News Analysis India

Tag: Mamata Banerjee

  • Trinamool Congress plans more party units and young blood

    By Express News Service
    KOLKATA: In an attempt to decentralise the party structure and avert feud over leadership, which has triggered embarrassment on several occasions, the Trinamool Congress is planning to create more party units in 23 districts, including Kolkata, and create more posts.

    The move came after Mamata Banerjee held a three-hour meeting with election strategist Prashant Kishor, whom the TMC hired and is believed to be the architect of many government schemes enabling the party’s victory in the recent Assembly elections. TMC sources said the party is likely to follow the BJP model by splitting major districts into several organisational zones.

    “She (Mamata) wants to split the party’s present district units into several parts and set up new committees. Each committee will be headed by a president. This is aimed to ensure smooth organisational operation and avert infighting over leadership control which affected the party’s image at many places. These changes are being made in view of the civic body elections, which is overdue, panchayat polls in 2023 and Lok Sabha elections in 2024,’’ said a TMC leader.

    Party sources said the BJP has a similar organisational setup in bigger districts. The BJP has four units in North 24 Parganas and two units in each of Murshidabad and Nadia districts. The saffron camp refers to these units as organisational districts.

    “Following Kishor’s advice, Mamata Banerjee wants to enforce the one-man-one-post policy and elevate young leaders. Some announcements are expected to be made next week. The party will also re-launch its mouthpiece Jago Bangla,’’ said another TMC leader.

    After TMC’s debacle in the Lok Sabha elections, in which BJP made deep inroads in the TMC turf by bagging 18 out of 42 seas, the ruling party replaced several senior leaders with young faces which led to infighting and defection to the BJP in some districts.

    “The large-scale defection to the BJP had no impact on the Assembly poll results. Instead, the voters identified the defectors as traitors and power-hungry. The rejig in the party is expected to pave the way for the young leaders in districts who performed well in the recent polls with their clean image,’’ said the leader.

  • Mamata’s election petition against BJP leader Suvendu Adhikari assigned to new HC judge

    By PTI
    KOLKATA: West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee’s election petition before the Calcutta High Court challenging BJP leader Suvendu Adhikari’s victory from Nandigram constituency in the assembly elections has been assigned to the bench of Justice Shampa Sarkar, court sources said here on Monday.

    The matter is likely to be listed before the court of Justice Sarkar on Wednesday, the sources said.

    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.

    Acting Chief Justice Rajesh Bindal assigned the matter to the court of Justice Sarkar.

    Adhikari defeated Banerjee from the Nandigram constituency by 1,956 votes in the assembly election held earlier in the year.

    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.

  • Mamata govt’s student credit scheme gets good response

    By Express News Service
    KOLKATA: Launched 10 days ago, the Students Credit Card, a promise made by CM Mamata Banerjee eyeing young electorates’ support ahead of the Bengal elections, has received more than 25,000 applications. 

    The populist scheme. offering pupils a loan of Rs 10 lakh without guarantor, was one of the key factors that secured the support of the young voters in favour of the TMC. 

    “The applications we received till date covers Rs 1,355 crore. The number of applications is expected to go up. It (the scheme) covers students right from Class X to those pursuing higher education which include researchers. Students up to the age of 40 can apply. The beneficiaries will get 15 years to repay the loan with a nominal interest rate of 4 per cent,’’ said an official.  

  • Mamata Banerjee ‘incidental beneficiary’ of highly polarised Bengal polls: Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury

    By PTI
    KOLKATA: Senior Congress leader Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury feels TMC supremo Mamata Banerjee is an “incidental beneficiary” of the highly polarised West Bengal assembly elections and not the “only anti-Modi face” capable of taking on the BJP in the next Lok Sabha polls.

    Chowdhury also defends his frequent criticism of the TMC supremo, calling it the right decision for the benefit of his party.

    Talking about the prospects of a broader anti-BJP coalition ahead of the Lok Sabha polls in 2024, the leader of the Congress party in the House, insists no opposition front can succeed without Congress’ participation.

    “The elections in West Bengal this time were highly polarised on communal and regional identity. The people of the state who did not want the BJP en masse voted in favour of the TMC. The communal rhetoric and the threat and intimidation politics of the BJP leadership only helped Mamata Banerjee. Without taking away the credit for the fight she put up, I would say she is an incidental beneficiary in these elections,” Chowdhury told PTI in an interview.

    Acknowledging that the TMC’s victory was “magnificent”, the Congress veteran, however, said many regional opposition leaders had helmed their parties to triumph over the BJP. “It’s true that she has put up a fight against the BJP and its election machinery. It’s a magnificent victory, no doubt about it. But at the same time, she is not the only regional leader who has defeated the BJP. Arvind Kejriwal, Lalu Prasad Yadav, M K Stalin, Pinarayi Vijayan, too, have done the same. So, saying that she is the only (credible opposition) face (who could take on the BJP’s might) would be an injustice to others,” he said.

    The West Bengal Congress chief rejected suggestions by a section of his partymen that he was more vocal against Banerjee than the BJP. “I have been vocal against both the TMC and the BJP. Yes, I had to attack the TMC when I saw they were destroying my Bengal unit by poaching our representatives. Whatever I have done, I have done for my party. I don’t have any personal animosity with Mamata Banerjee,” he said.

    He chose not to respond to a question as to why the top Congress leadership desisted from attacking Banerjee and largely stayed away from the election campaign. However, Chowdhury said if the Congress party forges an alliance with the TMC in future, the state unit will “lower its tempo” against Banerjee.

    Responding to a query about some opposition parties intending to ally against the BJP, the Congress Working Committee (CWC) member asserted, “No opposition alliance will succeed without the presence of Congress in it.”

    “The political landscape of our country is such that no opposition alliance against the BJP can succeed without the Congress. The Congress is still the biggest opposition party in the country with a pan-India presence,” he said.

    On his party’s rout in the assembly polls in West Bengal, where it drew a blank, Chowdhury said the elections were completely polarised along communal and regional lines but hoped that the Congress, which ruled the state for more than two decades since independence, will revive soon.

    Chowdhury noted that the Sitalkuchi incident in Coochbehar, where firing by central forces led to the killing of four Muslims during the polling, polarised minority voters. “The Sitalkuchi incident led to further polarisation as voters in Malda, Murshidabad (considered Congress strongholds) also voted for the TMC,” he said.

    The Congress had fought the assembly polls in alliance with the CPM and Muslim cleric Abbas Siddiqui’s ISF. Except for ISF, which bagged one seat, the CPM-led Left Front and the Congress failed to open their account for the for the first time in assembly polls.

    When asked whether the Congress will form alliance with with CPM and the ISF in future, too, Chowdhury categorically said, “No relations with ISF”. “We never had any relations with the ISF. It was CPM which shared their seats with them. The ISF had pitched candidates against us in many seats. We will have no relation with the ISF in the future, too,” he said.

    Replying to a question about the recent media reports that former Congress president Rahul Gandhi will likely replace him as the leader of the Congress party in Lok Sabha, Chowdhury said he is not aware of any such move.

    “I am not aware of any such development. I am a loyal soldier of the party. Whatever duty it assigns me, I would do my best. If Rahul Gandhi replaces me as the leader of our party in Lok Sabha, I would be the happiest person,” he said.

    Lauding Rahul Gandhi’s leadership qualities, Chowdhury said the BJP deliberately tries to discredit him as it is “afraid of him”. “Every time there is a failure, everybody starts questioning Rahul Gandhi. The fact is that these failures are a collective responsibility. The Congress party has been on the decline since the 1989 Lok Sabha polls. So why single out Rahulji?” he said.

    Speaking about Congress leaders leaving the party, with former President Pranab Mukherjee’s son Abhijit being the latest addition, Chowdhury wondered whether their deserting or joining a party would make any difference.

    “Everybody is free to make their own decisions. But Abhijit Mukherjee leaving the party won’t have any impact. He was chief of the state’s campaign committee during the polls. You can’t show me a single statement from him criticising the BJP or the TMC during the elections,” he said.

  • Nandigram case: Judge exits, fines Mamata Rs 5 lakh

    By Express News Service
    KOLKATA:  A Calcutta High Court judge on Wednesday recused himself from hearing Bengal CM Mamata Banerjee’s pettition challenging the Nandigram election result, and imposed a cost of Rs 5 lakh on her for the manner in which the application seeking recusal was moved.

    In the order, Justice Kaushik Chanda said it was preposterous to think that a judge will not be able to do his duty without a sense of detachment if he or she has political inclinations and described TMC’s act of uploading photographs showing his presence with BJP leaders as “calculated psychological offensive’’.

    Earlier, Mamata’s counsel Abhishek Manu Singhvi had appealed for transfer of the the case from Justice Chanda’s court citing his proximity to a number of BJP leaders. “I am unable to persuade myself to agree to the proposition as advanced by Mr. Singhvi that there is a conflict of interest in the matter…

    The argument of Mr. Singhvi takes too sombre a view of the integrity of a judge,’’ Chanda observed in his order. “When a litigant raises the question of bias against a judge, who has taken the oath to discharge his duties without any fear or favour, the test has to be a real likelihood of bias or real danger of bias.

    The appearance of impartiality, in such a case, should not be viewed from the perspective of a common man.”  The calculated psychological offensive and vilification adopted to seek recusal need to firmly repulsed, the judge said.

  • PM should hold ‘petrol ki baat’ instead of ‘Mann ki baat’: West Bengal CM Mamata Banerjee

    By PTI
    KOLKATA: West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee on Wednesday slammed Prime Minister Narendra Modi for “making a mess of the country’s economy” and urged him to hold ‘petrol and vaccine ki baat’ instead of ‘Mann ki baat’.

    Referring to the proposed Union Cabinet reshuffle, the chief minister, during a press meet here, said the removal of Babul Supriyo from the council of ministers shows that “they (BJP government) have also lost it even before the arrival of their end” in 2024.

    ALSO READ| ​Bengal Budget 2021: State govt grants road tax waiver, stamp duty rebate

    Noting that none of the letters she wrote to the PM evoked any response, Banerjee said that despite appeals for Jagdeep Dhankhar’s removal as governor, nothing was done about it. “The entire economy is in doldrums. Fuel prices are increasing everyday and the Union government is sitting idle. Our prime minister is only busy with his Mann ki Baat. He should instead hold petrol ki baat, diesel ki baat and vaccine ki baat,” she insisted.

    Asked about the possibility of BJP MP John Barla’s induction in the Union ministry, weeks after he demanded a separate union territory for North Bengal, Banerjee said it will reflect the “divisive mindset” of the saffron party. “I won’t comment on ministry reshuffle. Will reshuffle end the woes of the people?” she added.

  • Justice Kausik Chanda recuses himself from hearing CM Mamata’s poll plea against Suvendu Adhikari

    By PTI
    KOLKATA: Justice Kausik Chanda of the Calcutta High Court Wednesday recused himself from hearing West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee’s petition challenging the election of Suvendu Adhikari from Nandigram.

    Justice Chanda had on June 24 reserved order on Banerjee’s application that the judge recuses himself from hearing her election petition apprehending bias on his part.

    Justice Chanda released the election petition of Banerjee from his court.

    The matter will be referred to Acting Chief Justice Rajesh Bindal for assigning it to a different bench.

    Seeking his recusal, it was claimed that Justice Chanda was an active member of the BJP till his appointment as the Additional Solicitor General of India in 2015 and since the election of a BJP candidate has been challenged, there were apprehensions of bias in the adjudication of the election petition.

    Justice Chanda had said that he was never a convenor of the BJP Legal Cell, but had appeared in many cases representing the party before the Calcutta High Court.

    Banerjee’s counsel had earlier written to the Acting Chief Justice of the high court seeking reassignment of her election petition to another bench.

  • ‘Shameless PM’ failed to handle COVID crisis, meet vaccine demands: Bengal CM Mamata Banerjee

    By PTI
    KOLKATA: West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee on Tuesday said the Centre has failed to meet the vaccine requirements of the state, forcing her dispensation to make purchases on its own, and described Narendra Modi as “a shameless prime minister” who has his picture pasted everywhere – from hoardings to inoculation certificates.

    Banerjee, during her address in the Assembly, said that Bengal has received two crore shots so far, which is “very inadequate”, given the state’s population, and administering free doses to all under such circumstances was a challenge for her government.

    “We have already vaccinated 2.26 crore people. And for that, we had to buy at least 26 lakh doses on our own, despite promises by the Centre that it would provide the required number of doses,” she stated.

    The chief minister also sought to know why money from the PM Cares Fund wasn’t used to bear the expenses of the vaccination drive in the country.

    She claimed that the Centre, due to its “faulty” policies, couldn’t handle the COVID crisis well.

    “Notwithstanding the Centre’s ham-handed policies, we have been able to contain the virus. Our shameless PM has failed the country but his picture is found everywhere — from vaccine certificates to hoardings. I have seen many prime ministers, but none so shameless….” Banerjee said.

    Bengal has started making preparations for the possible third wave of the pandemic, she noted.

    Taking a dig at the Yogi Adityanath government in Uttar Pradesh, she said, “For days, we saw bodies floating in rivers. Some bodies floated downstream and reached our state. Do they even know how many died in UP (due to the pandemic)? Don’t they feel ashamed?” Those who point fingers at Bengal should look in the mirror, the TMC supremo said, lashing out at Adityanath, who had criticised the TMC dispensation at BJP’s poll campaigns.

    Continuing her tirade against the saffron camp, she said its members “do not know courtesy and decency” as was evident from the ruckus they created during Governor Jagdeep Dhankhar’s inaugural speech in the Assembly on July 2.

    Dhankhar had to table his address, after reading out a few lines of his 18-page speech, amid protests by BJP MLAs over incidents of post-poll violence in the state.

    Banerjee further said that the incumbent governor, chosen by the BJP leadership at the Centre, should have been allowed to address the House by the party’s MLAs in the state.

    “I have seen BJP leaders like Rajnath Singh to Sushma Swaraj…This BJP, however, is different. They (BJP members) do not know culture, courtesy, decency and civility,” the chief minister said during her speech in the House, after thanking the governor for his inaugural address.

    The CM, referring to allegations of post-poll violence against TMC workers, said it was the members of the ruling party that endured attacks when the state was under the Election Commission’s supervision for assembly elections.

    She maintained that stray incidents of violence were reported after the election results were declared, and her government has taken action in all such cases.

    In a jibe at the poll panel, she said, “The EC shifted district magistrates, police superintendents and others at the whims of its observers, who were from their own party (BJP).

    “For three months, they (EC) issued threats…But the people of Bengal showed them that you cannot threaten a state in this manner,” she said.

    Earlier, too, the TMC boss had alleged that the EC works at the behest of the BJP-led Centre.

    Accusing the saffron party of plotting conspiracies, she said, “During and immediately after the elections, the BJP circulated fake videos to spread hatred. We have photos, we have evidence. I will place these on your (speaker’s) table,” Banerjee said submitting a bunch of photos to the House. Alleging that the BJP is trying to divide the state, the CM said, “Bengal is beautiful. Bengal is united. We won’t let that happen at any cost.”

    Two BJP MPs have recently raised demands for Bengal’s division – one in north Bengal and the other in Jangalmahal – drawing flak from the TMC and other parties.

    Highlighting her government’s achievements, the CM said, “Bengal occupies the number one spot when it comes to generating employment under the 100 days’ work scheme. We are also ahead of all in developing rural roads in the country… We have set up 186 kishan mandis, 24 medical colleges.

    “Take a look at the development initiatives in North Bengal. From universities to medical colleges, from river bridges to academies for Rajbangshis, Kamtapuris and other linguistic communities, we have done it all,” she pointed out, countering BJP’s charge that the region has seen little growth over the last decade.

    Trashing the charge of central fund mismanagement, the TMC supremo said the Union government did not pay anything from its coffers for disaster relief.

    “The Centre provided very little from the disaster fund, something that the state was already entitled to…Yet, they (BJP leaders) went to town over the matter,” she said.

    The CM noted that around 2.75 crore people have benefited from the 33,000 camps set up as part of her government’s Duare Sarkar (government at doorstep) initiative.

    “Next year, the government will embark on the drive again at least twice,” she said.

    Banerjee also said that her dispensation will observe ‘Khela hobe’ divas to promote sporting activities, but the date for the same was yet to be decided.

    ‘Khela Hobe’ (game will be played) was TMC’s campaign slogan for assembly elections.

    “If the opposition is unable to see any development, despite all our efforts, there is nothing more that can be said about it. They (BJP leaders), however, are unfazed about the rising fuel process. Shame on such a party and its people,” she added.

  • Abhijit Mukherjee wants to live up to his father Pranab’s legacy in new role in Trinamool Congress

    By PTI
    KOLKATA: Former President Pranab Mukherjee’s son Abhijit Mukherjee who joined the Trinamool Congress of Mamata Banerjee wants to live up to his father’s legacy of secular politics and of binding India through consensual politics.

    Mukherjee, an engineer-turned politician, said he also wants to help work towards re-industrialising eastern India, which he feels can be the trade corridor for the country’s Look East or Act East policy of connecting with East and South East Asia.

    “I have grown up believing in secular and inclusive politics which my father, our then prime minister Indira Gandhi and others of that generation of Congress leaders believed in. I cannot come anywhere near them in stature, but I think it is time those of us who are in public life took a stand and united to support the concept of a secular India,” he told PTI in an interview.

    Mukherjee, a two-time Lok Sabha MP from his father’s pocket borough of Jangipur, said he joined the Mamata Banerjee-led party because she has taken a strong stand on this issue. “The TMC has also worked to have a consensus in national politics which is what my father was known for during his political career and later as President,” he pointed out.

    The stress on secular politics and consensus building seemed like an indirect attack on the BJP, which is often accused by rival political parties of being communal and of ignoring state sensitivities. However, the younger Mukherjee refused to be drawn into a conversation on the subject.

    “I also ideologically believe in the concept of inclusive growth which takes care of the last man standing when we plan economic development and not just the rich industrial barons,” the alumnus of the Jadavpur University said, adding that “these legacy beliefs” are “shared by Mamata-di, who is herself from the same school of thought”.

    Though Pranab Mukherjee, the quincentennial Congress politician, had been Banerjee’s mentor in her early political career, the two had their differences especially when she had sought write offs of a huge debt overhang that Bengal had taken during the Left Front’s rule.

    Nevertheless, political pundits believe they shared a special relationship, which made it easy for the son to walk into the TMC camp. “My father helped former Prime Minister P V Narasimha Rao, whose birth anniversary we recently celebrated, in crafting the Look East policy which this (central) government has now renamed Act East,” said Mukherjee, adding that the policy was thought out to connect India strategically to the growing markets of ASEAN and East Asia.

    “If we want that policy to succeed, we need to re- industrialise Bengal and eastern India and treat it as the fulcrum for a trade corridor to these markets,” he said. Bengal’s and eastern India’s industry has been faltering since the 1970s when a large number of factories shut shop because of economic factors and a Left-inspired wave of strikes.

    “I worked with other top managers in merging IISCO with SAIL and in reviving it by pumping in Rs 16,000 crore, possibly the largest investment in eastern India ever. There is need to work further in that direction and leverage the presence of iron ore, coal and ports to revive engineering industry here. I believe that TMC can do that and perhaps in some ways I can be of help,” said Mukherjee, who served in the public sector SAIL for two-and-a-half decades.

    IISCO which had been started by Sir RN Mookerjee more than 100 years back in Bengal, had rivalled Tata Steel in its days. After nationalization in the 1970s, it had turned into a white elephant after its plant became outdated.

    However, an effort to revive it by building Asia’s largest blast furnace and ancillary plants seems to have paid off and is expected to create a fillip by way of downstream industries in the Durgapur-Asansol industrial belt and upstream industries in Jharkhand.

    Speaking of plans apart from politics, Mukherjee said he wanted to float a think tank in his fathers name which would work in rural areas and in fostering better relations with neighbouring countries. “My father along with other leaders worked towards the good relations we now have with Bangladesh, whose 50 years are being celebrated this year,” he said.

    He took pains in building the Zaranj highway in Afghanistan, in re-starting relations with Myanmar. “These are areas this think tank could work on along with issues like rural education which was close to his heart,” the newly minted TMC politician said.

  • HC to pronounce judgment in election plea of Mamata Banerjee on July 7, seeking Justice Kaushik Chanda’s recusal from hearing

    By ANI
    KOLKATA: Single Bench of Calcutta High Court will pronounce judgment in an election petition by West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee on July 7 that sought Justice Kaushik Chanda’s recusal from the hearing.

    On June 24, the Calcutta High Court reserved the judgment on a plea of West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee challenging Nandigram election results.

    The Chief Minister also appeared for the hearing virtually.

    A bench of Justice Kaushik Chanda said the petitioner has full right to move for recusal and rest assured, the matter will be decided judicially.

    Justice Chanda asked Singhvi if he is aware of BJP’s organizational structure.

    In reply to Justice Chanda, Singhvi said, “I have many friends in BJP. I am broadly aware.”

    To this, Justice Chanda said he is recalling the case.

    The petitioner’s lawyer Singhvi mentioned instances show Justice Chanda has connections with BJP and mentioned a case where the Judge moved the intervention application on its behalf.

    “You lawyers also have political affiliations. You are from Congress and Mookherjee has BJP background. But you are appearing for TMC’s Mamata Banerjee’s case,” said Justice Chanda to Singhvi.

    West Bengal Chief Minister has also moved an application to change the judge in the case and alleged that Justice Chanda has connections with BJP.

    The Election Commission had declared BJP’s Suvendu Adhikari the winner in the fiercely contested election for the Nandigram constituency.

    After her defeat in Nandigram, Mamata Banerjee alleged that the Returning Officer of the Assembly seat had said he was threatened against recounting of votes.

    Despite Banerjee losing the seat to Adhikari, who was once her close aide, the TMC registered a landslide victory in polls winning 213 seats in the 294-member West Bengal assembly. While the BJP lost the polls but emerged as the second-largest party with 77 seats.

    The TMC even wrote to the Chief Electoral Officer, West Bengal seeking “immediate re-counting of votes and postal ballots” in the Nandigram constituency, but recounting was refused for reasons unknown.

    “Such refusal is bad in law… We demand an immediate recounting of Nandigram AC 210 to preserve the sanctity of the electoral process,” the TMC had said in a letter to the CEO.