News Analysis India

Tag: Mamata Banerjee

  • Mamata calls on Sonia, describes meeting as ‘positive’

    By PTI
    NEW DELHI: West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee met Congress president Sonia Gandhi at her residence on Wednesday as part of her series of outreach meetings in the national capital.

    Former Congress chief Rahul Gandhi was also present at the meeting at 10, Janpath, the residence of Sonia Gandhi.

    Describing the meeting as “positive”, Banerjee said she discussed the political situation in the country as well as opposition unity with the Gandhis.

    “It was a very good meeting,” the Trinamool Congress (TMC) supremo told reporters after the deliberations that lasted for around 45 minutes, adding that she is expecting positive results in the future.

    “Soniaji had invited me for a cup of tea. We discussed the political situation in the country. We also discussed the issue of opposition unity,” she said.

    “To defeat the BJP, all of us have to come together and work together,” Banerjee said on opposition unity. She said she also discussed the Pegasus spyware issue with the Congress chief.

    However, Banerjee’s party was not present at a meeting of opposition leaders, which was attended by Rahul Gandhi.

    Later, at a briefing by the opposition leaders at Vijay Chowk, the representatives of the TMC were not present.

    Taking on the government over the Pegasus snooping controversy, Banerjee said, “Why is the government not replying on the Pegasus issue? If there is no discussion in the Lok Sabha and the Rajya Sabha (on Pegasus), where will this discussion be held? Discussions are held in Parliament, not at tea stalls.”

    The TMC supremo has been reaching out to various opposition leaders in a bid to bring together the non-BJP forces ahead of the 2024 Lok Sabha polls.

  • Opposition bonhomie on display in Parliament over Pegasus row

    Express News Service
    NEW DELHI: As talks of a united Opposition taking on the Modi government fueled by West Bengal CM Mamata Banerjee, the Opposition’s “unity” is on display in the Parliament during the ongoing monsoon session. 

    The Opposition parties are holding joint strategy meetings and backchannel talks and moving joint adjournment motions in both the Houses to corner the Center over the Pegasus spyware row.

    Many Opposition leaders said that on the Pegasus issue, it will be a “united Opposition” Vs Modi government and they will continue with their demands for discussion on the matter in presence of the Prime minister or Home Minister and a probe by a Supreme Court-monitored committee.

    Congress leader Rahul Gandhi, who does not generally attend Opposition meetings, has been in attendance for strategy meetings in the Parliament. AAP had otherwise not been part of joint strategy meetings and is also party to it on this issue.           

    It is also part of the strategy that “all the like-minded parties” will give adjournment motions on the issue in both the Houses. The floor leaders of the Opposition parties have been meeting almost every day to chalk out a strategy.

    Leaders from 14 Opposition parties met Wednesday to discuss the future strategy to push the government for discussion on Pegasus row. The meeting of leaders from both the Houses was held in the office of Leader of Opposition in Rajya Sabha Mallikarjun Kharge in the Parliament.

    ALSO READ | Parliamentary panel meeting to question govt officials on Pegasus postponed due to lack of quorum

    “Sitting with the entire Opposition is extremely humbling. Amazing experience, wisdom and insight in everyone present,” Rahul tweeted after the meeting.

    The parties which attended the meeting are the Congress, DMK, SP, CPI-M, CPI, NC, NCP, Shiv Sena, RJD, AAP, IUML, RSP, KCM, and the VCK. The TMC skipped the meeting on the grounds that Banerjee was meeting party MPs during the time.  

    Elamaram Kareem, CPI(M) floor leader in Rajya Sabha, said that the Opposition has taken a united stand on the Pegasus matter. “We stand together on this and on other major issues like repeal of farm laws and price rise. We have asked the Government to hold a formal meeting with the Opposition but there has been no response to ease the tension. They (Centre) are bulldozing bills without any discussion,” Kareem told The New Indian Express.  

    RJD Rajya Sabha MP Manoj Kumar Jha said that the Opposition is united keeping in mind the scale of the issue as it has encompassed everyone — judges, politicians, bureaucrats, ministers, and journalists.

    What has united the Opposition parties this time is Pegasus spyware allegedly being used by the Centre to keep an eye on prominent politicians, judges, ministers, journalists, and others. The issue has been rocking the Parliament since it convened on July 19.   

  • I’ve no problem if someone else leads: Mamata Banerjee on Opposition unity

    By PTI
    NEW DELHI: West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee on Wednesday remained ambivalent on being the face of the Opposition to take on the BJP, saying it will depend on the situation.

    “I want to help all the opposition parties to bell the cat. I don’t want to be a leader, but a simple cadre,” she said on the leadership issue.

    “I am not a political astrologer. It depends on the situation, structure. I have no problem if someone else leads. When the matter is discussed we can decide. I cannot impose,” Banerjee told a select group of reporters here when asked if she would be the face of the Opposition to take.

    On the Pegasus row, she said the situation was more serious than Emergency and accused the Centre of being unresponsive.

    “Everywhere they are sending ED, IT for raids. Here there is no response. In a democracy, the government has to respond.

    “The situation is very serious, it’s more serious than the emergency,” the Trinamool Congress chief said.

    On Tuesday, Banerjee had said the unity of opposition parties will take shape on its own.

    “I am a simple worker and want to continue as a worker,” Banerjee, who is in the national capital for the first time after her party’s resounding victory in the assembly polls, said on Wednesday.

    “I want to see sachcha din, bahut din acha di dekh liya,” Banerjee added, in a jibe at the BJP’s poll slogan.

  • Unity of opposition parties will take shape on its own, says Mamata

    By PTI
    NEW DELIH: Trinamool Congress leader and West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee on Tuesday said the unity of opposition parties will take shape on its own, sidestepping questions of her taking on the leadership role.

    Banerjee, who is in the national capital for the first time after her party’s resounding victory in the assembly polls, met Prime Minister Narendra Modi and described it as part of protocol.

    “I had asked for an appointment from the PM. This was a courtesy visit. Post election, following the protocol we have to meet the PM once. But I also spoke about the Covid situation. I asked him to ensure that West Bengal gets enough vaccine doses. I am not against giving vaccines to other states, but considering the population of Bengal, we need more doses,” she told reporters after the meeting.

    She said during Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s visit to Bengal in May, there was no scope for a one-to-one meeting.

    Banerjee also said that she mentioned the issue of the change in West Bengal’s name and told him that it was a long pending issue that should be resolved.

    While Banerjee refused to say if she discussed the Pegasus project with Modi, said that the prime minister should convene an all-party meet on the snooping row and decide on a Supreme Court-led probe.

    When asked if she has lined up a series of meetings with the Opposition parties with the 2024 Lok Sabha polls in mind, she said that the general elections are far away.

    “However planning for it has to be done in advance. Like there is election in Uttar Pradesh, Punjab and Tripura. Like how happened in Tripura with our boys and the issue of Dainik Jagran,” she said.

    Asked about her efforts to unite the Opposition leaders, she said that it will happen “automatically”.

    “Opposition unity will happen naturally, automatically,” she said. On whether she will lead the Opposition against the BJP, she said, “The country will lead the Opposition, we are the followers.

    ” She said that she will meet all Opposition members after the Parliament session is over and the coronavirus situation normalises, indicating that another visit soon was on the anvil.

    This time around, however, she has her itinerary set with meetings with opposition party leaders who are seeking time from her and those like Congress Chairperson Sonia Gandhi who has invited her for tea.

    “She has called me for a chai per charcha tomorrow. Many of these leaders are my old friends. We discuss about old and new times. I will meet Arvind Kejriwal day after tomorrow. Javed Akhtar and Shabana Azmi asked for time, I have given them time. I will meet my party MPs tomorrow. I met Congress leaders Kamal Nath, Anand Sharma and Abhishek Manu Singhvi today,” she said.

    A name missing from her list was that of NCP chief Sharad Pawar. “I haven’t spoken to Sharad Pawar. I will meet him after the monsoon session,” she said.

    She also said that she wants to meet the President but she has been informed that she needs to get a RT PCR test done, which, according to her, is difficult to do.

  • West Bengal CM Mamata Banerjee meets PM Narendra Modi

    By ANI
    NEW DELHI: West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee met Prime Minister Narendra Modi here on Tuesday. The Trinamool Congress chief met the Prime Minister a day after her arrival in the national capital.

    This is her first visit to the national capital since Trinamool Congress returned to power in the assembly polls earlier this year.

    ALSO READ| West Bengal CM Mamata Banerjee to meet Sonia Gandhi at 4:30 pm on Wednesday

    Her visit has coincided with the monsoon session of parliament in which the opposition parties are protesting on a range of issues including the allegations of surveillance through Pegasus spyware, price rise, and repeal of three farm laws.

    Earlier in the day Madhya Pradesh Congress chief Kamal Nath and Congress leader Anand Sharma met the Trinamool Congress chief. Sharma told the media that he and Mamata Banerjee have worked together for years.m”I appreciate her for how she fought the recent polls and won. She has come to Delhi for the first time after victory, so I came and had tea with her,” he told the media.

    ALSO READ| Unity of opposition parties will take shape on its own, says Mamata Banerjee

    Mamata Banerjee was in Congress before she formed her own party.

  • Unity of opposition parties will take shape on its own, says Mamata Banerjee

    By PTI
    NEW DELHI: Trinamool Congress leader and West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee on Tuesday said the unity of opposition parties will take shape on its own.

    Banerjee, who is in the national capital, met Prime Minister Narendra Modi and requested him to give her state more coronavirus vaccines based on its population.

    West Bengal CM @MamataOfficial called on PM @narendramodi. pic.twitter.com/KY8vEYmPwp
    — PMO India (@PMOIndia) July 27, 2021

    Responding to a question on opposition unity against the ruling NDA, she said it will take shape on its own.

    ALSO READ | West Bengal CM Mamata Banerjee to meet Sonia Gandhi on July 28

    Asked whether she will lead the opposition parties, Banerjee said the country will lead the opposition unity.

    She said the prime minister should convene an all-party meet on the Pegasus snooping row and decide on a Supreme Court-led probe.

    Banerjee would meet Congress president Sonia Gandhi on Thursday which she described as “chai pe charcha”.

  • West Bengal CM Mamata Banerjee to meet Sonia Gandhi at 4:30 pm on Wednesday

    By ANI
    NEW DELHI: West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee, who is in the national capital for the first time since her victory in the assembly elections, is likely to meet Congress interim president Sonia Gandhi on Wednesday.

    The meeting will take place around 4:30 pm at Gandhi’s residence at 10 Janpath. Banerjee landed in Delhi on Monday. Earlier today, she met Congress leaders Kamal Nath and Anand Sharma.

    Speaking to the media after the meeting, Sharma said, “Mamata Banerjee and I have close ties as we have worked together for years. I appreciate her for how she fought the recent polls and won. She has come to Delhi for the first time after victory, so I came and had tea with her.”

    Last week, Banerjee had said she will meet President Ram Nath Kovind, Prime Minister Narendra Modi, and leaders of Opposition parties during her two to three day stay in Delhi.

    Briefing media persons, West Bengal Chief Minister had said, “I will go to Delhi during the Parliament session and meet some leaders there. I will meet the President and the Prime Minister if given an appointment.”

    Banerjee’s visit during the ongoing Parliament’s Monsoon session holds significance as the Opposition is cornering the BJP-led NDA government on a range of issues including price rise, increasing cost of diesel and petrol, and issues related to tackling the COVID-19 pandemic.

    There is also a standoff between the Centre and Opposition parties over several key issues including the alleged Pegasus snooping controversy and scrapping of farm laws.

  • NCP supremo Sharad Pawar likely to meet Mamata Banerjee in Delhi on July 28

    By PTI
    MUMBAI: NCP chief Sharad Pawar on Tuesday said he is likely to meet West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee on Wednesday in New Delhi, where the TMC head will hold parleys with opposition leaders to explore ways to cobble together an alliance of anti-BJP parties ahead of the 2024 Lok Sabha polls.

    Banerjee arrived in Delhi on Monday on her first visit to the national capital since assuming office as the West Bengal CM for a third term and is expected to meet Prime Minister Narendra Modi and President Ram Nath Kovind.

    The Trinamool Congress (TMC) supremo, who apparently seeks to take up a larger role in national politics prior to the 2024 Lok Sabha elections, is also scheduled to meet Congress chief Sonia Gandhi and a host of other leaders from opposition parties.

    ALSO READ | Regional parties should form national front for 2024 Lok Sabha polls: Sukhbir Singh Badal

    Responding to a question in this context by reporters here, Pawar, whose party shares power with the Shiv Sena and Congress in Maharashtra, said, “She called me last week and told me about her visit to New Delhi and her willingness to meet. I think we are likely to meet tomorrow in New Delhi. The former Union minister, however, refused to comment on the Pegasus snooping controversy.

    “This is not the time and place to say anything about it. We will raise the issue at the right place-in Parliament. We will try to raise it there,” he said.

    Last week, an international media consortium had reported that over 300 verified Indian mobile phone numbers, including of two ministers, over 40 journalists, three opposition leaders besides scores of businesspersons and activists in India, could have been targeted for hacking through the Pegasus spyware of the Israeli firm NSO.

    However, the central government has been denying all Opposition allegations in the matter.

  • Mamata sets up commission to probe Pegasus snooping row

    By Express News Service
     KOLKATA: The West Bengal government set up a two-member inquiry commission to probe the Pegasus snooping controversy. 

    The panel will probe the illegal hacking, tracking, and recording of mobile phones in Bengal announced CM Mamata Banerjee. She said her government has set up the commission as the Centre was reluctant to probe into the spyware row.

    Mamata alleged that the Centre cloned a meeting between her and Prashant Kishor, the election strategist who was hired by the TMC for the 2021 Assembly elections, and it came to light when Kishor got his phone audited. 

    Bengal is the first state in the country which set up an inquiry commission to probe the alleged Pegasus snooping.

    “They (Centre) is reluctant to conduct a probe into the snooping using Pegasus. When all are demanding a probe, they are showing no interest. Our inquiry commission comprises retired Supreme Court judge MB Lokur and former chief justice of Kolkata High Court Jyotirmoy Bhattacharya,” said Mamata.

    ALSO READ | West Bengal CM Mamata Banerjee​ leaves for Delhi on five-day visit; will meet opposition leaders

    While addressing a virtual rally on July 21, the TMC’s annual event to observe Martyr’s Day, Mamata requested the Supreme Court to take suo motu cognisance of the alleged snooping using Israeli software. She also displayed her cellphone with both the front and rear cameras covered with leucoplast.

    “A few days back, I held a meeting with Prashant Kishor and some others. They (Centre) cloned the meeting. He (Kishor) got his cellphone audited and came to know one of our meetings was known to them through Pegasus software. Pegasus is dangerous. They are harassing people. Sometimes I cannot speak to anyone. I cannot talk to chief ministers of Delhi or Odisha,” Mamata said before flying to Delhi on Monday.        

    Mamata’s decision to set up the inquiry commission at a time when the national politics is centred around the alleged snooping using the Israeli spyware. Political observers in Bengal said the setting up the commission will intensify her anti-BJP stance aiming to bring all opposition parties under one umbrella to form a united front against the saffron camp ahead of the 2024 general elections.

    Taking a jibe at Mamata’s move, BJP’s IT cell chief Amit Malviya tweeted: “Why are we even surprised that Mamata Banerjee has constituted a judicial commission to investigate bogus ‘Pegasus Project’? Her priorities have always been warped. If only she had shown such alacrity to probe post-poll violence and investigate several Covid scams in Bengal.”

  • West Bengal government has formed inquiry panel to look into Pegasus row: CM Mamata Banerjee

    By PTI
    KOLKATA: West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee on Monday said her government has formed a two-member inquiry commission to look into allegations of snooping on politicians, officials and journalists using Israeli spyware Pegasus.

    The decision to form a panel, with retired judges as its members, was taken at a special cabinet meeting chaired by the chief minister during the day.

    “We thought the Centre would form an inquiry commission or a court-monitored probe would be ordered to look into this phone-hacking incident. But the Centre is sitting idle..So we decided to form a ‘commission of inquiry’ to look into the matter,” she said at a press conference here.

    The two-member commission will be headed by former Calcutta High court Chief Justice Jyotirmay Bhattacharya. Former Supreme Court judge Madan Bhimrao Lokur is its other member. “Names of people from West Bengal have figured on the Pegasus target list. The Centre is trying to snoop on everyone. The commission will find out details about this illegal hacking,” the CM added.

    A massive political row erupted in the country and other parts of the globe after media reports claimed that the Pegasus spyware was used to infiltrate phones and conduct surveillance on political leaders, government officials and journalists.