor Jagdeep Dhankhar on Friday hit out at Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee for publicly asking a senior police officer whether the Raj Bhavan occupant was threatening him and interfering in his work.

    “What a worrisome scenario! CM Mamata Banerjee in full media glare pulls up Purba Midnapore SP by asking ‘did the governor call you’ is serious issue needing focussed reflection,” Dhankhar said on Twitter.

    “Unfortunate, a spinal blow by CM to police (sic),” he added.

    Banerjee, at an administrative review meeting on Thursday, had also rebuked SP Amarnath K over the worsening law and order situation in his district.

    The seemingly unending tug of war between the TMC government and the governor had reached a new low, when Banerjee recently told a press conference she had blocked Dhankhar’s official Twitter handle because of his posts repeatedly targeting her government.

    Dhankhar had hit right back, referring to Article 167 of the Constitution, to remind the chief minister of her “constitutional duty” to furnish information related to the administration of the affairs of the state and proposals for legislation.

  • Mamata’s allegations “wildest”, claims Dhankhar

    By PTI

    KOLKATA: West Bengal Governor Jagdeep Dhankhar on Wednesday said Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee’s comments against him at a TMC meeting during the day were “wildest of allegations” and have no credibility.

    He asked Banerjee to point out any document written by him or tweet posted by him which is in abusive language or is not justified under constitutional provisions.

    Banerjee had criticised Dhankhar at a Trinamool Congress meeting during the day without naming him.

    “What she has said, there is no credibility in them for me. It does not behove the chief minister to make such wild allegations,” Dhankhar told reporters here.

    Banerjee had criticised Dhankhar at a Trinamool Congress meeting during the day without naming him.

    The governor termed as “100 per cent factually incorrect” the chief minister’s claim that he gets food delivered from a five-star hotel in the city everyday.

    “All that the chief minister said are wildest of allegations. There are abuses against me, invectives against me,” he said and asserted that nothing will deter him from the constitutional path.

    He said that it is his duty to ensure that governance of the state is in accordance with the constitution and rule of law.

    “For two and half years there has been total failure at your (Banerjee’s) end to perform your constitutional duty under Article 167 to give information to the governor,” he said, claiming that detail was sought from the Mamata Banerjee government in aspects where “serious allegations were made of fiscal irregularities”.

    Dhankhar claimed that she has made wild allegations questioning the happenings in Raj Bhavan and hinted at telephonic tapping.

    “Perception by and large is because of the present (TMC) government that people in the state have taken to telephoning only on Whatsapp, Facetime, Signal and Telegram and that is a terrifying state of affairs,” Dhankhar said.

    He alleged that fear is haunting virtually every mind of the state. “You (Banerjee) are in your third term. You have today been again elected chairperson of your party. On this day I appeal to you to soul search, respond to your conscience, keep in your heart not the pursuit of power but helping the more than nine crore people of the state,” the governor said.

    Dhankhar claimed that the chief minister had described a horse of the Kolkata Police, which was perhaps not in line during the Republic Day parade, as showing its back to him. “Where are we heading, are we to engage in mudslinging?” he asked.

    Calling for dialogue between the governor and the chief minister, Dhankar said that he will be “happy to walk the extra mile”.

    He said that Banerjee wanted to make an emotional issue of his raising the question of funding for ‘Maa Canteen’ (introduced by TMC government to provide meals for Rs 5 only) which was launched before the stipulated date of April 1, 2021.

    “My point is very simple – where did the money come from? Maa Canteen was operational from mid-February to March 31, 2021 but the constitutional allocation was only from April, 2021,” he said. Replies to his questions on ‘Maa Canteen’ have to come from the government, Dhankhar said.

    The governor said he is not a stakeholder in politics and claimed that the performance of the bureaucracy in the state is turning out to be a challenge to the rule of law. He will ensure that governance in Bengal is in accordance with it. “I want investment in the state. But it can come only when there is right environment, democratic values flourish, human rights blossom, there is rule of law and bureaucracy is apolitical,” the governor, who earlier attended a business chamber programme, said.

    Asserting that no file is pending with him as alleged by the chief minister, Dhankhar claimed that it is the Mamata Banerjee government that has not been able to reply to issues on which he raised questions.

    There is an ongoing tussle between the governor and the TMC dispensation over the issue of his assent to a bill on bifurcation of Howrah Municipal Corporation.

    While TMC has claimed that the issue of his not giving assent is delaying the election to Howrah Municipal Corporation, the governor has said that questions raised by him on the bill are yet to be replied to by the government.

  • Mamata Banerjee re-elected TMC chief unopposed

    By PTI

    KOLKATA: West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee was on Wednesday re-elected as the TMC chairperson, a top party official said.

    The ruling Trinamool Congress held its organisational elections after a gap of five years.

    According to TMC Secretary General Partha Chatterjee, Banerjee was declared elected without a contest as no other leader entered the fray.

    “A total of 48 proposers and seconders had submitted nominations in favour of Mamata Banerjee. As there was no other nomination for the post of chairperson, Mamata Banerjee has been re-elected unopposed,” Chatterjee, the returning officer for the organisational polls, said.

    Mamata Banerjee had founded the party in 1998 after breaking away from the Congress, and has headed it ever since.

    After two unsuccessful attempts at the hustings in the 2001 and 2006 assembly polls, the party came to power in 2011, defeating the mighty Left Front regime, riding the crest of massive public outrage against the Communists.

    It stormed to power for the third consecutive term in May last year after bagging 213 out of the 294 seats in the state assembly.

  • Union Budget: Mamata says zero for common man, Amit Mitra calls it a hoax, BJP hits back

    By PTI

    KOLKATA: Terming the union budget presented in Parliament on Tuesday as a “Pegasus spin budget”, West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee said it has got nothing for the common people who are being crushed by inflation and unemployment.

    Banerjee’s principal chief advisor Amit Mitra claimed there is no direction for financial growth in the union budget and it is “either a hoax or lack of goodwill”.

    The opposition BJP supported the Union budget as “pro-people” and asked the TMC government to come out with a white paper on the amount of investment that has materialised in the state in the last ten years.

    Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman presenting the union budget in Parliament said the country’s economic growth is expected to be at 9.2 per cent in the current financial year on the back of a sharp rebound in the economy.

    Criticising the budget, Banerjee said the Centre was lost in “big words signifying nothing”. “BUDGET HAS ZERO FOR COMMON PEOPLE, WHO ARE GETTING CRUSHED BY UNEMPLOYMENT & INFLATION. GOVT IS LOST IN BIG WORDS SIGNIFYING NOTHING – A PEGASUS SPIN BUDGET (sic),” she tweeted.

    Mitra, who was addressing a virtual press conference, said India is the only country globally with stagflation and the union budget will hit rural employment further with the reduction in allocation for the job guarantee scheme.

    “There is no allocation for social security schemes. The biggest thing is that there is no solution for middle class employees in the budget. Around 1.20 crore middle class people lost their jobs in lockdown. What is allocated for them in the budget? What is allocated in the budget for the families of those who lost their lives due to COVID? There is nothing,” he said.

    Mitra, a former finance minister of the state, said there is no direction of financial growth in this union budget. “The income tax structure remains unchanged. There is nothing for the poor and middle class. The Centre’s budget is either a hoax or a lack of goodwill,” he said.

    Mitra said the amount allocated for 100 days work had been reduced from Rs 98,000 crore to Rs 73,000 crore in this year’s budget, which is a “terrible thing”.

    The budget does not address the problem of 30 million unemployed people or inflation of 14 per cent of wholesale prices or 6 per cent of the increase in consumer prices.

    “It does not stimulate demand by putting money in the hands of the common people – something that all other countries are doing,” he said.

    The BJP on the other hand accused Mitra and the TMC government of destroying the state’s economy. “The union budget is a pro-people budget. The TMC has opposed it for political reasons. But before opposing it, TMC should answer why Bengal has been pushed to a debt trap. It should come out with a white paper on the investment the state has received and those which has been implemented on the ground,” BJP state spokesperson Samik Bhattacharya said.

    Criticising the union budget as “anti-people’, CPI(M) central committee member Sujan Chakraborty said it is a “Sale India budget conceptualised by a party which has no contribution in either the country’s independence or nation building.” 

  • Dhankhar vs Mamata: Trinamool likely to bring motion against Bengal Governor in Rajya Sabha

    By PTI

    KOLKATA: Amid the ongoing acrimony between the West Bengal government and Raj Bhavan, the ruling Trinamool Congress is likely to bring a substantive motion against Governor Jagdeep Dhankhar in the Rajya Sabha in the upcoming budget session of Parliament, a senior party MP said on Thursday.

    A substantive motion is a self-contained, independent proposal submitted for the approval of the House and drafted in such a way as to be capable of expressing a decision of the House.

    At a virtual meeting of the TMC parliamentary party in the presence of Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee, it was also decided that the MPs will take up the issue of alleged attack on the federal structure and “efforts by the Centre” to snatch away the states’ rights, including its recent proposal to amend the IAS (Cadre) rules.

    Although the issue regarding floor coordination with the Congress was not discussed, a section of the TMC MPs said the party is likely to adopt a “flexible approach” on this.

    In the last winter session of Parliament, the party had decided against engaging in any form of floor coordination with the Congress.

    “At the meeting, Rajya Sabha Chief whip Sukhendu Shekhar Ray spoke about bringing in a substantive motion against the governor in the Rajya Sabha during the Budget session,” a senior TMC MP said on condition of anonymity.

    It has been decided that Ray will bring in the motion, he said.

    “The way the governor is meddling in the jurisdiction of the state is unprecedented. He is trying to create a problem and a controversy every day,” he said.

    On January 25, while speaking to the media after paying floral tributes at the statue of B R Ambedkar on the Assembly premises on the National Voters Day, the governor not only castigated the Speaker and the chief minister for allegedly not providing the information he had sought, but also described the political condition in West Bengal as “horrible and frightening”.

    A day later, Speaker Biman Banerjee said that in future his office might enquire about the purpose of any visit by Dhankhar to the Assembly, other than constitutionally mandatory appearances such as the governor’s address at the inaugural session of the House.

    Since he took charge in 2019, Dhankhar has had several run-ins with the West Bengal government over various issues.

    The TMC MP said the issues related to the alleged attack on the federal structure of the country would be raised in both Houses of Parliament.

    “We will raise the issue of (proposed amendments to) IAS cadre rules, attack on federal structure, attempt to undermine the authority of states, especially opposition ruled states, discrimination in the distribution of Covid vaccines, the BSF’s increased jurisdiction and bank privatisation,” he said.

    Till Wednesday, nine non-BJP ruled states have opposed the Centre’s proposal that gives it an overriding power while deciding on central deputation of IAS officers, whereas eight others have given their consent.

    The West Bengal CM had twice written to Prime Minister Narendra Modi opposing the proposed amendment to the IAS (Cadre) Rules claiming that it would lead to destruction of democracy.

    When asked whether anything was discussed about floor coordination with the Congress, several TMC MPs replied in the negative.

    “Most likely, this time we will adopt a flexible approach. We will continue to function as an opposition party. We have our own identity. We will raise issues concerning the masses, like weakening the federal structure.”

    “We will ask all opposition parties, including the Congress, to join us. Now whether they will join us or not depends on them,” a TMC MP said.

    The relationship between the Congress and the TMC had hit an all-time low in 2021.

    The TMC had slammed the grand old party over its alleged failure to fight against the BJP and dubbed it as an “incapable and incompetent” party that has gone into a “deep freezer”.

    The Congress has recently turned down the TMC’s offer for an alliance in the upcoming Goa assembly polls.