News Analysis India

Tag: Mamata Banerjee

  • Urge Centre, neighbouring states to prepare plan to prevent floods: Bengal CM Mamata Banerjee

    By Express News Service

    KOLKATA: West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee on Saturday undertook an aerial survey of flood affected areas in south Bengal and said she would write to the Prime Minister Narendra Modi over the issue of DVC’s decision of releasing water without informing the state government. She also said the chief secretary of the state government would also write to the Centre in this regard. 

    “Nearly 10 lakh cusec water was released from DVC’s dams in West Bengal, Jharkhand and Bihar resulting flood situation in eight south Bengal districts. I will write to the Prime Minister and demand compensation,” said Mamata at Nabanna, the state secretariat.

    “Eight districts have been affected and four lakh people have been evacuated. One lakh houses have completely been damaged. The DVC released water four times without informing us. This is a crime. We protest. We request the Jharkhand government to look into the issue. I will discuss the issue with the neighbouring states like Jharkhand and Bihar,’’ said Mamata.

    Reiterating the ‘man-made flood’ theory, the Bengal CM said she would request the Jharkhand government to prepare a plan in consultation with her state government. “I will also request the Centre to prepare a master plan to prevent recurrence of floods. Had the reservoirs in Jharkhand been dredged, Bengal would not have faced such situation,’ she said.

  • ‘This is a man-made flood’: Water released without informing West Bengal govt, alleges Mamata

    By Express News Service

    KOLKATA: In yet another face-off with the Centre over the issue of flood situation in south Bengal, Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee hit out at the central government for releasing water from the dams of the Damodar Valley Corporation (DVC) allegedly without informing the state government. She also described the decision of releasing water keeping the state government in the dark as a ‘crime’.

    “This is a man-made flood. The DVC released water from reservoirs in Bengal, Bihar and Jharkhand without informing us. This is a crime. The Centre is doing injustice to West Bengal. I request the people living in affected areas to keep faith in the state administration. The government is with them to provide all help they need,” she said.

    The DVC released 2.75 lakh cusecs of water late on Thursday and another spell of 1.5 lakh cusecs of water was released on Friday. A large part of Bankura, Asansol, Birbhum, Hooghly has been flooded following heavy rain and release of water from reservoirs and deaths of five persons were reported in past 24 hours.

    “Dredging was not carried out in the DV reservoirs in the recent past to remove the silt. Had the work been done, the capacity of the reservoirs would have been more and release of water might not have been required,” said Mamata.

    The Bengal CM will take an aerial survey in the flood affected areas on Saturday to take stock of the situation. Urging people to donate for the chief minister’s relief fund, Mamata castigated the PM cares fund. “The chief minister’s relief fund is not PM cares fund. We will deliver the assistance to the needy people,” she said.

    Five columns of Army personnel have been engaged in Hooghly and Asansol to expedite the rescue operations. Personnel of National Disaster Response Force (NDRF) were also deployed in the affected areas.

    In last August, Mamata raised the allegation of ‘man-made flood’ after the DVC released water resulting floods in parts of south Bengal. She wrote a letter to Prime Minister Narendra Modi complaining about “grave man-made flood situation in some districts because of the unprecedented release of water” from DVC dams. She wrote the letter a day after Modi had called her and assured her of all possible support from the Centre.

  • West Bengal bypolls: Moderate turnout in Mamata stronghold, polling peaceful  

    By Express News Service

    KOLKATA:  Voting was peaceful in Bhowanipore, Samsherganj and Jangipur on Thursday with the high-profile South Kolkata constituency from where Mamata Banerjee contested recording moderate turnout of 53.32 per cent polling till 5 pm.

    In contrast, Samsherganj and Jangipur reported 78.6 and 76.12 per cent polling till 5 pm. Heavy security arrangements were put in place at Bhowanipore with nearly 40 companies of central force personnel manning 287 polling booths. Despite the security apparatus, the BJP claimed its leader Kalyan Choubey was attacked and windshield of his vehicle was smashed. The TMC denied the allegation.  

    Bhowanipore is Mamata’s stronghold as she was elected twice from the seat. The TMC is confident of winning  all three seats. Mamata is contesting against BJP’s Priyanka Tibrewal and CPI(M)’s Srijib Biswas. The bypoll is being keenly watched as Mamata is contesting to enter the Bengal Assembly courtesy a win while the BJP is eyeing a re-run of Nandigram where the CM lost to her protege-turned-rival Suvendu Adhikari.

    Priyanka continued visiting polling booths throughout the day. “I caught a false voter, who came from another constituency, red handed. TMC’s youth wing leaders sent him to cast vote. This how the ruling party is conducting the by-election to ensure Mamata’s win,” she alleged.

    The BJP lodged a complaint with the EC requesting to restrict movement of TMC ministers Subrata Mukherjee and Firhad Hakim in the constituency alleging that they were visiting polling booths and influencing electorates. “This is completely baseless allegation. I did not visit a single polling booth. I travelled along the road without stopping anywhere. I am sitting in a party camp in my locality,’’ said Hakim. 

  • Bhowanipore bypoll: Voting begins for key constituency, two other seats also in spotlight

    By PTI

    KOLKATA: Polling began at 7 am on Thursday for the by-election to the Bhowanipore seat, where West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee is contesting, and two other constituencies amid tight security and stringent COVID-19 measures, officials said.

    The bypolls are being held in south Kolkata’s Bhowanipore, besides Jangipur and Samserganj seats in Murshidabad district. A total 6,97,164 voters are eligible to exercise their franchise in the three constituencies.

    Votes will be counted on October 3. Banerjee, who lost from the Nandigram constituency in the assembly elections earlier this year, has to win this bypoll to retain the chief minister’s post. Polls had to be countermanded in Jangipur and Samserganj in April following the death of two candidates.

    As part of its elaborate security arrangements, the Election Commission has deployed 72 companies of central forces in the three constituencies, of which 35 are stationed in Bhabanipur alone, the officials said. Prohibitory orders under Section 144 of the CrPC have been imposed within 200 metres of the polling centres.

    Long queues were seen since early morning outside several booths across the constituencies. Voting will continue till 6 pm. The polling centres have been stocked up with masks and sanitisers as part of the COVID-19 guidelines, the officials said.

    Banerjee, who is also the Trinamool Congress supremo, is pitted against BJP’s Priyanka Tibrewal and CPM’s Srijib Biswas in Bhabanipur.

  • Bhowanipore bypoll: 7.57 per cent voter turnout recorded till 9 am

    By PTI

    KOLKATA: Around 7.57 per cent polling was recorded in the by-election to the Bhowanipore assembly constituency, where West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee is contesting, till 9 am on Thursday, Election Commission sources said.

    They said that during the first two hours, around 16.32 and 17.51 per cent voting was recorded in Samserganj and Jangipur seats in Murshidabad district. Polling began at 7 am amid tight security. A total of 6,97,164 voters are eligible to exercise their franchise in the three constituencies.

    Votes will be counted on October 3. Banerjee, who lost from the Nandigram constituency in the assembly elections earlier this year, has to win this by-poll to retain the chief minister’s post. Polls had to be countermanded in Jangipur and Samserganj in April following the death of two candidates.

    Long queues were seen since early morning outside several booths across the constituencies. Voting will continue till 6 pm. Banerjee, who is also the Trinamool Congress supremo, is pitted against BJP’s Priyanka Tibrewal and CPM’s Srijib Biswas in Bhowanipore.

  • By-polls to Bhawanipore, two other Bengal seats amid tight security on Thursday

    By PTI

    KOLKATA: By-elections to Bhawanipore seat, where West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee is contesting, and two other constituencies will be held on Thursday amid tight security and measures to tackle rain, officials said.

    The by-elections will be held in south Kolkata’s Bhawanipore, besides Jangipur and Samserganj seats in Murshidabad district.

    A total of 72 companies of central forces have been deployed in the three constituencies, of which 35 were sent to Bhawanipore alone.

    Three personnel will man each of the 287 booths at the 97 polling centres in Bhawanipore, an election official said.

    The Election Commission has asked the Irrigation Department to be on alert owing to inclement weather conditions and all polling stations were directed to keep pumps ready to drain out floodwaters.

    Prohibitory orders under Section 144 of the CrPC have been imposed within 200 metres of the polling centres.

    Kolkata Police, which will be in charge of security outside the booths in Bhawanipore, has already set up pickets across 38 locations in the constituency, a police officer said.

    There will be heavy deployment of forces, including quick response teams, in Bhabanipur.

    Security has also been heightened in Jangipur and Samserganj seats.

    Votes polled on Thursday will be counted on October 3.

    Banerjee will fight BJP’s Priyanka Tibrewal, and CPI(M)’s Srijib Biswas in Bhawanipore.

  • Former Goa CM Luizinho Falerio, 9 others join TMC in Kolkata

    Express News Service

    KOLKATA: Former Goa CM and seven-term Congress MLA Luizinho Falerio on Wednesday joined the TMC in Kolkata along with nine others, including four Congress functionaries, a former MLA from MGP, and a Sahitya Academy award winner. 

    The mega induction ahead of the Goa Assembly elections slated to be held next year took place in presence of TMC’s national general secretary Abhishek Banerjee who announced that the Bengal’s ruling party would enter the fray alone in the western state. 

    Asked if TMC would enter into an alliance with AAP as the time is short, Banerjee said, “In Goa, TMC is going to fight the upcoming election by itself. Hope this puts a rest to all speculations.”

    Pointing out that the TMC is emerging as BJP’s main opposition, the second-in-command in Bengal’s ruling party said, “Our fight is against the BJP and not the Congress. The difference between Congress and TMC is that we have been defeating the BJP for the last seven years. Congress cannot be sitting idle. They have to hit the streets. We will not be cowed down take the BJP head-on.”   

    Falerio tendered his resignation two days ago. “My political journey began 40 years ago from the western part of the state and now it has reached the coastal area in the east,” he said after joining the TMC. The former Goa CM arrived in Kolkata on Tuesday and before joining Bengal’s ruling party, he held an hour-long meeting with CM Mamata Banerjee at the secretariat. 

    Other than Falerio, former MGP MLA Lavoo Mamledar, two Congress general secretaries Yatish Naik and Vijay Vasudev Poi, two Congress secretaries Mario Pinto De Santana and Anand Naik, Sahitya Academy Award winner Shivdas Sonu Naik, former state youth wing vice president of Congress Rabindranath Falerio, environmentalist Rajemdra Shivdaji Kakodkar and prominent lawyer Antonio Monterio Clovis Da Costa joined the TMC. 

    “Today in presence of @MamataOfficial, EX Goa CM & 7-term Congress MLA @luzinhofalerio joined Trinamool Congress. He’d called for a CREDIBLE ALTERNATIVE for Goans & we’re pleased that he has chosen Mamata Banerjee’s leadership to work towards bringing a #NewDawn for Goa,” TMC tweeted.

  • Mamata Banerjee was BJP’s Trojan Horse, must be kept out of opposition platform: Adhir Chowdhury

    By PTI

    KOLKATA: West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee was the Trojan Horse of the BJP and should be kept out of all efforts to cobble up an opposition platform ahead of the 2024 Lok Sabha elections, senior Congress leader Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury alleged on Wednesday.

    In an interview to PTI, Chowdhury said that Banerjee was an “untrustworthy ally”, trying to grow nationally at the cost of the Congress. “Mamata Banerjee has always tried to bite the hand that fed her. She should be kept out of the efforts to form opposition unity. She is the Trojan Horse of the BJP, who can never be trusted in the fight against the BJP,” he said.

    “She is desperately trying to please Prime Minister Narendra Modi and the BJP to protect her family and party leaders from the clutches of the CBI and ED. In return, she is helping the BJP achieve its target of Congress-mukt Bharat (Congress-free India). The TMC is trying to sabotage the opposition unity,” claimed Chowdhury, the state president of the Congress.

    He said that TMC has always grown at the cost of Congress. “First, they did it in Bengal, and now they are trying to do it nationally. The TMC is known for backstabbing its allies,” he claimed. His comments came as the Trinamool Congress has been inducting Congress leaders to bolster its national presence.

    Among the heavyweight Congress leaders who joined the TMC are Sushmita Dev and former Goa chief minister Luizinho Faleiro. “Mamata Banerjee is dreaming of becoming the next prime minister of the country, and Congress seems to be their biggest roadblock. As long as the Congress is there, she can never be the leader of the opposition front, and that is why she is trying to tarnish the image of the Congress and undermine its leadership,” Chowdhury said.

    On an article in the TMC’s mouthpiece that claimed Banerjee and not Congress leader Rahul Gandhi is the opposition face against Modi, he said the party’s leadership was living in a “fool’s paradise”. “Rahul Gandhi has been the most consistent opposition voice against the BJP and the RSS. Congress still commands a 20 per cent vote share in the country. Apart from BJP, can you name any other party with such a vote share? The answer is no,” he said.

    Lauding Gandhi’s leadership, Chowdhury said the BJP and certain opposition parties deliberately try to discredit him as they were “afraid of him”. He said the Congress has never claimed to be the leader of the opposition front as it was the “natural leader”.

    “Without Congress, there can never be any anti-BJP front in the country. The opposition unity is based on shared ideas and policies, and should not be at the cost of the Congress,” he said.

    On the crisis in the party’s Punjab unit, Chowdhury said that he hoped it would be resolved soon. “Congress is a liberal party, and we allow everybody to place their opinions. Amarinder Singh is a respected leader and no one has ever doubted his administrative capabilities. But, the change of guard was necessary due to growing incumbency in Punjab and a large section of MLAs wanted the change,” he said.

  • Heavy security cover for Bhabanipur bypoll, arrangements in place to tackle rain

    By PTI

    KOLKATA: Stringent security arrangements were in place in Bhabanipur with the deployment of 15 companies of central forces ahead of the assembly by-election, a senior police official said on Wednesday.

    Prohibitory orders under Section 144 of the CrPC were also imposed within 200 m of the polling centres where voting will take place on Thursday, he said.

    Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee is the Trinamool Congress candidate in the Bhabanipur by-election in south Kolkata, while the BJP has fielded Priyanka Tibrewal, and CPI(M)’s Srijib Biswas is in the fray.

    Inside each of the 287 booths at 97 polling centres in Bhabanipur, half-a-section — three jawans — of the central forces will be deployed.

    Kolkata Police officers will be in charge of the security outside the booths.

    “Assembly of five or more persons within the periphery of 200 m of any polling premises will not be allowed. A ban has been imposed on anybody carrying stones, weapons, firecrackers and other explosive materials,” the Kolkata Police said in an order.

    Police pickets were set up at 38 locations across Bhabanipur, the official said.

    On the day of the polling, 22 sector mobile, nine HRFS (Heavy Radio Flying Squad) teams, 13 quick response teams (QRTs), nine teams each of the static surveillance team, flying squad, and an equal number of striking forces from surrounding police stations will be deployed, he said.

    Besides, three sub-division striking forces will also be deployed, he added.

    One additional police commissioner along with four joint police commissioners, 14 deputy commissioners and an equal number of assistant commissioners have been deployed for the Bhabanipur by-election, the official said.

    “We have also opened three additional control rooms. There will be arrangements for 141 special vehicles to escort the EVMs,” he said.

    Two strong rooms to store the EVMs have been set up at the Sakhawat Memorial Govt Girls’ High School on Lord Sinha Road, he said.

    All policemen have been asked to wear raincoats and carry umbrellas owing to the inclement weather conditions in the city.

    The Election Commission has also asked the Irrigation Department to be on alert owing to the weather conditions here, the official said.

    “All the polling centres have been asked to keep pumps ready to drain floodwater. We have also asked the Irrigation Department and Disaster Management Department to be ready in case of any emergency because of the heavy rainfall,” he said.

    Strict security arrangements have also been made in Jangipur and Samserganj where assembly polls will be held on Thursday, an election official said.

    There are 363 booths in Jangipur and 329 in Samserganj, he said.

    The votes will be counted on October 3.

  • Heavy security cover for Bhowanipore bypoll, arrangements in place to tackle rain

    By PTI

    KOLKATA: Stringent security arrangements were in place in Bhowanipore with the deployment of 15 companies of central forces ahead of the assembly by-election, a senior police official said on Wednesday.

    Prohibitory orders under Section 144 of the CrPC were also imposed within 200 m of the polling centres where voting will take place on Thursday, he said.

    Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee is the Trinamool Congress candidate in the Bhowanipore by-election in south Kolkata, while the BJP has fielded Priyanka Tibrewal, and CPI(M)’s Srijib Biswas is in the fray.

    Inside each of the 287 booths at 97 polling centres in Bhowanipore, half-a-section — three jawans — of the central forces will be deployed.

    Kolkata Police officers will be in charge of the security outside the booths.

    “Assembly of five or more persons within the periphery of 200 m of any polling premises will not be allowed. A ban has been imposed on anybody carrying stones, weapons, firecrackers and other explosive materials,” the Kolkata Police said in an order.

    Police pickets were set up at 38 locations across Bhowanipore, the official said.

    On the day of the polling, 22 sector mobile, nine HRFS (Heavy Radio Flying Squad) teams, 13 quick response teams (QRTs), nine teams each of the static surveillance team, flying squad, and an equal number of striking forces from surrounding police stations will be deployed, he said.

    Besides, three sub-division striking forces will also be deployed, he added.

    One additional police commissioner along with four joint police commissioners, 14 deputy commissioners and an equal number of assistant commissioners have been deployed for the Bhowanipore by-election, the official said.

    “We have also opened three additional control rooms. There will be arrangements for 141 special vehicles to escort the EVMs,” he said.

    Two strong rooms to store the EVMs have been set up at the Sakhawat Memorial Govt Girls’ High School on Lord Sinha Road, he said.

    All policemen have been asked to wear raincoats and carry umbrellas owing to the inclement weather conditions in the city.

    The Election Commission has also asked the Irrigation Department to be on alert owing to the weather conditions here, the official said.

    “All the polling centres have been asked to keep pumps ready to drain floodwater. We have also asked the Irrigation Department and Disaster Management Department to be ready in case of any emergency because of the heavy rainfall,” he said.

    Strict security arrangements have also been made in Jangipur and Samserganj where assembly polls will be held on Thursday, an election official said.

    There are 363 booths in Jangipur and 329 in Samserganj, he said.

    The votes will be counted on October 3.