News Analysis India

Tag: Mamata Banerjee

  • ‘Man-made flood’: Mamata banerjee hits out at Centre over Ghatal situation 

    By PTI

    GHATAL: West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee hit out at the Centre on Tuesday over flood in the Paschim Medinipur district, stating that the situation was a result of the Centre dilly-dallying the Ghatal Master Plan project.

    After touring the flood-hit areas of Ghatal, Banerjee said she would send a team to New Delhi to pursue the Centre in approving the project.

    “This is a man-made flood. The Centre is not paying heed to our requests for the Ghatal Master Plan. Repeated requests are falling into deaf ears,” she said.

    “I have conducted a survey of the area. I will prepare a report on this,” she added.

    ALSO READ | India to see frequent heat waves, erratic rains, destructive floods and cyclones: Climate report

    As per the Ghatal Master Plan, several projects would be undertaken to desilt the rivers in the area, repair the canals and build a dam on the Shilabati river, among others.

    Banerjee conducted an aerial survey of the areas while returning from Jhargram.

    Her helicopter landed Moyrapukur from where she went to meet people affected by the flood.

    The administrative meeting, which was scheduled to be held at an auditorium in the area, was cancelled because it was inundated in floodwater, officials said.

    At least seven districts in West Bengal were flooded and at least 23 persons killed amid incessant rains last week.

  • Raijor Dal chief Akhil Gogoi says he admires Mamata but turns down TMC’s merger offer

    By Express News Service

    GUWAHATI: Assam activist and MLA Akhil Gogoi said his party Raijor Dal had decided against merging itself with the Trinamool Congress (TMC) as proposed by the latter.

    “We had three rounds of discussions with the TMC and I took part in each one of them. TMC leaders and election strategist Prashant Kishor were there. They had requested me to lead the TMC’s Assam unit as president. However, as we are working towards emerging as a regional force, we never thought of merging our party with another party,” Gogoi told journalists in Guwahati on Monday.

    He said the TMC had made the offer based on Kishor’s survey.

    ALSO READ: Akhil Gogoi to join Opposition ranks? Activist gets call to merge party with Trinamool as Raijor Dal seals deal with Congress in Assam

    “West Bengal’s PWD and Law Minister had told me Prashant Kishore had undertaken a comprehensive survey of Assam. The minister said Kishore had stated Raijor Dal is an emerging political party and if an alternative to BJP has to be worked out, it has to be by taking Raijor Dal and Akhil Gogoi along,” the activist said.

    He said Raijor Dal is a regional party which represents the aspirations of the people of Assam. He said the party discussed the TMC’s offer threadbare and decided against merger.

    “We have decided to send a proposal to the TMC. We want to remain as a regional force and work with the TMC and other regional political parties to secure federalism. The BJP is trying to break the country’s federal structure,” Gogoi alleged.

    He said TMC chief and West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee is the leader that he admires the most among politicians for consistently speaking for federalism.

    “I admire Mamata Banerjee the most among politicians. We will work under her leadership for a federal structure. If the regional forces in the country project her as the prime ministerial candidate in 2024, we will support it,” the activist said.

  • ‘CM doesn’t have audacity’: Mamata accuses Amit Shah of plotting attacks on Abhishek, Trinamool activists in Tripura

    By PTI

    KOLKATA: West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee on Monday alleged that Union Home Minister Amit Shah was responsible for the recent attacks on her nephew and TMC national general secretary Abhishek Banerjee and other party workers, and asserted that she won’t be cowed down by such acts.

    Her allegation comes days after Abhishek Banerjee and TMC student activists were attacked in separate incidents in BJP-ruled Tripura, where the party hopes to expand its base ahead of the 2023 assembly elections.

    “The BJP is running an anarchic government in Tripura, Assam, Uttar Pradesh and wherever they are in power. We condemn the attacks on Abhishek and our party activists in Tripura,” she said after meeting injured TMC workers at state-run SSKM hospital here.

    “Such attacks would not have been possible without the Union home minister’s active support. He is behind these attacks which were carried out in front of Tripura Police as it remained mute spectators. The Tripura chief minister doesn’t have the audacity to order such attacks,” she added.

    At least 14 leaders and workers of the Trinamool Congress (TMC), including those injured in an alleged attack by BJP workers the previous day, were arrested in Tripura’s Khowai district on Sunday for “violating Covid norms”, police said.

    The TMC activists were produced before the CJM court in Khowai, which granted them bail, the party’s Tripura unit spokesperson, Ashish Lal Singh, said.

    TMC national general secretary Abhishek Banerjee, who is West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee’s nephew and the de facto number two in the party, along with other party leaders visited Khowai amid tight security arrangements.

    Police said the 14 TMC members were arrested for violating Covid restrictions by travelling after 7 pm when a night curfew comes into effect.

    Singh said that party leaders including himself, Debangshu Bhattacharya, Tania Poddar, Sudip Raha and Jaya Dutta were among those arrested.

    Raha and Dutta had sustained injuries when their vehicle was allegedly attacked by BJP workers at Ambassa in Dhalai district on Saturday.

    “After the attack, we were returning to Agartala via National Highway 8 when the police stopped our vehicles at Khowai and took us into custody stating that there could be more attacks on us by ‘miscreants’.

    “Indeed, BJP activists had gathered at several places on NH 8 to attack us,” Singh said.

    However, early in the morning, police said the TMC members were arrested for violating Covid restrictions.

    Apart from Banerjee, West Bengal TMC general secretary Kunal Ghosh, the eastern state’s Education Minister Bratya Basu, and Rajya Sabha MP Dola Sen also visited Khowai.

    Banerjee had earlier visited Tripura on August 2, when his convoy was also allegedly attacked by BJP workers.

    After securing bail for the 14 TMC workers, Banerjee returned to Kolkata while the other senior leaders stayed back in Agartala, Singh said.

    Injured party cadre, including Debangshu Bhattacharya, Jaya Dutta and Sudip Raha, were also brought back to the city late on Sunday night for treatment at a state-run city hospital, TMC said in a statement.

    Debangshu Bhattacharya said he will again return to Tripura soon.

    The West Bengal BJP welcomed the police action against the TMC activists, saying the Biplab Deb government is taking appropriate steps against “trouble-mongers”.

    Senior BJP leader and former Tripura governor Tathagata Roy claimed the TMC has no moral right to speak on law and order in the northeastern state as over 140 BJP workers have been killed in West Bengal in the last three years.

    “Does the TMC want to export West Bengal’s political violence to Tripura and fish in troubled waters? Their game plan will never succeed,” Roy told reporters.

    West Bengal BJP chief Dilip Ghosh echoed him, saying, “No one gives any importance to TMC in Tripura.”

    “They don’t have any organisation in the northeastern state. The TMC leadership is itself staging incidents to provoke the police but these will not give them any dividend.”

    However, senior TMC leader Firhad Hakim accused the BJP of “shedding crocodile tears” for democratic values in West Bengal and “carrying out barbaric attacks in Tripura”.

    Strongly criticising Saturday’s attack, TMC leaders had alleged that the incident proved there was “goonda raj” (lawlessness) in Tripura and the BJP has sensed its defeat in the 2023 assembly elections.

    Denying the involvement of its activists in the attack, the BJP claimed that the TMC is a non-factor in Tripura, and the West Bengal’s ruling party is spreading the “virus of political violence” in the northeastern state, where “outsiders” are fomenting trouble.

    Shortly after the incident, BJP and TMC supporters had faced off and staged road blockades 500 m apart on NH 8, forcing Chief Minister Biplab Deb to take a detour to return to Agartala after attending some programmes in Dharmanagar.

    TMC workers led by Subal Bhowmik, a former vice-president of Tripura BJP who recently switched sides, were protesting the alleged ransacking of a TMC party office by saffron party workers in the Batarasi area of Dharmanagar on Friday night.

    The West Bengal CPI(M) has also criticised the attack but also took a dig at the TMC alleging that it had kept mum when Left workers were earlier attacked in BJP-ruled Tripura.

  • Akhil Gogoi to join Opposition ranks? Activist gets call to merge party with Trinamool as Raijor Dal seals deal with Congress in Assam

    By Express News Service

    GUWAHATI:  Activist and Assam MLA Akhil Gogoi on Sunday said an effort was being made to form a confederation of regional parties led by West Bengal CM Mamata Banerjee to try and oust Prime Minister Narendra Modi and BJP from power in the 2024 Lok Sabha polls.

    “Our interest is that all regional political parties in the country should unite, form a confederation, project Mamata Banerjee as its leader, unseat the fascist and communal Narendra Modi and elect a new PM in 2024,” Gogoi, who recently visited Kolkata, told journalists in Guwahati.

    “We hope the confederation of regional parties will be formed as early as possible,” he said.

    The Raijor Dal MLA said the formation of a confederation of regional parties will also help federalism. 

    “The people of Assam have been fighting for federalism and a federal structure from before independence,” Gogoi said.

    He disclosed that West Bengal CM had made an offer to him to join the TMC and merge Raijor Dal with it.

    “Mamata didi had invited me for a discussion. Their proposal was that Raijor Dal and I join the TMC at the earliest and become the TMC’s Assam unit president,” the activist said. He said his party would discuss the proposal and take a call.

    “We thank Mamata didi that she invited us three times. Our leaders already had discussions with TMC leaders,” he added.

    “We aim to form a confederation of regional forces and project Mamata Banerjee as its leader to remove the Narendra Modi government from power in 2024,” he told reporters.

    Gogoi claimed that Banerjee has assured him of the TMC Assam unit president’s post if Raijor Dal is merged with the ruling party in West Bengal.

    He said that three rounds of talks between the TMC and Raijor Dal over the issue have already taken place, with the legislator visiting Kolkata for discussions.

    Assam TMC president Gopinath Das said that the talks were held in the West Bengal capital.

    “There were no talks with Raijor Dal in Assam. Madam (Mamata Banerjee) is pursuing it,” he said.

    The TMC does not have any MLA in the Assam assembly at present.

    Gogoi said that Raijor Dal’s efforts to form a confederation of regional parties is in keeping with its belief in the federal structure and the need to strengthen it.

    The Sibsagar MLA scripted history this year by becoming the first person in Assam to win an assembly election from behind the bars.

    Jailed since December 2019 for his alleged role in violent anti-CAA stir in the Assam, Gogoi walked out free on July 1 this year after a special NIA court cleared him of all charges.

    Meanwhile, Raijor Dal on Sunday held a meeting with Congress on forming an alliance to contest the upcoming Assembly by-polls and decided to jointly protest against “anti-people” policies of the BJP-led Assam government.

    Congress working presidents Rana Goswami and Jakir Hussain Sikdar visited the Raijor Dal’s headquarter in Guwahati to meet Gogoi and other senior leaders.

    “We decided to fight together from a single platform against all anti-people policies of the BJP. We will work together on any social problem,” Goswami told PTI after the meeting held on Sunday evening.

    The Congress wants to have a long-lasting relationship with the Raijor Dal, at least till the 2024 Lok Sabha polls and the 2026 Assam Assembly elections, he added.

    “We also spoke about forming an alliance for the upcoming Assembly byelections. This is just a preliminary meeting and several more rounds will take place. The final decision of an alliance will be taken by the top state and central leaders,” Goswami said.

    By-elections are required in five Assembly seats due to deaths and resignations of legislators.

    Before the Assembly polls held earlier this year, both the parties had called for a united platform of all opposition parties to defeat the BJP, but Raijor Dal expressed its reservation in joining the Grand Alliance due to the presence of the All India United Democratic Front (AIUDF) in it.

    Commenting on Sunday’s meeting, Gogoi said that the Raijor Dal is ready to join the Grand Alliance provided the AIUDF exits the grouping.

    “Like the BJP, the AIUDF is also a communal force. Our stand is clear that we will not be in a platform where AIUDF is present,” he told reporters.

    Gogoi, the MLA of Sivasagar constituency, said that the Congress and the Raijor Dal must be united in order to defeat the BJP in the byelections.

    The Congress, which was in power for 15 years in Assam since 2001, formed a ‘Grand Alliance’ with AIUDF, BPF, CPI(M), CPI, CPI(ML), Anchalik Gana Morcha (AGM), RJD, Adivasi National Party (ANP) and the Jimochayan (Deori) Peoples Party (JPP) to fight the BJP-led NDA in the Assembly election this year.

    In the 126-member Assam Assembly, the BJP bagged 60 seats, while its allies AGP won nine and UPPL six.

    In the opposition camp, the Congress won 29, AIUDF 16, BPF four and CPI(M) got one seat.

    The Raijor Dal secured one seat, Sivasagar, as Gogoi won as an Independent.

    One MLA each of United People’s Party Liberal (UPPL) and Bodoland People’s Front (BPF) has died, while two Congress legislators have resigned to join the BJP.

    Former chief minister Sarbananda Sonowal, who joined the Union Cabinet as a minister, is yet to submit his resignation paper in the Assembly, but is likely to do so in the coming days.

    (With PTI Inputs)

  • Effort being made for Mamata-led confederation of regional parties to oust BJP from Centre: Akhil Gogoi

    Express News Service

    GUWAHATI: Activist and Assam MLA Akhil Gogoi on Sunday said an effort was being made for the formation of a confederation of regional parties in the country to try and oust Prime Minister Narendra Modi and BJP from power.

    “Our interest is that all regional political parties in the country should unite, form a confederation, project (Trinamool Congress president and West Bengal Chief Minister) Mamata Banerjee as its leader, unseat the fascist and communal Narendra Modi and elect a new PM in 2024,” Gogoi, who recently visited Kolkata, told journalists in Guwahati.

    “We hope the confederation of regional parties will be formed as early as possible,” he said.

    The Raijor Dal MLA said the initiative for the formation of the confederation of regional forces was also for federalism. He said an effort was being made towards this perspective.

    ALSO READ | TMC launches new slogan for Mamata Banerjee’s bypoll campaign from Bhowanipore constituency

    “The people of Assam have been fighting for federalism and a federal structure from before independence,” Gogoi said.

    He disclosed that the West Bengal CM had made an offer to him to join the TMC and merge Raijor Dal with it.

    “Mamata didi had invited me for a discussion. Their proposal was that Raijor Dal and I join the TMC at the earliest and become the TMC’s Assam unit president,” the activist said.

    He said his party would discuss the proposal and take a call. 

    “We thank Mamata didi that she invited us three times. Our leaders already had discussions with TMC leaders,” he added. 

    Raijor Dal was floated last year against the backdrop of the protests against controversial Citizenship (Amendment) Act (CAA). Gogoi is the party’s lone MLA. He had won the elections from Sivasagar contesting as an Independent candidate.

    Asom Jatiya Parishad, another regional party floated against the backdrop of the anti-CAA protests, also contested the polls but drew a blank. 

  • TMC launches new slogan for Mamata Banerjee’s bypoll campaign from Bhowanipore constituency

    By Express News Service

    KOLKATA: As Trinamool Congress’ (TMC) slogan ‘Bangla Nijer Meyeke Chay’ (Bengal wants its own daughter) seemed to have hit the right chord with its target audience in the Bengal elections 2021, the ruling party on Sunday rolled out a new catch-line for the by-polls in Bhowanipore Assembly constituency from where Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee will contest.

    Bhowanipore Assembly seat was CM Mamata’s erstwhile constituency before she decided to contest from Nandigram against her former lieutenant and BJP candidate Suvendu Adhikari. The TMC highlighted Mamata as a daughter of Bhowanipore in the new slogan ‘Unnayan Ghore Ghore, Ghorer Meye Bhowanipore’ (Development is everywhere, Bhowanipore has its own daughter). 

    The party is expected to fight the by-elections in seven Assembly constituencies, including Bhowanipore, in September, a month before CM Mamata’s stipulated time of getting elected is over. She lost to Adhikari in Nandigram.

    ALSO READ | 12 TMC activists arrested in Tripura for violating COVID norms

    The slogan was coined by Jai Hind Bahini, a wing of the ruling party to counter BJP ideological link RSS, and it was placed before the party leaders in a meeting on Saturday. 

    “TMC’s state president Subrata Bakshi, minister Firhad Hakim and other functionaries were present in the meeting and the new slogan was approved. Though the date of the by-election is yet to be announced, we are campaigning using the slogan on social media platforms. Besides, hoardings with the new catch-line have already been placed in the constituency from where the chief minister will contest,” said a TMC leader.

    ‘Bengal wants its own daughter’ slogan was a brainchild of I-PAC, the team of election strategist Prashant Kishor who was hired by the TMC after its unimpressive performance in the 2019 general elections.

    ALSO READ | Mamata-led alliance of regional parties in making to unseat BJP from Centre in 2024: Akhil Gogoi

    The slogan was aimed at two purposes—showcasing Mamata as Bengal’s very own daughter and sharpening TMC’s campaign branding the BJP as a party of outsiders.

    Kartic Banerjee, the president of Jai Hind Bahini, said, “Didi (Mamata) is Bhowanipore’s daughter. She returned to her old constituency. We are kicking off the campaign for the by-election with the new slogan.”

    Mamata was elected from Bhowanipore in 2011 and 2016 Assembly elections. TMC’s candidate Shovandeb Chattopadhyay was elected with a margin of more than 28,000 votes and he resigned on May 21 to pave the way for Mamata to return to her fortress.

  • CPI(M) central committee slams Bengal members for equating Modi with Didi during Assembly polls

    By Express News Service

    KOLKATA: Bengal CPI(M) leaders faced strong criticism by the party functionaries from other states over the issue of the tactical line that was adopted in the recent Assembly elections in the state. 

    During the first day of the organisation’s three-day central committee meeting which started from Friday virtually, the panel members from West Bengal were held responsible for the party’s never-seen-before disastrous performance failing to win a single seat out of 294.

    The members from states such as Andhra Pradesh, Kerala, and Telangana of the party’s second-highest body said the tactical line of equating Modi with Didi (Mamata) was a serious mistake that damaged the party’s electoral prospects.

    “The Bengal leaders did not portray the BJP as its prime foe in the Assembly elections. Instead, they equated the BJP with the TMC. The Bengal leadership erred in alleging that the TMC and the BJP were working with the understanding between themselves which resulted in confusion among the party supporters and the vote-bank that had been with the CPI(M),” a central committee member alleged during Friday’s virtual meeting.

    ALSO READ | Bengal CM Mamata Banerjee says mulling reopening schools, colleges after Durga Puja vacation

    The first day’s meeting was focused on the analysis of Assembly election results in five states/UT — West Bengal, Assam, Kerala, Puducherry, and Tamil Nadu.

    The leaders from Bengal, however, said they had followed the strategy adopted in the last party congress on the line of uniting democratic and secular forces. “Our strategy of equating the TMC with the BJP might be a wrong decision. But it cannot be identified as the only reason for the party’s debacle in the state. Our slogan of Beejamool to portray the TMC and BJP as two sides of the same coin might not go down well. We attacked both the parties with the same intensity without identifying which one was the prime enemy,” said a CPI(M) leader in Kolkata.        

    The leader also pointed out that many leaders in other states did not accept CPI(M)’s coalition with the  Congress in the Assembly elections. “We shared seats with the Congress in 2016 Assembly elections ignoring the central leadership’s objection. In the Hyderabad party congress in 2018, the party approved a coalition with other secular parties, including Congress. We followed the same tactical line,” the leader said.   

    CPI(M)’s state secretary Suryakanta Mishra recently acknowledged the mistake of equating the BJP with the TMC and made it clear that opposing the saffron camp would be the primary task for the party from now.

  • CM Mamata protests move to place ‘anti-people’ Electricity Bill in Parliament in letter to PM Modi

    By PTI

    KOLKATA: Protesting the Centre’s move to place the “anti-people” Electricity (Amendment) Bill, 2020 in Parliament, West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee on Saturday shot a letter to Prime Minister Narendra Modi, urging him to refrain from proceeding with the legislation.

    She requested the PM “to ensure that a broad-based and transparent dialogue on the subject is opened up at the earliest”.

    “I write this letter to re-lodge my protest against the Union Government’s fresh move to place the much-criticised Electricity (Amendment) Bill 2020, in Parliament.

    “It was proposed to be moved last year, but many of us had underlined the anti-people aspects of the draft legislation, and at least I had detailed out all the salient pitfalls of the Bill in a letter to you on June 12, 2020,” she wrote.

    Banerjee had written to Modi on June 12 last year, expressing outrage over the draft Electricity (Amendment) Bill 2020, which, she, said, was an attempt by the Centre to “destroy” the country’s federal structure.

    She claimed that the bill aims to make the entire state electricity grid an appendage of the National Grid.

    “I am stunned to hear that the Bill is coming back without any consideration for our reservations, and in fact with some graver anti-people features this time,” she added.

  • Bengal post-poll violence: BJP to provide financial aid to women victims

    Express News Service

    KOLKATA: The BJP’s women wing in Bengal has initiated a move to give financial aid to the women victims of post-poll violence. 

    The Mohila Morcha of the party is offering financial support ranging from Rs 5,000 to Rs 30,000 which is said to be a politically calculated decision to send a message to the women voters, who form around 49% of the total electorates.

    The BJP is armed with the report submitted by the committee of the National Human Rights Commission (NHRC) that said many women and minor girls were sexually assaulted in the violence allegedly unleashed by the ruling party. The saffron party is now making a bid to make an impression that it is an outfit that cares for women.

    ALSO READ | Bengal post-poll violence: CBI probe into serious crimes sought in HC

    Agnimitra Paul, the president of BJP’s women wing in West Bengal, alleged the TMC workers are threatening the victims to withdraw their complaints. “We are with those who faced the terror of violence. Many of their families are yet to return home and start their regular activities to earn a basic livelihood. We are providing them all support including giving financial aid,” she said.

    BJP’s Bengal election results analysis revealed that Mamata managed to get the support of women electorates en bloc which was reflected in her party’s stupendous performance. “The health insurance scheme for all ahead of the Assembly elections, a brainchild of Mamata, proved to be a masterstroke. The insurance card was issued in the name of a woman head of a family. The unique decision delivered a message among the women electorates using Mamata’s image,” said a senior BJP leader.

    The leader said that retaining the women voters in the party’s fold by offering them financial help is the prime object. “Besides, this venture is also aimed at building up the party’s image caring women’s issues. The women wing has been asked to stand beside the women on different issues aiming at long-term dividends. Our goal is not only retaining our women vote bank but also taking those, who voted for the TMC, into confidence,” the leader added.

  • Bengal CM Mamata Banerjee says mulling reopening schools, colleges after Durga Puja vacation

    By PTI

    KOLKATA: West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee on Thursday said her government is weighing options for reopening schools and colleges on alternate days after the Durga Puja vacation in November.

    Educational institutions have been closed in the state since the outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic in March last year.

    “However, nothing has been finalised just yet,” Banerjee told reporters following a meeting of the Global Advisory Board (GAB), headed by Nobel laureate Abhijit Vinayak Banerjee, at the state secretariat.

    The economist is in West Bengal to discuss Covid strategies.

    Several educationists, heads of academic institutions and doctors hailed Banerjee and her government’s approach towards reopening schools.

    Headmaster of state-run higher secondary school Jadavpur Vidyapith, Parimal Bhattacharya, told PTI if schools resume, physical classes can be held on alternate days adhering to Covid protocols.

    “Teachers and students will be more than willing I think. Though online classes are taking place in our institution at both secondary and higher secondary levels, students have been reported to be restive and depressed staying indoors,” Bhattacharya said.

    Office-bearer of Paschimbanga Sikshak Samity, Naba Kumar Karmakar, said it had recently proposed to the state government if in-campus higher classes can resume by August-end, in phases.

    “We think online education cannot be the alternative to campus classes. Many students cannot afford smart phones or laptops, which are necessary for virtual learning. So restarting physical classes is the only alternative,” he said.

    Professor Suranjan Das, Vice-Chancellor of Jadavpur University, said students grow up attending classes inside the campus, participating in interactive sessions and these help them in evolving.

    “If classes can resume with necessary safety measures, then that should be welcomed,” he said.

    The medical fraternity described the chief minister’s statement as a sign of positive thinking, which can go a long way in easing stress on children.

    “We have been trying to protect our children from the pandemic, but at the same time, we also must think about how much their education has been affected since the outbreak of the pandemic,” eminent physician Dr Kunal Sarkar said.

    Rajib Ghosh, member of the Guardians Forum of a reputed private school, however, said, “It has to be seen that the schools (especially private ones) don’t shift the entire responsibility concerning Covid safety protocols to the guardians.”

    Ghosh, father of a girl who is in Class 5, said the threats of a possible third wave should also be factored in.