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Tag: Mamata Banerjee

  • Centre did not let me to go to Rome global peace meet out of ‘jealousy’: Bengal CM Mamata Banerjee

    By PTI

    KOLKATA: West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee on Saturday said the Centre had disallowed her attendance at a global peace meet in Rome, where she was the only invitee from the country, “out of jealousy”.

    The ministry of external affairs in a one-line communique, which reached the secretariat during the day said the “event is not commensurate for (attendance at) the level of chief minister,” a secretariat official said.

    The Trinamool Congress supremo said at an election meeting at Bhabanipur where she is contesting by-polls to be held on September 30, that she had been invited to Rome in the first week of October to attend a global peace meeting in which the Pope, other religious heads, dignitaries from various countries are slated to attend, where she would have been the only Indian and “only Hindu lady.”

    However, she claimed a “jealous BJP did not allow that, which only lowered the esteem for India in the outside world”.

    Banerjee contrasted her trip’s disallowance by the central government with Prime Minister Narendra Modi going ahead with his trip to the US “with special permission”, despite the World Health Organisation not approving Covaccine, with which the PM had been vaccinated.

    She also hit out at the BJP government for the death of two protestors in police firing during an eviction drive against settlers allegedly on government in Darra ng.

    “There was inhuman torture in Assam in the name of eviction. There was firing and bloodshed of innocent people but no NHRC team visited that state. NHRC teams visits only Bengal frequently. It is a matter of shame,” she said.

    Alleging that “goonda Raj” prevails in BJP-ruled Assam, Tripura and Uttar Pradesh, Banerjee said TMC delegations are prevented, harassed and come under attack in those states.

    “We don’t say anything about BJP leaders who keep visiting and peddling falsehood in West Bengal as free movement is everyone’s democratic right,” she said.

    Banerjee flagged the floating of bodies of alleged COVID-19 victims in the Ganges as a failure of the UP government and pointed to selective deletion of names of tens of lakhs of people in the exercise to create a National Register of Citizens in Assam.

    “It (deletion of names in the final NRC) shows the anti-people nature of BJP. In contrast we have already said there will be no NRC in Bengal,” the TMC supremo said.

    She also accused the opposition BJP of fomenting trouble in Bhabanipur, where she is a candidate in the by-poll.

    “BJP only carries on ‘goondagiri’ (violent or thuggish behaviour), peddles false propaganda. Please foil their game plan,” Banerjee said.

    Listing the acheivements of the TMC government, the chief minister claimed that Bengal occupies number one position in respect of vaccination against COVID-19 and in the education sector.

    The TMC supremo said no processions are being taken out by her party in the campaigning in Bhabanipur as directed by the Election Commission in an oblique hint that the BJP candidate Priyanka Tibrewal is not adhering to the norms.

    She also criticised the spike in fuel prices and sale of PSUs and urged the people to defeat the “anti-people and pro-rich BJP”.

  • Talibani BJP can’t run India’: Mamata after Centre denies her nod to visit Italy next month

    Express News Service

    KOLKATA: Centre has denied permission to Bengal CM Mamata Banerjee to participate in the world peace conference to be held in Italy in October.  The CM on Saturday said the denial was out of “jealousy”. 

    While addressing a rally in Bhowanipore, from where she is contesting in the by-election, Mamata said she was invited as a representative from Asia to visit Italy but the BJP-led central government stopped her from going to that country. 

    “They (BJP) talk about peace. But I have been barred from participating in a peace conference. I was invited as a representative from Asia. But the Centre denied permission citing political grounds and saying it wasn’t right for the CM to attend this programme. It is total jealousy,” said Mamata at a rally at Shakespeare Sarani in Bhowanipore. 

    The CM slammed the saffron camp labelling it as “Talibani BJP”. Urging the electorates to defeat BJP in the by-election, she said, “You will not be able to stop me. Bhowanipore will show the path to derail the BJP-led central government and rest of the country will follow it. Talibani BJP cannot run India.”

    ALSO READ | Bhowanipore bypolls: Mamata is nervous, says Hardeep Singh Puri in Bengal

    The Union Ministry of External Affairs denied Mamata permission to attend the event in Italy as the event is not commensurate in status for participation by the chief minister of a state. 

    Referring to Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s US visit, Mamata said she was not eager to visit foreign countries. “You (Modi) are visiting a foreign country. I have no issue regarding it because a PM has to visit overseas countries for the sake of the country’s interest. But why my visit to Italy has been barred? You are totally jealous,” she asked. 

    Hitting out at BJP’s Hindutva rhetoric, Mamata said the peace conference will be attended by representatives from Muslim and Christian communities. “The BJP talks about Hindutva and seek votes. I would have been the face of the Hindu community in the peace conference. But they did not allow me to participate in the event,” she asked.      

    Earlier, the Italian government had requested Mamata not to come with any delegates. She then proposed clearance for the industry delegation and requested the Centre for permission which has been denied.

  • Lakhs of crores of rupees donated to PM-CARES, where is that money, asks Bengal CM Mamata Banerjee

    By PTI

    KOLKATA: Slamming the Centre over its assertion that PM-CARES was not a government fund, West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee on Friday stated that complete transparency should be maintained in the transactions made with the money collected by the trust.

    The PM-CARES FUND bears our national emblem, but the central government has insisted that it is not a government fund, “leaving us all confused”, the CM said, tongue in cheek.

    “The Chief Minister Relief Fund is regularly audited. PM CARES FUND was formed for COVID-19, but yesterday they (Centre) told the court that it is not a government fund.  Government employees have donated money there, funds through CSR have been donated there, lakhs of crores of rupees have been donated. So where is that money?” she fumed.

    The Centre has informed the Delhi High Court that the PM CARES Fund is not a government fund as donations to it do not go to the Consolidated Fund of India, and no third party information can be parted with irrespective of its status under the Constitution and the Right to Information (RTI) Act.

    An affidavit filed by an Under-Secretary at the Prime Minister’s Office (PMO), who is discharging his functions in the PM Cares Trust on honorary basis, has said that the trust functions with transparency and its funds are audited by an auditor — a chartered accountant drawn from the panel prepared by the Comptroller and Auditor General of India.

    Banerjee, during her campaign in bypoll-bound Bhabanipur constituency, also hit out at the BJP-led Union government over the Pegagus snooping scandal, claiming that the country’s opposition leaders were being spied on.

    “It has been proven that the Union government snoops on opposition leaders; our phones are tapped. The Centre bought this software from Israel to snoop on us. No one can speak out against them. If you speak out, efforts will be made to intimidate you by using (central) agencies,” she claimed.

    The TMC boss further criticised the state unit of the saffron party for “carrying out a demonstration” near her residence on Thursday with the body of a BJP worker.

    “Yesterday, BJP leaders staged a protest outside my residence over the death of a BJP worker. That BJP worker died a natural death, and they are claiming that he died during violence. We won’t tolerate such hooliganism. If they think they can protest outside my residence with a dead body, we, too, can do the same outside their homes with the carcass of a dog.

    “We can teach them a lesson in the language they understand,” she said.

    The CM maintained that her fight against the “demonic BJP” would continue till it is ousted from power, and after winning the Bhabanipur by-poll, the party would take its battle to other states.

    Banerjee, who is contesting the September 30 by-poll from the Bhabanipur seat to retain her chief minister’s chair, claimed that destiny had this plan in store for her.

    “People want me to be a representative from this seat and continue as the state’s chief minister,” said the feisty TMC leader, who lost to BJP’s Suvendu Adhikari in Nandigram during the April-May Assembly polls.

    Banerjee has to get elected to legislature by November 5, in conformity with the constitutional provisions, to continue as the chief minister.

    Shortly after the poll results were announced in May, state cabinet minister and TMC MLA from Bhabanipur Sovandeb Chattopadhyay vacated the seat to facilitate her return to the assembly from there.

    A resident of Bhabanipur, Banerjee had won the seat twice in 2011 and 2016 but shifted to Nandigram, where the anti-farmland acquisition movement against the Left Front government had transformed her into a major political force in the volatile state, to dare her former protege and now BJP leader Suvendu Adhikari on his home turf.

    Though she powered the TMC to a resounding win for a third straight term in office, the TMC boss failed to register victory in Nandigram.

    The CM has claimed that a conspiracy was hatched to hurt her and defeat her in Nandigram.

    She had suffered an injury on a leg during electioneering in the constituency.

    “If I speak about the conspiracy that was hatched to injure me and kill me, all of you will be shocked. I had to move around in a wheelchair for 1.5 months. But that did not stop me from hitting the campaign trail,” she said.

    The TMC supremo is pitted against BJP’s Priyanka Tibrewal and Left Front’s Srijib Biswas in Bhabanipur.

    The Congress did not field any candidate for the bypoll.

  • ‘No constitutional exigency elsewhere?’ HC questions EC for expediting Bhowanipore bypoll

    Express News Service

    KOLKATA: The Calcutta High Court on Friday refused to take on record the affidavit filed by the Election Commission in a Public Interest Litigation (PIL) petition challenging the poll panel’s decision to prioritize the by-elections in the Bhowanipore Assembly constituency, from where CM Mamata Banerjee is contesting, citing constitutional exigency.

    A division bench comprising Acting Chief Justice Rajesh Bindal and justice Rajarshi Bharadwaj came down heavily on the Commission for filing the affidavit in incorrect format and asked if there was no constitutional exigency in other constituencies where a by-election is pending? 

    On September 6, the Commission had issued a notification announcing the by-election on September 30 underscoring the exigency and special request received from the chief secretary of the state government. 

    ALSO READ | Bhowanipore bypolls: Mamata is nervous, says Hardeep Singh Puri in Bengal

    In the letter to the Commission, the chief secretary had written that there would be a constitutional crisis if the by-elections in Bhowanipore are not held on an urgent basis.      

    “Nothing is mentioned in the affidavit. Who filed it? We cannot take this on record,” remarked Bindal. 

    Bikash Ranjan Bhattacharya, the lawyer represented the petitioner of the PIL, pointed out to the court that vital averments had not been affirmed in the affidavit. “Is this kind of affidavit that the highest constitutional authority should submit?” he asked. 

    After witnessing the recent high-octane Assembly elections, Bengal is all set to experience another high-voltage battle between the CM Mamata and her contestant fielded by the BJP. While kicking off her poll campaign on Wednesday, Mamata made it clear that she would not leave any stone unturned to win the election. Urging voters to exercise their franchise in favour of her, she had said, “Every single vote is important to me. If you do not vote me, you not be able to see me as the chief minister.” 

    In Bhowanipore, more than 40% of the electorates are non-Bengali on which the BJP is banking. Muslims form only a little more than 5% of the total electorates, which is said to be Mamata’s vote bank.

  • Vote for TMC if you want me to continue as CM: Mamata Banerjee asks people

    By PTI

    KOLKATA: Asserting that there is no dearth of leaders in her party who can become the chief minister of West Bengal, Trinamool Congress candidate Mamata Banerjee on Thursday urged people to vote for her in the Bhabanipur by-poll if they want her to continue at the helm of the state government.

    Speaking at a public meeting for the September 30 by-election, the state chief minister asked the people of the Bhabanipur assembly constituency in south Kolkata to cast their votes even if it rains on the day of polling.

    Heavy rain has been occurring in the state for the last four months, Banerjee said.

    “My party has the majority. There is no dearth of people who can become the chief minister. But if you want me to continue, bless me with your votes…Even if cyclone or tornado comes, come and cast your vote,” she said addressing the gathering.

    The chief minister said allegations made by the BJP that she does not allow holding of Durga Puja or Laxmi puja in West Bengal were not true.

    “I want to ask the BJP to answer before asking for votes in Bhabanipur, why Section 144 (CrPC) has been imposed in Tripura, imposing restrictions on Durga puja, Navratri, Laxmi Puja celebrations there,” she said, asserting that she never does such things.

    The Tripura government recently informed the high court there that prohibitory order under Section 144 CrPC has been imposed in the Sadar subdivision of West Tripura district, under which state capital Agartala falls, from September 21 till November 4 as part of the precautionary measure to prevent the third wave of the pandemic.

    The TMC postponed its proposed rally led by party general secretary Abhishek Banerjee after the court denied permission to hold it.

    The TMC supremo, who has been visiting temples, gurdwaras and mosques within the constituency since filing nomination papers for Bhabanipur, which has a mixed linguistic and religious demography, began her campaign on Thursday evening by offering obeisance at the Jain temple in Chakraberia.

    “India starts from Bhabanipur as B stands for Bhabanipur, Bharat Mata and Bharat Varsh,” she said.

    Stating that she had faced physical attacks while fighting the CPI(M) during its three-decade-long rule, Banerjee said she was injured during her campaign at Nandigram during the assembly election held earlier this year and was forced to canvass for the party on a wheelchair for one-and-a-half months.

    Banerjee had lost the election in Nandigram by a narrow margin to her former aide Suvendu Adhikari of the BJP, who is now the leader of the opposition in the West Bengal assembly.

    The Nandigram election is however subject to an ongoing court challenge.

    The Bhabanipur seat was vacated by winning MLA Sobhandeb Chattopadhyay to make way for his party leader.

    At the meeting, Banerjee said she had gone to fight from Nandigram in support of farmers who were demanding repeal of three farm laws enacted by the Centre.

    She said that it is good that she has got the opportunity to fight from Bhabanipur and that the chief minister will be from this constituency only.

    Referring to top national-level saffron party leaders campaigning in West Bengal during the eight-phase assembly elections, she said the BJP should remember that “daily passengers” will not help win elections here.

    “Nobody could think Trinamool Congress would win with such a huge margin, but I had a hunch of winning 221 seats,” she said, claiming that the number will soon be achieved with some of the BJP fence-sitters will join the ruling party.

    Banerjee said more than 99 per cent of the people of Bhabanipur have been vaccinated against Covid-19, while over 80 per cent of the eligible people of the entire city have been inoculated.

    She said one should look at the number of Covid-related deaths in BJP-ruled Uttar Pradesh and Gujarat.

    “Some say there are no correct figures (of coronavirus deaths) in Gujarat and its chief minister has been changed,” the TMC boss said, without elaborating on it.

    She alleged that bodies of many people who died of Covid were dumped in the river Ganga in Uttar Pradesh, claiming that her government fished out those bodies in Malda and cremated them with due respect.

    “We hope that the predicted third wave (of the pandemic) does not strike, but our preparations to deal with it are complete,” Banerjee said.

  • Big leader from BJP will join TMC in a few days, says Bengal Minister Firhad Hakim

    By PTI

    KOLKATA: Senior Trinamool Congress leader Firhad Hakim Thursday said a “big leader from BJP” is set to join TMC in a few days and claimed that the saffron party will disintegrate in the state.

    Hakim, who is on the campaign trail for TMC supremo and West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee for the September 30 Bhabanipur by-poll, said the party is not inducing BJP leaders indiscriminately into its fold.

    Trinamool Congress is checking the antecedents, track record and image of each BJP leader who has made overtures to TMC leaders and is deciding on his/her appeal after due deliberation, Hakim, who is also a senior minister in Banerjee’s cabinet, said.

    The state has witnessed several switch overs to TMC from BJP since the April-May state poll in which it stormed back to power under Banerjee.

    “The process of returning has only started,” was Hakim’s cryptic reply when he was asked by reporters whether there would be more cross overs to TMC after the recent one by former union minister Babul Supriyo and BJP national vice-president Mukul Roy earlier.

    “Wait for a few more days. A big time BJP leader is all set to join our party. BJP will disintegrate in West Bengal,” he said but did not elaborate.

    Reacting to Hakim’s comments, BJP spokesman Shamik Bhattacharya said “TMC should think about ethics and ideology before trying to poach BJP leaders.

    “Those not interested in power and position, but love BJP will not leave,” he asserted.

    Newly appointed BJP state president Sumit Majumder appealed to disgruntled party leaders to discuss their grievances with their seniors and assured that he will be ever attentive to address their issues.

    “Don’t take any decision which will weaken the fight for people’s democratic rights in Bengal,” he appealed.

    Besides Babul Supriyo and Mukul Roy three BJP MLAs have also joined TMC.

  • Bhowanipore bypolls: Mamata is nervous, says Hardeep Singh Puri in Bengal

    By ANI

    KOLKATA: Union Minister for Petroleum and Natural Gas Hardeep Singh Puri on Thursday said West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee is nervous ahead of Bhowanipore bypoll.

    “Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee is quite nervous. She said she cannot remain chief minister if people do not vote for her. Why is the bypoll is happening? It is because she lost in Nandigram against Suvendu Adhikari,” Puri told ANI.

    “She is asking about fuel prices. She must know that in the GST Council meeting the states including West Bengal decided to keep petrol-diesel away from the purview of GST. The centre only takes Rs 32 per litre. But the state government charges 40 per cent VAT. July onwards, the West Bengal government has raised the price of petrol by Rs 3.51 per litre. They want to generate revenue from it. She wants to become a national leader but she needs to first win the bypolls. Further, time will tell whether Congress or others accept her leadership,” he added.

    Asked about Banerjee’s outsider remark, Puri said, “Priyanka ji is an outstanding candidate with excellent credentials. I have come here as a BJP Karyakarta. It is one country. You can go and contest from anywhere…campaign anywhere.”

    Banerjee on Wednesday said that outsiders are coming for campaigning for the bypolls like daily passengers as they did before the state assembly polls.

    Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) has fielded Priyanka Tibrewal in Bhabanipur against Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee fr the upcoming bypoll.

    The Bhabanipur assembly seat was vacated by the West Bengal Agriculture Minister Sobhandeb Chattopadhyay in May, making way for West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee to contest from Bhabanipur seat.

    Bypolls will be held in Bhabanipur on September 30 and results will be declared by October 3.  

  • Contesting from Bhabanipur is my destiny, BJP bringing in outsiders to create disturbances: Mamata Banerjee

    Mamata Banerjee said contesting from Bhabanipur is her destiny and slammed BJP for bringing in outsiders to West Bengal.

  • ‘Won’t be able to continue as CM If…’ Mamata seeks every single vote in Bhowanipore

    Express News Service

    KOLKATA: Kicking off her by-election campaign in Bhowanipore, Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee on Wednesday urged the electorates to vote for her saying otherwise she would not be able to continue as the chief minister of the state. 

    “A single vote is very important to me. If you don’t cast your vote thinking that Didi will surely win this election, it will be a major mistake. If there is heavy rain or storm, don’t sit idle at home…cast your vote. Otherwise, I will not able to continue as the chief minister. You will get another new chief minister,” said Mamata while addressing a rally at Ekbalpore. The tone and tenor of Mamata’s appeal is said to be a reflection of his desperation to win the by-election. Even after Trinamool Congress secured a thumping majority in the recent Assembly elections by bagging 213 out of 292 seats, Mamata appealed to get every single vote in her favour. 

    The BJP, which has emerged as Mamata’s contender in Bhowanipore, did not miss the opportunity to highlight the chief minister’s “appeal for single vote” for its political gain. “The tide in Bhowanipore is not exactly what Mamata Banerjee had expected. It seems she has sensed that the going is getting tougher for her as polling day draws closer. She has now been forced to come out and campaign. But the silence of the voters is where the real story lies,” tweeted BJP’s IT cell chief Amit Malviya. 

    Reiterating the conspiracy theory against her citing the Nandigram mishap in which she was injured, Mamata said, “The incident was aimed to kill her. I got sandwiched between the door of my vehicle and front seat. They targeted my throat. But fortune favoured me and my life was saved as I received injuries on my leg. I still suffer from pain.” 

    The chief minister had carried out her month-long poll campaign on a wheelchair with her plastered left feet and the BJP had alleged it was to draw the sympathy of the voters of Bengal.     

    Mamata, while addressing rallies, had not missed the opportunities to narrate her plight displaying her injured feet. 

    Meanwhile, BJP’s newly appointed West Bengal state president Sukanta Majumdar and other functionaries were not allegedly allowed by police to campaign for the by-election in the Bhowanipore Assembly constituency near Mamata Banerjee’s residence on Wednesday. 

    The BJP alleged they were waylaid on Harish Chatterjee Road which leads to the residence of the chief minister who contesting in the by-poll to retain her chief ministerial tenure. Police said the BP functionaries did not have vaccination certificates and tried to breach the high-security zone.

  • BJP not to contest Bengal Rajya Sabha bypoll, says focus on Bhowanipore byelection

    Express News Service

    KOLKATA: The West Bengal chapter of the BJP on Monday decided not to contest the Rajya Sabha by-election scheduled to be held on October 4 saying the “outcome is predetermined”. 

    The party said it is now focused on the by-election in Bhowanipore, where Mamata Banerjee is contesting, to make sure ‘’unelected CM’’ to be ‘’unelected’’ once again.

    The ruling TMC has nominated Sushmita Dev, who recently defected from the Congress, for the by-poll which was necessitated after TMC leader Manas Bhunia vacated the seat of the upper house of the Parliament after winning the recent Assembly elections. The TMC controls 11 of 16 Rajya Sabha seats from Bengal while Congress has two and CPI(M) one.  

    “BJP will not nominate any candidate for Rajya Sabha bypoll due in West Bengal. The outcome is predetermined. Our focus is to make sure the unelected CM to be unelected once again. Jai Ma Kali,” tweeted Suvendu Adhikari, the Leader of Opposition in the Assembly, who defeated Mamata in Nandigram in the recent Assembly election. 

    ALSO READ | Bhowanipore bypoll: Won’t let India become Taliban or Pakistan, says Mamata

    Mamata decided to contest in her erstwhile Bhowanipore Assembly constituency to retain her chief ministerial berth as the deadline to continue as the CM of the state ends on November 5. 

    The BJP’s West Bengal unit did not contest the Rajya Sabha by-election on August 9 which paved the way for TMC nominee and former bureaucrat Jawahar Sircar to be elected unopposed. 

    A source in the saffron camp said the decision not to contest in the Rajya Sabha by-election was taken following a nod from the high command. “There is no point of contesting in the by-election. Now our main goal is the Bhowanipore by-poll. We will go all out to reduce the winning margin of TMC candidate Sovandeb Chattopadhyay which was around 28,000 in the recent Assembly elections. If we can meet our target, it will deliver a message that Mamata Banerjee’s popularity is downwards even after her party’s impressive performance in the Assembly elections,” said a BJP leader. 

    Bhowanipore constituency has 40% electorates who do not speak Bengali. The BJP is banking on this particular set of voters to challenge TMC’s winning margin in the upcoming by-election.