News Analysis India

Tag: Mamata Banerjee

  • Is Mamata Banerjee the real target for BJP behind Shah Rukh Khan’s son arrest in drug case

    Express News Service

    MUMBAI: Opposition leaders called the raid conducted at a cruise off the Mumbai coast as politically motivated to dampen the resounding victory of West Bengal chief minister Mamata Banerjee in bypolls. They also alleged that the arrest of Bollywood Superstar Shah Rukh Khan’s son is indirectly targetted at Mamata as SRK is the Brand Ambassador of West Bengal.

    The Special Court of the Narcotic Control Bureau of India on Sunday gave one day remand to Shah Rukh Khan’s son Aryan Khan in a drug-related case.

    Congress spokesperson Sachin Sawant said that at Gujarat port, 3000 tonnes of heroin worth Rs 20,000 crore were found out, but there has been no breakthrough in that case by the central probe agency.

    “However, in the alleged rave party on the cruise, negligible amounts of drug was found, but there is so much hype and media attention added to the filmy style actions of NCB. It shows the NCB was sleeping when Rs 20,000 crore worth drugs was brought in India but makes big drama for few grams of drugs. If the investigative agencies are serious and independent, then they should find out the culprit in the Gujarat port drug case. Why are they dragging feet there because the port is owned by Prime Minister Narendra Modi friend Gautam Adani,” Sawant questioned.

    Sources said that Mamata Banerjee is a promising candidate for the Prime Ministerial post for the 2024 Lok Sabha polls. “The BJP could not defeat her in elections and therefore they are using the central probe agencies to target the people who are close to her. Film star Shah Rukh Khan is the Brand Ambassador of West Bengal. So, this is an indirect attack on Mamata Banerjee and West Bengal through the arrest of Shah Rukh Khan’s son Aryan Khan. BJP plays politics at different levels,” the source added.

    Shah Rukh Khan was close to Congress leaders when it was in government during UPA I and the second time. After the BJP government came to power in the Centre since 2014, the Bollywood superstar has neither shown any inclination nor made any political statements in favour of any political parties..But his proximity with the West Bengal chief minister increased as he owns the Kolkata Knight Rider cricket team in IPL. 

  • What was the real reason behind SRK’s son’s arrest in drugs case? Opposition leader floats a theory

    Express News Service

    MUMBAI: Was Bollywood superstar Shah Rukh Khan’s son Aryan Khan’s arrest politically motivated? Was he unfairly targetted despite an almost negligible haul of drugs? Congress spokesperson Sachin Sawant has raised these questions while also asking if the Narcotics Control Bureau wasn’t making “big drama for a few grams of drugs”.

    Sawant’s questions come after the Special Court of the Narcotics Control Bureau of India on Sunday handed a one-day remand to Aryan Khan in the drug-related case. Aryan’s remand was extended till October 7 on Monday.

    Sawant said that at a Gujarat port, 3000 tonnes of heroin worth Rs 20,000 crore had been discovered, but no breakthrough has been made in that case by the central probe agency yet.

    “However, in the alleged rave party on the cruise, negligible amounts of drugs were found, but there is so much hype and media attention added to the filmi style actions of the NCB. It shows the NCB was sleeping when Rs 20,000 crore worth drugs was brought to India but makes big drama for a few grams of drugs. If the investigative agencies are serious and independent, then they should find out the culprit in the Gujarat port drug case. Why are they dragging feet there because the port is owned by Prime Minister Narendra Modi friend Gautam Adani?” Sawant asked.

    ALSO WATCH |

  • Kumaraswamy praises Mamata for ‘historic’ victory in Bhabanipur by-poll

    By PTI

    BENGALURU: Senior JDS leader H D Kumaraswamy on Sunday congratulated West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee on winning the by-poll to Bhabanipur Assembly constituency with a huge margin.

    While wishing Banerjee in a series of tweets, he also hit out at BJP for fielding a candidate against Banerjee.

    “Hearty congratulations to West Bengal Chief Minister @MamataOfficial for registering a glorious and historic victory in the by-election from Bhavanipur Assembly seat,” Kumaraswamy tweeted.

    Hearty congratulations to West Bengal Chief Minister @MamataOfficial for registering a glorious and historic victory in the by-election from Bhavanipur Assembly seat. 1/3 pic.twitter.com/K1KJBqOv6l
    — H D Kumaraswamy (@hd_kumaraswamy) October 3, 2021
    He said the BJP displayed a stubborn attitude by fielding a candidate against her though the people’s mandate was in her favour.

    The former CM said BJP leader Rajiv Banerjee himself had said that she will win by a huge margin and his prediction came true.

    “The BJP should have helped in ensuring unopposed election of Mamata Banerjee by shunning political narrow mindedness. It’s my personal view that such a gesture would have helped the BJP to retain its dignity,” Kumaraswamy said.

    Five months after spearheading TMC to a landslide win in the assembly election, West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee scored a personal point with a massive victory on Sunday in the Bhabanipur by-poll with a record margin of 58,835 votes.

    Banerjee secured 85,263 votes while her nearest rival and BJP’s Priyanka Tibrewal garnered 26,428 votes. CPI(M)’s Srijib Biswas polled 4,226 votes.

  • Bhawanipore by-poll: BJP’s Priyanka Tibrewal writes to HC over fear of violence after result declaration

    By ANI

    KOLKATA: Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) candidate for Bhawanipore by-poll Priyanka Tibrewal has written to the Chief Justice of Calcutta High Court seeking preventive measures in case there is post-poll violence after results are declared on Sunday.

    In the letter, Priyanka Tibrewal has sought strict orders from the Kolkata Police to take all precautionary measures to prevent any kind of violence post declaration of by-election result.

    “I, Priyanka Tibrewal, the Bharatiya Janata Party candidate from the Bhawanipore Assembly constituency is writing to you, requesting you to give a strict order to the Kolkata police forces to take all kinds of precautionary measures so that we do not witness any kind of violence post the by-election results on October 3,” the letter read.

    Referring to incidents of violence that took place in West Bengal following the declaration of result of state assembly polls in May, Priyanka Tibrewal said: “We have clearly witnessed an unprecedented massacre that took place all over Bengal post May 2 which has left the entire nation in shock and has given India– Land of Ahimsa a bad image in the eyes of the world and we are still suffering the aftermath of the heinous crime committed by the miscreants of TMC.”

    “Taking the ghastly scenario into reference, I, as a candidate for this by-election, humbly request you give a strict order to all the government enforcement departments to take extreme precautionary measures so that no innocent life is lost, no sexual crime is committed, no public is left homeless, no incident of arson is recorded and we live in a peaceful environment come what may be the outcome on October 3,” she added.

    The bypoll to the Bhawanipore assembly seat and two other constituencies in West Bengal and one in Odisha was held on September 30 amid tight security and stringent Covid-19 measures.

    Mamata Banerjee had lost to BJP’s Suvendu Adhikari in the Nandigram constituency in the assembly elections held earlier this year. The Bhawanipore assembly seat was vacated by the West Bengal Agriculture Minister Sobhandeb Chattopadhyay in May, paving the way for Mamata Banerjee to contest the bypoll.

    Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) has fielded 41-year-old Priyanka Tibrewal, a lawyer, against the TMC chief. CPI(M) has fielded Srijib Biswas, who is also a lawyer. Congress did not contest the seat.

    Trinamool Congress had registered a landslide victory in assembly polls winning 213 of 294 seats in the West Bengal assembly. The BJP won 77 seats.

  • Bengal bypolls: Mamata leading in Bhawanipore, Priyanka Tibrewal in second position

    By PTI

    KOLKATA: West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee was leading by 2,377 votes in the Bhawanipore bypoll after the second round of counting on Sunday morning, as per the Election Commission.

    Banerjee, the TMC candidate in Bhawanipore, secured 5,333 votes, as per official data after the second round of counting.

    Her nearest rival, BJP’s Priyanka Tibrewal, secured 2,956 votes, while Srijib Biswas of the CPI(M) secured 132 votes.

    Total 21 rounds of counting will be held in Bhawanipore.

    Voting in the seat in south Kolkata was held on September 30.

    Banerjee has to win this election to retain her chief minister’s post.

  • Bengal bypolls: Mamata Banerjee wins Bhowanipore by-election, Trinamool ahead in two Murshidabad seats too

    By Express News Service

    KOLKATA: Trinamool Congress supremo and West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee has won the Bhowanipore by-election by a margin of 58,389 votes.

    Banerjee, the TMC candidate for the Bhabanipur seat in south Kolkata, secured 84,709 votes, after 21st and final round of counting.

    Mamata broke her party’s victory margin record of 49,936 votes in 2011 Assembly elections, the year she derailed LF’s 34-year regime.

    The TMC was also leading in Murshidabad’s Samserganj and Jangipur where counting of votes for assembly elections was underway.

    ALSO READ: BJP’s Priyanka Tibrewal writes to HC over fear of violence after result declaration

    Banerjee, the TMC candidate for the Bhabanipur seat in south Kolkata, secured 84,709 votes.

    Her nearest rival, BJP’s Priyanka Tibrewal, secured 26,320 votes, while Srijib Biswas of the CPI(M) secured 4201 votes.

    Although Banerjee claimed victory in a press conference outside her residence, the EC is yet to officially announce the results as they are yet to compile the votes secured through postal ballots.

    “I want to thank the people of Bhabanipur, West Bengal and West Bengal, who were waiting for these results. The people of Bhabanipur have given a befitting reply to the conspiracy that was hatched to defeat me in Nandigram. I don’t want to say much on a sub-judice matter. The counting is over, and we have won the seat by a margin of 58832 votes,” she said.

    ALSO READ: EC asks Bengal chief secy to ensure no celebration over Bhawanipore bypoll results

    The chief minister had earlier lost the Nandigram elections narrowly to her former aide Suvendu Adhikari, now leader of the opposition from the BJP in the state assembly.

    She has since filed a legal challenge to the election result.

    After Banerjee’s defeat in Nandigram, Sovandeb Chattopadhyay, a state minister, vacated the Bhabanipur seat to facilitate her return to the assembly from there.

    The TMC is also ahead in Murshidabad’s Samserganj and Jangipur constituencies, where votes are being counted for the assembly elections.

    In Samserganj, TMC candidate Amirul Islam is leading by 25 195 votes after the twenty-two round of counting.

    WATCH |

    He secured 91826 votes, while his nearest rival, Zaidur Rahaman of the Congress, got 66,631.

    Jangipur’s TMC nominee Jakir Hossain is leading by a massive margin of 64,529 votes after the twenty-one rounds of counting.

    Hossain secured 1,00,560 votes, and his nearest rival, BJP’s Sujit Das, got 36, 031.

    As reports of Banerjee’s massive lead came in, TMC supporters hit streets across the state to celebrate.

    On the other side, the state offices of the BJP and the CPI (M) wore a deserted look.

    Voting in the seats was held on September 30.

    (With PTI Inputs)

  • Bengal bypolls: Mamata Banerjee wins Bhowanipore by record margin

    By Express News Service

    KOLKATA: Trinamool Congress supremo and West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee on Sunday secured stunning victory from Bhowanipore breaking all the records of Trinamool Congress’ victory margin since the constituency’s inception in 2011 after delimitation. She secured victory with a margin of 58,835 votes with BJP’s Priyanka Tibrewal trailing behind.

    “The verdict of Bhowanipore was a reply to the conspiracy that was hatched against me in Nandigram. The Nandigram election result is pending with the court. I secured lead from all the wards of the civic body in Bhowanipore,” said Mamata standing on the courtyard of her residence in Kalighat along with her family members.

    The TMC won two other Assembly constituencies, Samsherganj and Jangipur, where general elections were held after candidates died of Covid. The BJP candidate Milan Ghosh lost her deposit in minority-dominated Samsherganj while the Left Front’s candidates lost their deposits in all three seats.

    Mamata’s victory in Bhowanipore is said to be significant as she needed to get elected as an MLA to retain the chair of the administrative head of the state after her defeat in Nandigram in the recent Assembly elections. When the Bengal CM got 71.9 per cent of the total votes polled, her contender and BJP’s Priyanka bagged 22.17 per cent votes.

    Mamata’s reference to leading in all the municipal wards in Bhowanipore was found significant as the BJP secured lead from two of the pockets in the constituency in the recent Assembly polls which are dominated by non-Bengali voters who form around 40 per cent of the total electorates. When the BJP trusted their non-Bengali vote-bank in the by-election, Mamata made it clear that she made deep inroads in the saffron camp’s citadel.

    “She (Mamata) broke all records in Bhowanipore. In 2011, our candidate won by 49,936 votes and in the by-election Mamata won with a margin of 54,213 votes. This time, she broke her own record,’’ said a senior TMC leader.  

    Welcoming Mamata’s victory, BJP’s state president Sukanta Majumdar said, “Around 57 per cent of the voters turned up at the polling booths. It shows a large number of voters either did not exercised their franchise or they were not allowed to. We welcome those who supported our candidate and we will contest in the by-elections in the four Assembly constituencies which will be held on October 30,’’ he said.

    Congress state president Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury said the poor turnout of voters showed a majority of the people in Bhowanipore had no interest in the by-election.

    While welcoming the verdict of Bhowanipore’s voters, Mamata announced candidates for four Assembly constituencies—Khardah, Shantipur, Dinhata and Gosaba—where by-poll will be held on October 30. Sovandeb Chattopadhyay, who won from Bhowanipore in the Assembly elections but tendered resignation to pave the way for Mamata, will contest from Khardah.

    ALSO READ: BJP’s Priyanka Tibrewal writes to HC over fear of violence after result declaration

    Her nearest rival, BJP’s Priyanka Tibrewal, secured 26,320 votes, while Srijib Biswas of the CPI(M) secured 4201 votes.

    Although Banerjee claimed victory in a press conference outside her residence, the EC is yet to officially announce the results as they are yet to compile the votes secured through postal ballots.

    “I want to thank the people of Bhabanipur, West Bengal and West Bengal, who were waiting for these results. The people of Bhabanipur have given a befitting reply to the conspiracy that was hatched to defeat me in Nandigram. I don’t want to say much on a sub-judice matter. The counting is over, and we have won the seat by a margin of 58832 votes,” she said.

    ALSO READ: EC asks Bengal chief secy to ensure no celebration over Bhawanipore bypoll results

    The chief minister had earlier lost the Nandigram elections narrowly to her former aide Suvendu Adhikari, now leader of the opposition from the BJP in the state assembly.

    She has since filed a legal challenge to the election result.

    After Banerjee’s defeat in Nandigram, Sovandeb Chattopadhyay, a state minister, vacated the Bhabanipur seat to facilitate her return to the assembly from there.

    WATCH |

    He secured 91826 votes, while his nearest rival, Zaidur Rahaman of the Congress, got 66,631.

    Jangipur’s TMC nominee Jakir Hossain is leading by a massive margin of 64,529 votes after the twenty-one rounds of counting.

    Hossain secured 1,00,560 votes, and his nearest rival, BJP’s Sujit Das, got 36, 031.

    As reports of Banerjee’s massive lead came in, TMC supporters hit streets across the state to celebrate.

    On the other side, the state offices of the BJP and the CPI (M) wore a deserted look.

    Voting in the seats was held on September 30.

    (With PTI Inputs)

  • Wish EC puts bypoll campaigns on hold for 10 days amid festivities: Mamata

    The CM also said that the poll panel has not objected to the government #39;s decision to grant an allowance of Rs 50,000 to every puja committee, and money would be disbursed soon.

  • Mamata dig at Shah for not stopping DVC from discharging barrage water

    By PTI

    KOLKATA: West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee on Saturday took a dig at Union Home Minister Amit Shah saying he is never seen taking preventive action to stop discharge of huge volumes of water by DVC from its barrages into rivers in Bengal, which caused widespread flood though he is prompt in sending NHRC team and summoning senior state bureaucrats to Delhi on “some pretext”.

    Banerjee said she will shortly write to Prime Minister Narendra Modi and seek his intervention in the “indiscriminate” release of water by DVC every time there is heavy rain in Jharkhand.

    “Why is Amit Shah not asking DVC to stop such wanton discharge of huge volumes of water instead of doing it in phases? Does his concern for Bengal end in sending NHRC team, increasing CRPF cover of small-time BJP leaders and despatching high number of security personnel for a single seat? Does his concern for Bengal is only manifest in summoning our top officers to New Delhi? She was referring to the September 30 by-poll in Bhabanipur Assembly seat, where she was a contestant.

    “What has he done to ensure that Bengal gets its dues with regard to Cyclone Amphan, Yaas and Cyclone Bulbul ? We had to rebuild with our own limited resources after every calamity and the Modi-Shah regime didn’t release a single additional penny,” Banerjee said when briefing reporters about the flood situation in eight south Bengal districts.

    The TMC supremo said she will write a letter to the prime minister very soon pointing out the recurrent floods faced by the state due to the sudden discharge of water by DVC for years, which have become more frequent now with heavy rains as a result of global warming.

    This time several pockets of Hoogly, Howrah, Paschim Medinipur and Bankura are reeling under severe floods.

    “I know several such letters from me in the past didn’t yield any result. But I must write again. The chief secretary will also write a letter to the cabinet secretary on the issue,” she said.

    Banerjee had made an aerial survey of flood affected Howrah and Hooghly districts during the state.

    The chief minister claimed that total 10 lakh cusec of water had been discharged by DVC and from dams of Jharkhand irrigation department since the early hours of September 30 at small intervals which caused the devastation in Bengal.

    “It was a crime by DVC. Bengal will not suffer silently forever,” she said.

    Banerjee also said the Bengal government will demand compensation from DVC for releasing huge volumes of water accumulated in its two dams in Jharkhand into small rivers in Bengal which do not have the capacity to bear the huge upsurge and consequently flood the surrounding areas.

    The chief minister said dams under the Jharkhand government cannot contain much water after heavy rains as they have not been cleaned or dredged in the past 50 years and flow downstream into Bengal.

    “But I am all for good neighbourly relations and want to hold discussions with Jharkhand on the issue”, she said.

    Reacting to Banerjee’s charges, BJP state president Sukanta Majumder said “She is lying. The floods in south Bengal are due to lack of dredging of river beds in West Bengal by the state irrigation department.”

    Majumder also claimed that the state government had been informed in advance by DVC and Jharkhand irrigation department about the release of water after very heavy rains in that state.

    But the irrigation department of West Bengal did not act on it.

    “She (Banerjee) was busy with the September 30 by-poll in Bhabanipur. She woke up only when the by-poll was over. The flood was not man made as claimed by Mamata Banerjee but she made,” Majumder added.

    On the Banerjee’s jibe against Shah about the NHRC visit to the state, Majumder quipped “She can try to divert from the grave reality of post-poll violence by her party men on BJP activists which drew worldwide condemnation. But the truth has come out before everyone.”

  • Goa elections: Will TMC’s re-entry in state with ex-CM Faleiro’s induction alter its political landscape?

    Express News Service

    MUMBAI: After Trinamool Congress’ resounding victory in Bengal elections this May, Mamata Banerjee’s party has decided to re-enter Goa’s political landscape by inducting former chief minister Luizinho Faleiro.

    However, this is not TMC’s first attempt. It had tried in 2012 too but miserably failed and lost its deposit of all its 20 candidates in the 40 members of Goa state assembly.

    In the 2014 Lok Sabha polls too, TMC candidate Churchill Alemao polled only 11,941 votes in South Goa Lok Sabha constituency against BJP’s Narendra Modi who got 1,98,776 votes.

    TMC is likely to be formally announced its official entry into Goa politics on Monday with Faleiro scheduling a press meet.

    In the last couple of months, the party has also increased its activities by inducting several leaders, including bureaucrat-turned-politician Elvis Gomes, former AAP convenor in Goa, and former East Bengal footballer Alvito D’Cunha, who had supported the TMC’s election campaign in West Bengal ahead of Assembly polls in May.

    Girish Chodankar, President of the Goa Congress party says that Luizinho Faleiro joining TMC will not change the politics of Goa.

    “In fact, Luizinho Faleiro was losing popularity in his constituency. He was not sure about his victory in upcoming state polls, therefore, changed the party to change the narrative he joined the TMC. However, that will not make any difference to us. It will only eat anti-incumbency vote but we are confident of coming to power this time,” Chodankar opined.

    Sumi Naik, a senior journalist based in Goa said that the state’s political market is already crowded with national and regional parties.

    “TMC wants to create its base ahead of Goa state assembly polls. It has a big challenge to create its own space. The reason there is no such natural traction to TMC in Goa. Earlier TMC tried twice but could not succeed. Besides, it has very limited time to expand the party base. Former chief minister Luizinho Faleiro can win one or two seats maximum,” Naik said.

    However, Faleiro said that the women power will win Goa. He said that Mamata Banerjee symbolizes women power and in Goa also more than 40 per cent are voters.

    “We are confident of winning as many as seats in Goa,” he added.

    Commenting on TMC’s entry into the state, Goa CM Pramod Sawant said he would welcome such parties with utmost ‘hospitality’ as the state is known for its tourism.

    “We will welcome these political parties….we are sure they will enjoy the Goa’s hospitality and then go back,” Sawant said.