Banerjee also expressed surprise over the conclusion that the National Human Rights Commission arrived at in its report without taking into account views of the state government.
Tag: Mamata Banerjee
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TMC supremo Mamata Banerjee to visit Delhi amid fresh talks of anti-BJP front
By PTI
KOLKATA: West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee is likely to visit New Delhi later this month where she will hold talks with leaders of non-BJP parties, TMC sources said on Thursday, amid the renewed buzz over formation of an anti-BJP front ahead of the 2024 Lok Sabha polls.According to some reports, she will head to the national capital on July 25.
Sources in West Bengal’s ruling TMC said the party supremo’s Delhi visit could happen any day after the Martyr’s Day rally in Kolkata on July 21.
The TMC holds a rally every year to commemorate the killing of 13 people in police firing on Youth Congress workers on July 21, 1993, during a protest led by Banerjee, who was then its leader.
The talk of an anti-BJP front got revived after leaders of various parties and prominent individuals congregated at NCP chief Sharad Pawar’s New Delhi residence last month.
However, there was no tangible movement forward in that direction at the meeting hosted by Pawar and called by former union minister Yashwant Sinha, who is now in the TMC.
Sinha, a former BJP stalwart, is a strident critic of Prime Minister Narendra Modi.
The speculation about an anti-BJP coalition grew again after election strategist Prashant Kishor had a string of meetings with Pawar and the Gandhis, including the one he had with Congress president Sonia Gandhi, former party chief Rahul Gandhi and general secretary Priyanka Vadra together.
Though what exactly transpired at the parleys is not known yet, media speculated a broad-based coalition against the Centre’s ruling NDA might have been on the agenda.
“Banerjee is likely to visit New Delhi after the 21st July Martyr’s Day rally. She may give details about her visit during her speech. The date is yet to be fixed but it will be after the rally,” sources told PTI.
Banerjee, who is likely to spend a few days in the national capital, has apparently timed her visit to coincide with the monsoon session of Parliament as senior leaders of opposition parties will be in town.
The sources said Banerjee may visit some other states as well.
On her part, Banerjee told a press conference that there was nothing unusual in her visit.
“Everytime after elections I visit Delhi to meet old and new friends. So, this time too, I would be going to Delhi for few days as the COVID-19 situation is presently under control,” she said.
“Mamata didi has further grown in stature after defeating the BJP in the assembly elections. She now wants to reach out to anti-BJP and non-BJP parties at the national level ahead of the 2024 general elections,” a TMC leader said.
He said Banerjee will, in all probability, meet Congress president Sonia Gandhi, Samajwadi Party chief Akhilesh Yadav, her Delhi counterpart and AAP convenor Arvind Kejriwal and Sharad Pawar during the visit.
Kishor, who crafted Narendra Modi’s 2012 Gujarat assembly campaign and devised his successful prime ministerial bid in 2014, is also being hailed for drawing up the TMC’s strategy that saw Banerjee triumph over the formidable BJP in the West Bengal polls.
The astute election manager also rendered his services to AAP in Delhi, Jaganmohan Reddy’s YSRCP in Andhra Pradesh and, more recently, M K Stalin’s DMK in Tamil Nadu with great success.
Banerjee, arguably the most doughty opposition face after the TMC’s resounding victory, now seeks a larger role in national politics and, helped by Kishor’s personal equation with a host of opposition leaders, will try to become the rallying point for anti-BJP parties.
“This is the first step towards reaching out to them,” the TMC leader said.
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Kolkata HC directs EC to preserve documents related to Nandigram Assembly polls
By Express News Service
KOLKATA: Kolkata High Court on Wednesday directed the Election Commission to preserve EVMs, VVPATs and other documents related to the Assembly election held in West Bengal’s Nandigram constituency.The High Court issued the direction while hearing a petition filed by West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee, challenging BJP leader Suvendu Adhikari’s victory from the constituency. “All documents, election papers, devices, video recordings connected with the election under challenge in the court shall be preserved by the Election Commission which is the custodian,’’ said high court judge Shampa Sarkar.
The High Court also said notices will be served to Adhikari, Returning Officer and the Election Commission. The case was reassigned to the bench of Justice Sarkar by acting chief Justice Rajesh Bindal after Justice Kaushik Chanda recused himself from hearing the chief minister’s petition.
Mamata had objected to her petition being heard by Justice Chanda after the TMC spokesperson Derek O’Brien posted two photographs showing his presence in events hosted by the BJP. In her appeal, Mamata said the bench could be biased. As per the result declared by the poll panel, Adhikari defeated Banerjee by 1,956 votes.
Adhikari moves SCWest Bengal Opposition leader Suvendu Adhikari on Wednesday moved the Supreme Court seeking transfer of Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee’s petition challenging his election from Nandigram constituency outside West Bengal.
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Trinamool to take the show to Delhi on Martyr’s Day
Express News Service
KOLKATA: For the first time Trinamool Congress will screen its Martyrs’ Day rally outside West Bengal on July 21. The event, which will feature a speech by Trinamool Congress leader Mamata Banerjee will be screened in Delhi, Tripura and Assam.The decision to screen the event outside the state comes as the party is seeking to play a bigger role on the national stage ahead of the 2024 Lok Sabha elections. “This time, the event will be screened on giant screens at TMC’s office in Delhi. Our party MPs will be present there as Parliament session will begin on July 19. Our party supporters in Delhi will campaign in Delhi, highlighting the event,’’ said TMC’s Rajya Sabha MP Sukhendu Sekhar Roy.
The party has been organising Martyrs’ Day to commemorate the 1993 incident in which 13 party supporters were gunned down by the police, during a protest rally organised under the banner of the Youth Congress and led by Mamata.
The party was formed in 1998 and since then it has been observing the event annually. “By organising the virtual event in Delhi, we are going to deliver a message that the TMC’s presence will become prominent in the national politics in 2024 Lok Sabha elections. Besides, the Northeast states like Tripura and Assam appear to be fertile ground for the party in near future,’’ said a TMC leader.
Having dealt a blow to the BJP in West Bengal, the TMC is now eyeing foothold in Assam. It is also hoping to take advantage of the BJP’s factional feuds in Tripura, ahead of the 2023 Asembly elections there. In 2016, six Congress MLAs from Tripura had defected to the BJP and Mukul Roy was seen as instrumental in the process. Now, there is a buzz that Roy, who recently returned to the fold of Bengal’s ruling party, will be tasked with help ing the TMC grow its foothold in the Northeast.
“We will bank on factionalism in the BJP,’’ said another TMC leader. Mamata is also seeking to make use of the discontent over NRC to her party’s advantage in Assam. “During her campaign for the Assembly elections, she raised the issue repeatedly and extended her support to those who were left out of the NRC,” said the leader.
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Calcutta HC admits Mamata’s plea against Suvendu’s election, asks EC to preserve all records
The judge directed that in the meantime, notice be served upon Adhikari, a BJP MLA, and other parties in the matter.
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Mamata meets Bengal Governor Jagdeep Dhankhar amid tense ties between Raj Bhawan, Trinamool
By PTI
KOLKATA: Amid the ongoing tussle between Raj Bhawan and the state government, West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee and Governor Jagdeep Dhankhar Wednesday held an hour-long meeting and discussed various issues related to the state.Dhankar said in a tweet the meeting was held without the presence of aides.
“Hon’ble Chief Minister @MamataOfficial called on Hon’ble Governor Shri Jagdeep Dhankhar at Raj Bhavan today. The two had an hour-long interaction without aides.” he tweeted.
According to sources, the two discussed the resolution passed by the state assembly seeking creation of a legislative council.
The West Bengal assembly had passed a resolution last week supporting an ad hoc committee report that favoured creation of a legislative council despite strident opposition by the BJP.
“A lot of issues related to the state were discussed in the meeting, which was held in a very cordial atmosphere,” an official said.
The meeting came amid growing animosity between Dhankhar and Banerjee, who recently said she has thrice written to the Centre demanding the governor’s recall.
The faceoff between Dhankhar and Banerjee intensified last month when the chief minister accused the governor of being a “corrupted man” and claimed he was named in the Jain Hawala case.
Dhankhar remonstrated, accusing her of propagating “lies and misinformation”.
Dhankhar and the Banerjee government have been at loggerheads ever since he assumed office over a year ago.
The governor has often expressed concern over the law and order situation, including the violence that followed the assembly polls held earlier this year.
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BJP leader Suvendu Adhikari moves SC for transfer of election plea outside Bengal
By PTI
NEW DELHI: BJP leader Suvendu Adhikari has moved the Supreme Court seeking transfer of Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee’s election petition challenging his win in assembly polls from Nandigram constituency outside West Bengal.The BJP leader seeks transfer of Banerjee’s plea, pending in the Calcutta High Court, outside the state, lawyer Kabir Bose said.
Adhikari, a former close aide of the chief minister, who joined BJP, is presently holding the post of the leader of opposition in the state assembly after defeating Banerjee in a closely-contested polls by the margin of 1,956 votes.
Meanwhile, the West Bengal CID officials on Wednesday visited house of Adhikary in Contai in connection with the probe into death of his security personnel around three years ago, a senior officer said.
Besides, talking to the two security personnel who were former colleagues of AdhikarI’s ex-bodyguard Subhabrata Chakraborty, and are still posted there, the CID sleuths also talked to the BJP leader’s younger brother Dibyendu Adhikari, he added.
Adhikari’s personal security guard had allegedly shot himself dead with his service revolver in 2018 in a police barrack in Kanthi in Purba Medinipur district.
Earlier, in the morning, the CID officers went to Contai police station and went through the documents related to the investigation carried out by the police in the matter.
“We have also collected some necessary documents in connection with the probe from Contai police station. We have also held discussions with the police officers there and had their view about the case,” the officer said.
The sleuths also visited the barrack where Chakraborty had shot himself using his service revolver in October 2018.
The security personnels wife Suparna Chakrabarty had filed a fresh complaint with the Contai police station demanding a probe into her husbands death.
Chakraborty, who was from the state armed police, was part of Adhikaris security team since he was an MP and continued to be in the team after he became a minister in the Mamata Banerjee government in 2015.
The reopening of the case triggered verbal duel between rivals BJP and the TMC.
Referring to the visit of CID team to Adhikari’s residence, BJP spokesman Shamik Bhattacharya told reporters in Kolkata, “we wonder why the case has been raked up after two and half years?” “When the incident happened Suvendu Adhikari was a powerful minister in Mamata Banerjee cabinet.
Now when he has left Trinamool Congress to join BJP and defeated the chief minister from Nandigram all these things-filing of FIR and visit of CID team are happening.
“We guess there is a deep-rooted conspiracy behind it. This is part of revenge politics,” Bhattacharya said.
Trinamool Congress MLA from Mahisadal and cousin of the deceased bodyguard, Tilak Chakraborty said, “why the death was passed off as a suspected case of suicide? We want the truth to come out.”
Younger brother of Suvendu Adhikari and MP Dibyendu Adhikari said, “I think there is a deep-rooted conspiracy behind digging up an over two years old case. But, we are not afraid of any probe.”
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Bengal unlikely to completely lift COVID-19 restrictions after July 15: Official
Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee is likely to review the COVID-19 situation on Wednesday and the final call, he said.
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New HC bench to hear Mamata’s election petition against Suvendu Adhikari on Wednesday
By PTI
KOLKATA: A new bench will take up on Wednesday West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee’s election petition before the Calcutta High Court challenging BJP leader Suvendu Adhikari’s victory from the Nandigram constituency in the assembly elections.The case was reassigned to the bench of Justice Shampa Sarkar by Acting Chief Justice Rajesh Bindal after Justice Kausik Chanda recused from hearing the Trinamool Congress supremo’s election petition.
The matter has been listed for hearing at 2.30 pm on Wednesday.
Adhikari defeated Banerjee from the Nandigram constituency by 1,956 votes in the assembly election held earlier in the year.
Justice Kausik Chanda had on July 7 recused from hearing the Trinamool Congress supremo’s petition challenging the election of Adhikari from Nandigram, and imposed a cost of Rs five lakh on her for the manner in which the recusal was sought.
Releasing the election petition of Banerjee on an application by her for recusal expressing apprehension of bias against her by his bench, Justice Chanda had said that he was doing so in order to thwart at the outset attempts by trouble-mongers to keep the controversy alive.
Banerjee’s lawyers had suggested that Justice Chanda should recuse himself from the case since he was associated with the legal cell of the BJP before his elevation as a Judge and had appeared in a number of cases on behalf of the said party before the high court as a lawyer.
Her lawyer had suggested during his submissions before the court that there is a conflict of interest since Justice Chanda had a close relationship with the BJP and the petitioner has challenged the election of a BJP candidate.
In its order, the court had said that it is preposterous to suggest that a judge having a past association with a political party as a lawyer should not receive a case involving the said political party or any of its members.
Justice Chanda had noted that like any other citizen of the country, a judge also exercises his voting rights in favour of a political party, but he lays aside his individual predilection while deciding a case.
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Forces plotting to bifurcate Bengal will be defeated: Speaker Biman Banerjee
By PTI
KOLKATA: West Bengal Assembly Speaker Biman Banerjee on Tuesday asserted that forces plotting to bifurcate the state will be defeated.Addressing a programme of the Gorkha community in Kolkata, he said that the entire north Bengal region including the Darjeeling Hills is and will remain an integral part of the state.
“Some forces are at work to separate north Bengal from our state. They will be defeated. Bifurcation of West Bengal will never be allowed,” he said.
The speaker also dwelt on how Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee was working towards inclusive development of all regions of the state.
A section of BJP leaders including Alipurduar MP and central minister John Barla had recently advocated carving out a Union territory comprising north Bengal districts, alleging lack of development in the region for years.
BJP state chief Dilip Ghosh and other leaders dissociated themselves from Barla’s statements and said that the party does not support any demand for bifurcation or division of West Bengal.