News Analysis India

Tag: Mamata Banerjee

  • Sonia, Mamata share moments together during opposition meet in Bengaluru

    By PTI

    BENGALURU: West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee and Congress Parliamentary Party chairperson Sonia Gandhi shared moments together, enquiring about each other’s health and strategising on opposition unity on the first day of the Bengaluru summit, sources told PTI.

    The two leaders met each other after a gap of two years. The last time Banerjee met Gandhi was at the latter’s residence in July 2021.

    While the two leaders have always had a cordial relationship, certain comments made by Congress leaders both in Delhi and West Bengal were believed to have led to some bad blood between them.

    Banerjee, the sources said was particularly upset about the remarks made by Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury, the Congress’s Lok Sabha MP from Behrampore in West Bengal, labelling her as a dictator and the workers of her Trinamool Congress (TMC) as goons.

    The sources said both Banerjee and Gandhi arrived at the venue of the summit at around 6 pm and were seen chatting with each other for about half an hour, before the meeting started.

    They said both enquired about each other’s health — Banerjee is recovering from a knee surgery and Gandhi too has had health issues.

    The sources said the two leaders sat next to each other during the meeting that lasted for around an hour and a half and discussed ways in which their parties can work together and stay united against the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) at the Centre.

    Banerjee, who was supposed to skip a dinner after the meeting due to her surgery, stayed on for some time after the deliberations but did not eat anything, the sources said.

    TMC national general secretary Abhishek Banerjee and national spokesperson Derek O’Brien attended the dinner after Banerjee left.

    The Congress and the TMC will play a major role in the coming days to cement the opposition unity.

    Gandhi had not attended the last opposition meeting held in Patna on June 23.

    BENGALURU: West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee and Congress Parliamentary Party chairperson Sonia Gandhi shared moments together, enquiring about each other’s health and strategising on opposition unity on the first day of the Bengaluru summit, sources told PTI.

    The two leaders met each other after a gap of two years. The last time Banerjee met Gandhi was at the latter’s residence in July 2021.

    While the two leaders have always had a cordial relationship, certain comments made by Congress leaders both in Delhi and West Bengal were believed to have led to some bad blood between them.googletag.cmd.push(function() {googletag.display(‘div-gpt-ad-8052921-2’); });

    Banerjee, the sources said was particularly upset about the remarks made by Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury, the Congress’s Lok Sabha MP from Behrampore in West Bengal, labelling her as a dictator and the workers of her Trinamool Congress (TMC) as goons.

    The sources said both Banerjee and Gandhi arrived at the venue of the summit at around 6 pm and were seen chatting with each other for about half an hour, before the meeting started.

    They said both enquired about each other’s health — Banerjee is recovering from a knee surgery and Gandhi too has had health issues.

    The sources said the two leaders sat next to each other during the meeting that lasted for around an hour and a half and discussed ways in which their parties can work together and stay united against the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) at the Centre.

    Banerjee, who was supposed to skip a dinner after the meeting due to her surgery, stayed on for some time after the deliberations but did not eat anything, the sources said.

    TMC national general secretary Abhishek Banerjee and national spokesperson Derek O’Brien attended the dinner after Banerjee left.

    The Congress and the TMC will play a major role in the coming days to cement the opposition unity.

    Gandhi had not attended the last opposition meeting held in Patna on June 23.

  • TMC set to dominate Bengal rural polls, bags over 30,000 gram panchayat seats

    By PTI

    KOLKATA: TMC looked set to sweep the violence-scarred rural polls keeping intact the mandate it won two years back during the assembly polls by taking a seemingly unassailable lead in results declared till now by the State Election Commission.

    The ruling TMC has won in 30,391 gram panchayat seats, besides leading in 1,767 seats, according to the SEC as of 11.30 pm on Tuesday.

    Its nearest rival BJP has won 8,239 seats and is leading in 447 seats. In all elections are being held for 63,229 gram panchayat seats.

    The CPI(M) has won 2,534 and is leading in 237 seats. The Congress won 2,158 seats and is leading in 151.

    The ruling TMC won 2,612 Panchayat samiti seats while leading 627 seats.

    BJP has won 275 and is leading in 149 seats, while CPI(M) has won 63 seats and is leading in 53 others and Congress has won in 50 seats and is leading in 26 seats.

    Elections were held for 9,728 Panchayat Samiti seats.

    TMC has also won all 88 Zila Parishad results declared so far and is leading in 163 others while CPI(M) has is leading in 4 seats, while Congress is leading in 2 and the BJP in 13.

    In all, there are 928 Zila Parishad seats.

    Though the counting process was largely peaceful, there were stray incidents of bombs being thrown outside a counting centre and political workers of various parties clashing.

    Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee who had suffered an injury during campaigning thanked people for reposing trust in her party.

    “It’s TMC all the way in rural Bengal. I want to thank the people for their love, affection and support towards the TMC. This election has proved that only TMC resides in the heart of the people of the state,” Banerjee said in a social media post.

    The elections were keenly contested as they were seen by all parties as an indicator of which way the wind will blow in the 2024 parliamentary elections from this part of the country.

    The violence which rocked the panchayat polls held on Saturday has claimed at least 15 lives with 11 of them from the ruling TMC.

    Since elections were announced last month, the number of people who died in poll-related incidents has been 33, with the ruling party suffering 60 per cent of the deaths.

    Allegations of vote tampering and violence by various parties forced the SEC to order re-polling in 696 seats on Monday, which passed more or less peacefully.

    Intervention by the Calcutta High Court had seen the deployment of central police forces on both election and counting days.

    Though Bengal has a long history of violent rural polls with 40 people killed in one single day of polling during the 2003 panchayat elections, this year’s violence which was covered extensively by the media focused national attention on it.

    Governor CV Ananda Bose who had rushed to Delhi to give a report on the violence told newspersons “Political parties should realise elections are not grounds to examine one’s physical strength”.

    Officials said the counting process was largely peaceful though stray incidents were reported, including allegations of bombs being thrown outside a counting centre at Bongaon, the beating up of a local ISF leader outside another counting centre and lathi charge by central policemen on duty at places where crowds had gathered in large numbers and breached the security of certain counting centres.

    Vote counting is on at 339 venues spread across 22 districts and is likely to carry over to Wednesday.

    The maximum number of counting centres is in South 24 Parganas at 28, while the minimum is in Kalimpong at four.

    Some northern districts are also facing inclement weather.

    “Counting began at 8 am and is likely to continue for the next two days. It will take time for the ballots to be counted and the results to be compiled,” an SEC official said.

    In Darjeeling hills, out of the 598 seats in Darjeeling and 281 in Kalimpong, the Bharatiya Gorkha Prajatantrik Morcha (BGPM) was leading in many areas and looks likely to be the new numero uno in the Bengal hill districts.

    All the counting venues are manned by armed state police personnel and central forces, with prohibitory orders under Section 144 of CrPC being imposed outside the venue to avoid any untoward incidents.

    There are a total of 767 strong rooms across 22 districts.

    Large crowds of supporters of various candidates gathered at various centres to ensure that counting was conducted correctly.

    In various districts, TMC supporters celebrated their victory by dancing and smearing each other with green colour, the party’s chosen colour.

    As initial trends started pouring in, a war of words broke out between the TMC and the BJP, with the latter accusing the ruling party of “making last desperate attempts to loot votes by blocking opposition agents from entering counting centres.”

    “TMC goons are making desperate attempts to steal the elections by obstructing the counting agents and candidates of the BJP and other opposition political parties from entering counting centres. They are being restricted from going towards the venue, and bombs are being hurled to intimidate counting agents,” leader of the Opposition, Suvendu Adhikari, said.

    Refuting the allegations, TMC spokesperson Kunal Ghosh said, “Sensing defeat, they are making baseless allegations.”

    “Rejected by people and sensing humiliating defeat, this is BJP’s last attempt to come up with lame excuses to make up for its own organisational failures,” he said.

    “We salute the people that despite all these (hurdles), they have supported the Left Front candidates,” CPI(M) state secretary Mohd Salim said.

    The CPI(M) leader alleged that the ruling party was misusing the police and administration to get back to power in the panchayats.

    ISF MLA Nawshad Siddique who is leading his newly formed party told PTI, “Whatever chance the people have got to exercise their franchise despite violence and intimidation, they have expressed their opinion against the ruling party.”

    He added that the “myth that a certain community is a vote bank has been proven wrong”.

    A total of 5.67 crore people living in the state’s rural areas were eligible to decide the fate of 2.06 lakh candidates in 73,887 seats of the three-tier-panchayat system.

    Unlike earlier elections, the Opposition had fielded candidates in more than 90 per cent of seats, unlike in 2018 rural polls, when the ruling TMC had won 34 per cent of the seats uncontested.

    In the 2018 rural polls, the ruling TMC had emerged victorious in 90 per cent of the panchayat seats and all the 22 zilla parishads.

    The elections were marred by widespread violence, with the Opposition alleging they were prevented from filing nominations in several seats.

    KOLKATA: TMC looked set to sweep the violence-scarred rural polls keeping intact the mandate it won two years back during the assembly polls by taking a seemingly unassailable lead in results declared till now by the State Election Commission.

    The ruling TMC has won in 30,391 gram panchayat seats, besides leading in 1,767 seats, according to the SEC as of 11.30 pm on Tuesday.

    Its nearest rival BJP has won 8,239 seats and is leading in 447 seats. In all elections are being held for 63,229 gram panchayat seats.googletag.cmd.push(function() {googletag.display(‘div-gpt-ad-8052921-2’); });

    The CPI(M) has won 2,534 and is leading in 237 seats. The Congress won 2,158 seats and is leading in 151.

    The ruling TMC won 2,612 Panchayat samiti seats while leading 627 seats.

    BJP has won 275 and is leading in 149 seats, while CPI(M) has won 63 seats and is leading in 53 others and Congress has won in 50 seats and is leading in 26 seats.

    Elections were held for 9,728 Panchayat Samiti seats.

    TMC has also won all 88 Zila Parishad results declared so far and is leading in 163 others while CPI(M) has is leading in 4 seats, while Congress is leading in 2 and the BJP in 13.

    In all, there are 928 Zila Parishad seats.

    Though the counting process was largely peaceful, there were stray incidents of bombs being thrown outside a counting centre and political workers of various parties clashing.

    Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee who had suffered an injury during campaigning thanked people for reposing trust in her party.

    “It’s TMC all the way in rural Bengal. I want to thank the people for their love, affection and support towards the TMC. This election has proved that only TMC resides in the heart of the people of the state,” Banerjee said in a social media post.

    The elections were keenly contested as they were seen by all parties as an indicator of which way the wind will blow in the 2024 parliamentary elections from this part of the country.

    The violence which rocked the panchayat polls held on Saturday has claimed at least 15 lives with 11 of them from the ruling TMC.

    Since elections were announced last month, the number of people who died in poll-related incidents has been 33, with the ruling party suffering 60 per cent of the deaths.

    Allegations of vote tampering and violence by various parties forced the SEC to order re-polling in 696 seats on Monday, which passed more or less peacefully.

    Intervention by the Calcutta High Court had seen the deployment of central police forces on both election and counting days.

    Though Bengal has a long history of violent rural polls with 40 people killed in one single day of polling during the 2003 panchayat elections, this year’s violence which was covered extensively by the media focused national attention on it.

    Governor CV Ananda Bose who had rushed to Delhi to give a report on the violence told newspersons “Political parties should realise elections are not grounds to examine one’s physical strength”.

    Officials said the counting process was largely peaceful though stray incidents were reported, including allegations of bombs being thrown outside a counting centre at Bongaon, the beating up of a local ISF leader outside another counting centre and lathi charge by central policemen on duty at places where crowds had gathered in large numbers and breached the security of certain counting centres.

    Vote counting is on at 339 venues spread across 22 districts and is likely to carry over to Wednesday.

    The maximum number of counting centres is in South 24 Parganas at 28, while the minimum is in Kalimpong at four.

    Some northern districts are also facing inclement weather.

    “Counting began at 8 am and is likely to continue for the next two days. It will take time for the ballots to be counted and the results to be compiled,” an SEC official said.

    In Darjeeling hills, out of the 598 seats in Darjeeling and 281 in Kalimpong, the Bharatiya Gorkha Prajatantrik Morcha (BGPM) was leading in many areas and looks likely to be the new numero uno in the Bengal hill districts.

    All the counting venues are manned by armed state police personnel and central forces, with prohibitory orders under Section 144 of CrPC being imposed outside the venue to avoid any untoward incidents.

    There are a total of 767 strong rooms across 22 districts.

    Large crowds of supporters of various candidates gathered at various centres to ensure that counting was conducted correctly.

    In various districts, TMC supporters celebrated their victory by dancing and smearing each other with green colour, the party’s chosen colour.

    As initial trends started pouring in, a war of words broke out between the TMC and the BJP, with the latter accusing the ruling party of “making last desperate attempts to loot votes by blocking opposition agents from entering counting centres.”

    “TMC goons are making desperate attempts to steal the elections by obstructing the counting agents and candidates of the BJP and other opposition political parties from entering counting centres. They are being restricted from going towards the venue, and bombs are being hurled to intimidate counting agents,” leader of the Opposition, Suvendu Adhikari, said.

    Refuting the allegations, TMC spokesperson Kunal Ghosh said, “Sensing defeat, they are making baseless allegations.”

    “Rejected by people and sensing humiliating defeat, this is BJP’s last attempt to come up with lame excuses to make up for its own organisational failures,” he said.

    “We salute the people that despite all these (hurdles), they have supported the Left Front candidates,” CPI(M) state secretary Mohd Salim said.

    The CPI(M) leader alleged that the ruling party was misusing the police and administration to get back to power in the panchayats.

    ISF MLA Nawshad Siddique who is leading his newly formed party told PTI, “Whatever chance the people have got to exercise their franchise despite violence and intimidation, they have expressed their opinion against the ruling party.”

    He added that the “myth that a certain community is a vote bank has been proven wrong”.

    A total of 5.67 crore people living in the state’s rural areas were eligible to decide the fate of 2.06 lakh candidates in 73,887 seats of the three-tier-panchayat system.

    Unlike earlier elections, the Opposition had fielded candidates in more than 90 per cent of seats, unlike in 2018 rural polls, when the ruling TMC had won 34 per cent of the seats uncontested.

    In the 2018 rural polls, the ruling TMC had emerged victorious in 90 per cent of the panchayat seats and all the 22 zilla parishads.

    The elections were marred by widespread violence, with the Opposition alleging they were prevented from filing nominations in several seats.

  • West Bengal panchayat polls: Amid allegations of rigging, counting of votes to take place Tuesday

    By ANI

    KOLKATA: The counting of votes for the high-stake West Bengal panchayat election will begin on Tuesday at 8 am, a litmus test for Mamata Banerjee and BJP ahead of the 2024 Lok Sabha polls.

    The voting process concluded on Monday after the state election commission (SEC) mandated a re-polling due to reports of violence at multiple polling stations on the first day. Re-election took place at 696 stations across 19 districts, following the nullification of Saturday’s polling in these areas.

    The decision to re-polling was prompted by allegations of ballot box tampering and the occurrence of violence, which tragically resulted in the loss of at least 19 lives.

    At first, votes for the Gram Panchayats will be counted, followed by the Zilla Samitis and then the Zilla Parishads. All the counting centres will have an adequate deployment of central forces which will be monitored by CCTV cameras.

    West Bengal Governor CV Ananda Bose, who had been conducting visits to districts affected by pre-poll violence, met with Union Home Minister Amit Shah in New Delhi today. After the meeting, the Governor expressed optimism, stating that there will be light at the end of the tunnel and that good things will happen in the future.

    “The darkest hour is just before dawn. There will be light at the end of the tunnel. The only message I could get today is -if winter comes can spring be far behind? Good will happen in the days to come,” said West Bengal Governor after his meeting with Union Home Minister Amit Shah.

    The BJP accused the State Election Commission (SEC) of not giving order for re-polling to the “thousands of booths” where voting should have been conducted again.

    Leader of the Opposition Suvendu Adhikari said he will move Calcutta High Court and will present evidence collected by his party of alleged malpractice in several thousands of booths during the polling on Saturday.

    The West Bengal SEC has announced that repolling will be held in 696 booths across the state, where voting for the rural elections was declared void following reports of vote-tampering and violence.

    The panchayat elections were held on July 8 under tight security, with approximately 5.67 crore voters participating and deciding the fate of 2.06 lakh candidates vying for 73,887 seats in rural areas of West Bengal.

    However, the voting day was marred with widespread violence, looting of ballots papers and rigging. There were reports of booth capturing, damaging of ballot boxes and assault of presiding officers from several districts such as Murshidabad, Cooch Behar, Malda, South 24 Parganas, North Dinajpur and Nadia.

    Reports also emerged of ballot boxes being set on fire and clashes between political parties in different locations.

    As a result, re-polling was conducted in 697 booths across 22 Zilla Parishads, 9,730 Panchayat Samitis, and 63,239 Gram Panchayat seats in 19 districts of the state. The re-polling process was conducted under the supervision of the Central Armed Police Forces (CAPF) without any reports of violence.

    The State Election Commission officially announced the date for the re-polls and directed the District Panchayat Election Officer to set up the polling stations accordingly.

    During the initial polling, security forces from the Centre and the state were deployed at all 61,636 polling booths to ensure a fair, safe, and impartial election. A significant number of Central Armed Police Forces (CAPF) and State Armed Police (SAP) personnel were deployed at sensitive booths, while the rest were assigned security duties along with local state police.

    In another incident, a ballot box at a polling booth in Baranachina of Dinhata in Cooch Behar district was set on fire allegedly by voters who were angry with bogus voting that was reportedly going on there.

    Another incident was reported from Balutola in Gopalpur Panchayat of Malda where a clash broke out between Congress and TMC workers and bombs were hurled while the polling booth at Baravita Primary School in Sitai of Coochbehar also vandalised and ballot papers were set on fire.

    Several other incidents of ballot box and ballot paper looting and destruction were reported from numerous polling booths in the State.

    Speaking about the repolls, a senior CAPF officer said, “There were more than 14,000 sensitive polling booths but the state administration just mentioned about 4000 such booths that lead to violence at many places on Sunday. The deployment of CAPF was also not done appropriately.”

    “The situation is completely different during re-polling as CAPF is deployed at all 696 polling booths and there is no information of violence from anywhere till 1 pm,” he added.

    Senior officers monitored the situation from control rooms through CCTVs and taking regular updates from each polling booth, informed another CAPF officer. “We have deployed six-seven CAPF personnel at polling booths where violence had occurred and re-polling has been ordered,” the officer said.

    In 2018, the Trinamool Congress (TMC) won uncontested, 34 per cent of the seats in panchayat elections, which also saw various instances of violence.

    KOLKATA: The counting of votes for the high-stake West Bengal panchayat election will begin on Tuesday at 8 am, a litmus test for Mamata Banerjee and BJP ahead of the 2024 Lok Sabha polls.

    The voting process concluded on Monday after the state election commission (SEC) mandated a re-polling due to reports of violence at multiple polling stations on the first day. Re-election took place at 696 stations across 19 districts, following the nullification of Saturday’s polling in these areas.

    The decision to re-polling was prompted by allegations of ballot box tampering and the occurrence of violence, which tragically resulted in the loss of at least 19 lives.googletag.cmd.push(function() {googletag.display(‘div-gpt-ad-8052921-2’); });

    At first, votes for the Gram Panchayats will be counted, followed by the Zilla Samitis and then the Zilla Parishads. All the counting centres will have an adequate deployment of central forces which will be monitored by CCTV cameras.

    West Bengal Governor CV Ananda Bose, who had been conducting visits to districts affected by pre-poll violence, met with Union Home Minister Amit Shah in New Delhi today. After the meeting, the Governor expressed optimism, stating that there will be light at the end of the tunnel and that good things will happen in the future.

    “The darkest hour is just before dawn. There will be light at the end of the tunnel. The only message I could get today is -if winter comes can spring be far behind? Good will happen in the days to come,” said West Bengal Governor after his meeting with Union Home Minister Amit Shah.

    The BJP accused the State Election Commission (SEC) of not giving order for re-polling to the “thousands of booths” where voting should have been conducted again.

    Leader of the Opposition Suvendu Adhikari said he will move Calcutta High Court and will present evidence collected by his party of alleged malpractice in several thousands of booths during the polling on Saturday.

    The West Bengal SEC has announced that repolling will be held in 696 booths across the state, where voting for the rural elections was declared void following reports of vote-tampering and violence.

    The panchayat elections were held on July 8 under tight security, with approximately 5.67 crore voters participating and deciding the fate of 2.06 lakh candidates vying for 73,887 seats in rural areas of West Bengal.

    However, the voting day was marred with widespread violence, looting of ballots papers and rigging. There were reports of booth capturing, damaging of ballot boxes and assault of presiding officers from several districts such as Murshidabad, Cooch Behar, Malda, South 24 Parganas, North Dinajpur and Nadia.

    Reports also emerged of ballot boxes being set on fire and clashes between political parties in different locations.

    As a result, re-polling was conducted in 697 booths across 22 Zilla Parishads, 9,730 Panchayat Samitis, and 63,239 Gram Panchayat seats in 19 districts of the state. The re-polling process was conducted under the supervision of the Central Armed Police Forces (CAPF) without any reports of violence.

    The State Election Commission officially announced the date for the re-polls and directed the District Panchayat Election Officer to set up the polling stations accordingly.

    During the initial polling, security forces from the Centre and the state were deployed at all 61,636 polling booths to ensure a fair, safe, and impartial election. A significant number of Central Armed Police Forces (CAPF) and State Armed Police (SAP) personnel were deployed at sensitive booths, while the rest were assigned security duties along with local state police.

    In another incident, a ballot box at a polling booth in Baranachina of Dinhata in Cooch Behar district was set on fire allegedly by voters who were angry with bogus voting that was reportedly going on there.

    Another incident was reported from Balutola in Gopalpur Panchayat of Malda where a clash broke out between Congress and TMC workers and bombs were hurled while the polling booth at Baravita Primary School in Sitai of Coochbehar also vandalised and ballot papers were set on fire.

    Several other incidents of ballot box and ballot paper looting and destruction were reported from numerous polling booths in the State.

    Speaking about the repolls, a senior CAPF officer said, “There were more than 14,000 sensitive polling booths but the state administration just mentioned about 4000 such booths that lead to violence at many places on Sunday. The deployment of CAPF was also not done appropriately.”

    “The situation is completely different during re-polling as CAPF is deployed at all 696 polling booths and there is no information of violence from anywhere till 1 pm,” he added.

    Senior officers monitored the situation from control rooms through CCTVs and taking regular updates from each polling booth, informed another CAPF officer. “We have deployed six-seven CAPF personnel at polling booths where violence had occurred and re-polling has been ordered,” the officer said.

    In 2018, the Trinamool Congress (TMC) won uncontested, 34 per cent of the seats in panchayat elections, which also saw various instances of violence.

  • Opposition meet in Patna on June 23; Rahul, Mamata, Kejriwal, Stalin agree to attend

    By PTI

    PATNA: A meeting of opposition parties, organised by Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar, will be held in Patna on June 23, his deputy Tejashwi Yadav said on Wednesday.

    Addressing a press conference with JD(U) national president Rajiv Ranjan Singh by his side, Yadav said that top leaders of most opposition parties, including Congress leader Rahul Gandhi, Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge, West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee, her Tamil Nadu counterpart M K Stalin and Aam Aadmi Party chief Arvind Kejriwal have agreed to attend the meeting.

    The meeting was earlier scheduled to be held on June 12, but was put off after some of the parties, including the Congress and the DMK, requested a change in date.

    JD(U) leader and Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar has taken the lead in speaking to several regional satraps besides the Congress, Aam Aadmi Party, and the Left to forge unity among opposition ranks to take on the BJP in the 2024 Lok Sabha polls.

    Nitish Kumar had recently said he was opposed to parties sending any leader except their respective heads to the meeting where the anti-BJP players will chalk out a strategy for the Lok Sabha polls next year.

    The JD(U) supremo has been pitching for “opposition unity” ever since he snapped ties with the BJP in August last year, following accusations that the ally was trying to create fissures in his party and diminish his standing.

    He has held separate meetings with leaders of many parties, including Rahul Gandhi and Mallikarjun Kharge of the Congress, Delhi Chief Minister and AAP’s national convener Arvind Kejriwal, West Bengal Chief Minister and TMC supremo Mamata Banerjee, Samajwadi Party chief Akhilesh Yadav, Nationalist Congress Party chief Sharad Pawar, Shiv Sena (UBT) leader Uddhav Thackeray, Jharkhand Chief Minister Hemant Soren and leaders from the Left parties.

    As part of the “opposition unity” drive, Kumar has held parleys with not only Congress allies like Uddhav and Pawar but also its opponents like Telangana CM K Chandrasekhar Rao.

    In fact, the idea of hosting a meeting of opposition leaders in Patna was floated by Banerjee, who had invoked the memory of Jayaprakash Narayan upon meeting Kumar in Kolkata last month.

    PATNA: A meeting of opposition parties, organised by Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar, will be held in Patna on June 23, his deputy Tejashwi Yadav said on Wednesday.

    Addressing a press conference with JD(U) national president Rajiv Ranjan Singh by his side, Yadav said that top leaders of most opposition parties, including Congress leader Rahul Gandhi, Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge, West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee, her Tamil Nadu counterpart M K Stalin and Aam Aadmi Party chief Arvind Kejriwal have agreed to attend the meeting.

    The meeting was earlier scheduled to be held on June 12, but was put off after some of the parties, including the Congress and the DMK, requested a change in date.googletag.cmd.push(function() {googletag.display(‘div-gpt-ad-8052921-2’); });

    JD(U) leader and Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar has taken the lead in speaking to several regional satraps besides the Congress, Aam Aadmi Party, and the Left to forge unity among opposition ranks to take on the BJP in the 2024 Lok Sabha polls.

    Nitish Kumar had recently said he was opposed to parties sending any leader except their respective heads to the meeting where the anti-BJP players will chalk out a strategy for the Lok Sabha polls next year.

    The JD(U) supremo has been pitching for “opposition unity” ever since he snapped ties with the BJP in August last year, following accusations that the ally was trying to create fissures in his party and diminish his standing.

    He has held separate meetings with leaders of many parties, including Rahul Gandhi and Mallikarjun Kharge of the Congress, Delhi Chief Minister and AAP’s national convener Arvind Kejriwal, West Bengal Chief Minister and TMC supremo Mamata Banerjee, Samajwadi Party chief Akhilesh Yadav, Nationalist Congress Party chief Sharad Pawar, Shiv Sena (UBT) leader Uddhav Thackeray, Jharkhand Chief Minister Hemant Soren and leaders from the Left parties.

    As part of the “opposition unity” drive, Kumar has held parleys with not only Congress allies like Uddhav and Pawar but also its opponents like Telangana CM K Chandrasekhar Rao.

    In fact, the idea of hosting a meeting of opposition leaders in Patna was floated by Banerjee, who had invoked the memory of Jayaprakash Narayan upon meeting Kumar in Kolkata last month.

  • “TMC behind Odisha train accident,” alleges Suvendu Adhikari

    By ANI

    KOLKATA: The Leader of the Opposition in West Bengal Suvendu Adhikari on Monday alleged that the Trinamool Congress (TMC) was behind the Odisha train accident in which at least 275 people were killed.

    The triple train accident involved the Bengaluru-Howrah Superfast Express, the Coromandel Express and the goods train on three separate tracks at Bahanaga Bazar station in the Balasore district on June 2.

    “This incident (Odisha train accident) is TMC’s conspiracy. They are behind the incident,” Adhikari alleged.

    “Why have they been panicking so much since yesterday when this incident is of another state? Why are they afraid of the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) investigation?” he said.

    The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leader referred to a purported audio clip of a conversation between two railway officials which was posted by TMC leader Kunal Ghosh on Twitter on Sunday.

    He further said, “These people with the help of the police tapped the phones of both the railway officials. How did these people know the conversation between two railway officials? How the conversation got leaked. This should come in the CBI investigation. If it doesn’t come, I will go to court.”

    Earlier on Monday, stepping up her attack on the central government, West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee slammed the Railway Board’s decision to hand over the inquiry into the Odisha train accident to the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) saying that “it is not the time to suppress the truth”.

    “I also gave Gyaneshwari Express case to CBI but no result came. 12 years over but we see no result. CBI handles criminal and accident cases. The Railway Safety Commission is there,” she further remarked.

    At least 275 people were killed, while more than 1,000 were injured in the accident that took place near the Bahanaga Bazar area.

    Mamata Banerjee arrived at the accident site in Balasore on Saturday to take stock of rescue operations and questioned why the Centre’s ‘Kavach’ system was missing from the track of the collision.

    Banerjee who was the Union Railway Minister termed the incident the “biggest railway accident of the 21st century” and said that this would not have happened if Kavach system was present.”Coromandel is one of the best express trains.

    “Coromandel is one of the best express trains. I was the Railway Minister thrice. From what I saw, this is the biggest railway accident of the 21st century. Such cases are handed over to Railway’s safety commission and they investigate and give a report. There was no anti-collision device on the train, as far as I know. Had the device been on the train, this would not have happened. The dead can’t be brought back but now our work is rescue operation and restoration of normalcy,” the West Bengal Chief Minister said on Saturday. said while addressing the reporters in Balasore in the presence of the Union Railway minister.

    READ MORE: Odisha train accident: Anti-collision device would have averted ‘biggest mishap of the century’, says Mamata

    Kavach is an indigenous Train Collision Avoidance System (TCAS) developed by the Ministry of Railways.

    After Mamata Banerjee questioned the Railways over the absence of the ‘Kavach’ system citing it as the reason behind the Balasore triple train tragedy, Railway Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw on Sunday said that the accident has nothing to do with the anti-collision system.

    Vaishnaw while speaking to ANI said that the accident happened due to a change in electronic interlocking.

    “It has nothing to do with Kavach. The reason is not what Mamata Banerjee said yesterday. This incident happened due to a change in electronic interlocking,” the Railway Minister told ANI.”This is an entirely different issue, it involves point machine, electronic interlocking. The change that occurred during electronic interlocking happened due to it. Whoever did it and how it happened will be found out after a proper investigation,” he added.

    KOLKATA: The Leader of the Opposition in West Bengal Suvendu Adhikari on Monday alleged that the Trinamool Congress (TMC) was behind the Odisha train accident in which at least 275 people were killed.

    The triple train accident involved the Bengaluru-Howrah Superfast Express, the Coromandel Express and the goods train on three separate tracks at Bahanaga Bazar station in the Balasore district on June 2.

    “This incident (Odisha train accident) is TMC’s conspiracy. They are behind the incident,” Adhikari alleged.googletag.cmd.push(function() {googletag.display(‘div-gpt-ad-8052921-2’); });

    “Why have they been panicking so much since yesterday when this incident is of another state? Why are they afraid of the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) investigation?” he said.

    The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leader referred to a purported audio clip of a conversation between two railway officials which was posted by TMC leader Kunal Ghosh on Twitter on Sunday.

    He further said, “These people with the help of the police tapped the phones of both the railway officials. How did these people know the conversation between two railway officials? How the conversation got leaked. This should come in the CBI investigation. If it doesn’t come, I will go to court.”

    Earlier on Monday, stepping up her attack on the central government, West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee slammed the Railway Board’s decision to hand over the inquiry into the Odisha train accident to the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) saying that “it is not the time to suppress the truth”.

    “I also gave Gyaneshwari Express case to CBI but no result came. 12 years over but we see no result. CBI handles criminal and accident cases. The Railway Safety Commission is there,” she further remarked.

    At least 275 people were killed, while more than 1,000 were injured in the accident that took place near the Bahanaga Bazar area.

    Mamata Banerjee arrived at the accident site in Balasore on Saturday to take stock of rescue operations and questioned why the Centre’s ‘Kavach’ system was missing from the track of the collision.

    Banerjee who was the Union Railway Minister termed the incident the “biggest railway accident of the 21st century” and said that this would not have happened if Kavach system was present.”Coromandel is one of the best express trains.

    “Coromandel is one of the best express trains. I was the Railway Minister thrice. From what I saw, this is the biggest railway accident of the 21st century. Such cases are handed over to Railway’s safety commission and they investigate and give a report. There was no anti-collision device on the train, as far as I know. Had the device been on the train, this would not have happened. The dead can’t be brought back but now our work is rescue operation and restoration of normalcy,” the West Bengal Chief Minister said on Saturday. said while addressing the reporters in Balasore in the presence of the Union Railway minister.

    READ MORE: Odisha train accident: Anti-collision device would have averted ‘biggest mishap of the century’, says Mamata

    Kavach is an indigenous Train Collision Avoidance System (TCAS) developed by the Ministry of Railways.

    After Mamata Banerjee questioned the Railways over the absence of the ‘Kavach’ system citing it as the reason behind the Balasore triple train tragedy, Railway Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw on Sunday said that the accident has nothing to do with the anti-collision system.

    Vaishnaw while speaking to ANI said that the accident happened due to a change in electronic interlocking.

    “It has nothing to do with Kavach. The reason is not what Mamata Banerjee said yesterday. This incident happened due to a change in electronic interlocking,” the Railway Minister told ANI.”This is an entirely different issue, it involves point machine, electronic interlocking. The change that occurred during electronic interlocking happened due to it. Whoever did it and how it happened will be found out after a proper investigation,” he added.

  • Odisha train crash: Mamata raises question over CBI probe into fatal accident

    Express News Service

    KOLKATA: Slamming the Centre over its decision to recommend a CBI investigation into the fatal triple train crash in Balasore, West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee on Monday said it is not the time to suppress the truth.

    Stepping up her attack on the central government for involving the central agency in the mishap, Mamata said, “We want people to know the truth. It is not the time to suppress the truth.”

    She also cited the examples of CBI probe into railway mishaps during her stint as the railway minister and said the central agency’s investigation resulted in no result.

    “When I was the railway minister, I also gave Gyaneshwari Express case to the CBI but no result came. We see no result even after 12 years. The CBI deals with criminal cases. The Railway Safety Commission is there to investigate accident cases,” she said.

    Mamata announced more government help apart from the ex-gratia compensation she had announced earlier. The West Bengal CM announced state government jobs for the next of kin of those who lost their lives and relatives of those who lost their limbs in the triple train crash in Odisha’s Balasore.

    “Some of the accident victims lost their hands and legs. For such people, our government has decided that we will give the job of special home guard to one of their family members,” she said.

    Mamata also announced that she would revisit Cuttack and Bhubaneswar on Tuesday saying she cancelled her Darjeeling visit to monitor the mishap situation.

    “I will meet the injured from Bengal who are lodged in hospitals in Odisha,” she said.

    Sharing a letter written by a railway official three months ago on his social media platform, TMC spokesperson Saket Gokhale alleged railway minister Ashwini Vaishnaw ignored warnings from railway officials about problems in the track interlocking and signalling system.

    “New shocking fact on how Rail Minister QAshwiniVaishnaw’s criminal negligence caused Odisha train crash: In Feb ’23 (3 months ago), a rail official flagged SERIOUS concerns on track & signalling safety after a major crash was narrowly prevented. His letter was ignored,” Gokhale tweeted sharing a letter purportedly written by the principal chief operational manager, south western railway addressing senior railway officials. 

    New shocking fact on how Rail Minister @AshwiniVaishnaw’s criminal negligence caused Odisha train crash:In Feb ’23 (3 months ago), a rail official flagged SERIOUS concerns on track & signaling safety after a major crash was narrowly preventedHis letter was ignored(1/9)
    — Saket Gokhale (@SaketGokhale) June 5, 2023

    KOLKATA: Slamming the Centre over its decision to recommend a CBI investigation into the fatal triple train crash in Balasore, West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee on Monday said it is not the time to suppress the truth.

    Stepping up her attack on the central government for involving the central agency in the mishap, Mamata said, “We want people to know the truth. It is not the time to suppress the truth.”

    She also cited the examples of CBI probe into railway mishaps during her stint as the railway minister and said the central agency’s investigation resulted in no result.googletag.cmd.push(function() {googletag.display(‘div-gpt-ad-8052921-2’); });

    “When I was the railway minister, I also gave Gyaneshwari Express case to the CBI but no result came. We see no result even after 12 years. The CBI deals with criminal cases. The Railway Safety Commission is there to investigate accident cases,” she said.

    Mamata announced more government help apart from the ex-gratia compensation she had announced earlier. The West Bengal CM announced state government jobs for the next of kin of those who lost their lives and relatives of those who lost their limbs in the triple train crash in Odisha’s Balasore.

    “Some of the accident victims lost their hands and legs. For such people, our government has decided that we will give the job of special home guard to one of their family members,” she said.

    Mamata also announced that she would revisit Cuttack and Bhubaneswar on Tuesday saying she cancelled her Darjeeling visit to monitor the mishap situation.

    “I will meet the injured from Bengal who are lodged in hospitals in Odisha,” she said.

    Sharing a letter written by a railway official three months ago on his social media platform, TMC spokesperson Saket Gokhale alleged railway minister Ashwini Vaishnaw ignored warnings from railway officials about problems in the track interlocking and signalling system.

    “New shocking fact on how Rail Minister QAshwiniVaishnaw’s criminal negligence caused Odisha train crash: In Feb ’23 (3 months ago), a rail official flagged SERIOUS concerns on track & signalling safety after a major crash was narrowly prevented. His letter was ignored,” Gokhale tweeted sharing a letter purportedly written by the principal chief operational manager, south western railway addressing senior railway officials. 

    New shocking fact on how Rail Minister @AshwiniVaishnaw’s criminal negligence caused Odisha train crash:
    In Feb ’23 (3 months ago), a rail official flagged SERIOUS concerns on track & signaling safety after a major crash was narrowly prevented
    His letter was ignored
    (1/9)
    — Saket Gokhale (@SaketGokhale) June 5, 2023

  • Kejriwal to meet Mamata, discuss Centre’s ordinance on administrative services

    By PTI

    KOLKATA: Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal will be meeting his West Bengal counterpart Mamata Banerjee in Kolkata on Tuesday, an official said.

    Kejriwal will be accompanied by Punjab Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann.

    The Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) supremo is trying to drum up opposition support over the Delhi government’s fight against the Centre over an ordinance on the control of administrative services in the national capital.

    Kejriwal and Mann are scheduled to land at Netaji Subhas Chandra Bose International Airport in the afternoon. They will hold a brief meeting with AAP leaders of West Bengal before visiting the state secretariat Nabanna to meet the Trinamool Congress chief.

    “They are scheduled to have a closed-door meeting at the state secretariat. They may also hold a discussion on probable strategies for next year’s general elections,” a senior TMC leader said.

    Kejriwal and Mann will leave the West Bengal capital on Tuesday evening.

    Kejriwal has met Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar over the ordinance issue and the latter has extended full support to AAP in its tussle with the Centre on the matter.

    The AAP chief may also meet Shiv Sena (UBT) leader Uddhav Thackeray and NCP leader Sharad Pawar on Wednesday in Mumbai.

    The Centre promulgated an ordinance on Friday to create a National Capital Civil Service Authority for the transfer of IAS and DANICS cadre officers and disciplinary proceedings against them.

    This came a week after the Supreme Court handed over the control of services, excluding those related to police, public order and land, to the elected government in Delhi.

    An ordinance has to be ratified by Parliament within six months. For this, the Centre will have to bring a bill for its passage in both Houses of Parliament.

    KOLKATA: Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal will be meeting his West Bengal counterpart Mamata Banerjee in Kolkata on Tuesday, an official said.

    Kejriwal will be accompanied by Punjab Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann.

    The Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) supremo is trying to drum up opposition support over the Delhi government’s fight against the Centre over an ordinance on the control of administrative services in the national capital.googletag.cmd.push(function() {googletag.display(‘div-gpt-ad-8052921-2’); });

    Kejriwal and Mann are scheduled to land at Netaji Subhas Chandra Bose International Airport in the afternoon. They will hold a brief meeting with AAP leaders of West Bengal before visiting the state secretariat Nabanna to meet the Trinamool Congress chief.

    “They are scheduled to have a closed-door meeting at the state secretariat. They may also hold a discussion on probable strategies for next year’s general elections,” a senior TMC leader said.

    Kejriwal and Mann will leave the West Bengal capital on Tuesday evening.

    Kejriwal has met Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar over the ordinance issue and the latter has extended full support to AAP in its tussle with the Centre on the matter.

    The AAP chief may also meet Shiv Sena (UBT) leader Uddhav Thackeray and NCP leader Sharad Pawar on Wednesday in Mumbai.

    The Centre promulgated an ordinance on Friday to create a National Capital Civil Service Authority for the transfer of IAS and DANICS cadre officers and disciplinary proceedings against them.

    This came a week after the Supreme Court handed over the control of services, excluding those related to police, public order and land, to the elected government in Delhi.

    An ordinance has to be ratified by Parliament within six months. For this, the Centre will have to bring a bill for its passage in both Houses of Parliament.

  • School jobs scam: TMC leader Abhishek to appear before CBI, dares agency to arrest him

    By PTI

    KOLKATA: TMC leader Abhishek Banerjee, who has been called by the CBI to appear at its Kolkata office on Saturday as part of its probe into the school jobs scam, dared the central agency to arrest him if it has any proof of corruption or misconduct against him.

    His party chief and aunt, Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee on Friday also took up the gauntlet on his behalf, claiming the BJP was gunning for her party colleagues and members of her family, using the investigative agencies, and wowed to oust the saffron party from the centre.

    Earlier, CBI officials Friday said Banerjee had been sent a missive asking him to join the probe at its offices at Nizam Palace here.

    “I dare the CBI to arrest me if they have any proof of corruption against me. They have been probing many cases in Bengal for the last several years. They should arrest me if they have any proof against me,” Abhishek said on Friday at a rally in Bankura, adding that he would return to the city this evening.

    On Thursday, Calcutta High Court had dismissed a petition filed by Banerjee seeking recall of a previous order of the court which said that investigative agencies such as CBI and ED could interrogate him in the teacher recruitment scam. CBI sent its letter asking Abhishek Banerjee to appear within 24 hours.

    The TMC leader’s name cropped up in a complaint filed by Kuntal Ghosh, an accused in the scam. Ghosh alleged that he was being pressured by central investigating agencies to name Abhishek Banerjee in the school scam case.

    “You are hereby directed to appear before me on Saturday, at 11 am …” the letter sent by a deputy superintendent of the CBI to Banerjee’s Harish Mukherjee road address said.

    In a tweet, Banerjee said, “unfazed by these events, I shall strive to serve the people…bring it on.”

    Abhishek at his rally soon after the letter was delivered, accused the BJP of “using” the central agency to stop his ongoing mass outreach campaign as the saffron party was “afraid of the public support” for the programme.

    “I will not bow my head before anyone apart from the masses. The BJP is afraid of the public support for the mass outreach campaign. CBI has summoned me, as they (BJP) want this mass outreach campaign to stop,” he said while addressing a roadshow here.

    TMC supremo Mamata Banerjee also lashed out at the right-wing party, stating, “BJP is after everyone in our party and my family, but we are not afraid of them. CBI should have given some time to Abhishek to appear before it as it had known that he has been on the streets since April 25 to lead the mass outreach campaign.”

    “Till BJP is ousted from the Centre, our fight against its tyranny will continue,” Banerjee thundered.

    The fiery leader had to step in at the last moment to address a late evening rally virtually from Kolkata, as Abhishek Banerjee, left for Kolkata to be able to appear before CBI on Saturday morning.

    A division bench of the Calcutta High Court on Friday did not allow an urgent hearing of an appeal by the Trinamool Congress national general secretary challenging the single bench order which said that there was no restraining order on CBI to act upon a notice to him.

    An attempt to get the chief justice to hear it also did not succeed. The matter may now be taken up before a vacation bench of the High Court which will sit from Monday onwards.

    Reacting to the TMC leaders’ remarks, the BJP dubbed the allegations as baseless. “The BJP has nothing to do with the CBI probe. If he has nothing to hide, why is he making such allegations,” BJP state spokesperson Samik Bhattacharya said.

    Standing atop a vehicle, the TMC’s national general secretary thanked people for their “overwhelming love and support” before leaving for Kolkata.

    “I dare the CBI to arrest me if they have any proof of corruption against me. They have been probing many cases in Bengal for the last several years. They should arrest me if they have any proof against me,” he said, adding that he would return to the city this evening.

    Banerjee said he has temporarily suspended his mass outreach campaign – Trinamool Nabojowar (Trinamool New Wave), to join the probe and will resume it again from Bankura on Monday.

    “Despite not being given even a day’s prior notice, I will still abide by it (CBI’s missive asking him to appear) as I have done no wrong,” he said.

    TMC leader criticized the CBI for not summoning BJP leaders accused of corruption.

    “A person was caught on camera taking bribes, but the CBI never summons him as he has joined the BJP. You can loot, take bribes and commit crimes; you won’t be touched once you join the BJP, as it is now a safe haven for thieves,” he said while referring to the Narada scam, which the CBI is also probing.

    KOLKATA: TMC leader Abhishek Banerjee, who has been called by the CBI to appear at its Kolkata office on Saturday as part of its probe into the school jobs scam, dared the central agency to arrest him if it has any proof of corruption or misconduct against him.

    His party chief and aunt, Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee on Friday also took up the gauntlet on his behalf, claiming the BJP was gunning for her party colleagues and members of her family, using the investigative agencies, and wowed to oust the saffron party from the centre.

    Earlier, CBI officials Friday said Banerjee had been sent a missive asking him to join the probe at its offices at Nizam Palace here.googletag.cmd.push(function() {googletag.display(‘div-gpt-ad-8052921-2′); });

    “I dare the CBI to arrest me if they have any proof of corruption against me. They have been probing many cases in Bengal for the last several years. They should arrest me if they have any proof against me,” Abhishek said on Friday at a rally in Bankura, adding that he would return to the city this evening.

    On Thursday, Calcutta High Court had dismissed a petition filed by Banerjee seeking recall of a previous order of the court which said that investigative agencies such as CBI and ED could interrogate him in the teacher recruitment scam. CBI sent its letter asking Abhishek Banerjee to appear within 24 hours.

    The TMC leader’s name cropped up in a complaint filed by Kuntal Ghosh, an accused in the scam. Ghosh alleged that he was being pressured by central investigating agencies to name Abhishek Banerjee in the school scam case.

    “You are hereby directed to appear before me on Saturday, at 11 am …” the letter sent by a deputy superintendent of the CBI to Banerjee’s Harish Mukherjee road address said.

    In a tweet, Banerjee said, “unfazed by these events, I shall strive to serve the people…bring it on.”

    Abhishek at his rally soon after the letter was delivered, accused the BJP of “using” the central agency to stop his ongoing mass outreach campaign as the saffron party was “afraid of the public support” for the programme.

    “I will not bow my head before anyone apart from the masses. The BJP is afraid of the public support for the mass outreach campaign. CBI has summoned me, as they (BJP) want this mass outreach campaign to stop,” he said while addressing a roadshow here.

    TMC supremo Mamata Banerjee also lashed out at the right-wing party, stating, “BJP is after everyone in our party and my family, but we are not afraid of them. CBI should have given some time to Abhishek to appear before it as it had known that he has been on the streets since April 25 to lead the mass outreach campaign.”

    “Till BJP is ousted from the Centre, our fight against its tyranny will continue,” Banerjee thundered.

    The fiery leader had to step in at the last moment to address a late evening rally virtually from Kolkata, as Abhishek Banerjee, left for Kolkata to be able to appear before CBI on Saturday morning.

    A division bench of the Calcutta High Court on Friday did not allow an urgent hearing of an appeal by the Trinamool Congress national general secretary challenging the single bench order which said that there was no restraining order on CBI to act upon a notice to him.

    An attempt to get the chief justice to hear it also did not succeed. The matter may now be taken up before a vacation bench of the High Court which will sit from Monday onwards.

    Reacting to the TMC leaders’ remarks, the BJP dubbed the allegations as baseless. “The BJP has nothing to do with the CBI probe. If he has nothing to hide, why is he making such allegations,” BJP state spokesperson Samik Bhattacharya said.

    Standing atop a vehicle, the TMC’s national general secretary thanked people for their “overwhelming love and support” before leaving for Kolkata.

    “I dare the CBI to arrest me if they have any proof of corruption against me. They have been probing many cases in Bengal for the last several years. They should arrest me if they have any proof against me,” he said, adding that he would return to the city this evening.

    Banerjee said he has temporarily suspended his mass outreach campaign – Trinamool Nabojowar (Trinamool New Wave), to join the probe and will resume it again from Bankura on Monday.

    “Despite not being given even a day’s prior notice, I will still abide by it (CBI’s missive asking him to appear) as I have done no wrong,” he said.

    TMC leader criticized the CBI for not summoning BJP leaders accused of corruption.

    “A person was caught on camera taking bribes, but the CBI never summons him as he has joined the BJP. You can loot, take bribes and commit crimes; you won’t be touched once you join the BJP, as it is now a safe haven for thieves,” he said while referring to the Narada scam, which the CBI is also probing.

  • Opposition forms G-8, calls Congress for LS poll talks

    Express News Service

    NEW DELHI: Seven non-Congress opposition chief ministers and a deputy CM have together formed a group and had three video conferences over the last few weeks to discuss a united fight against the BJP in 2024.

    The eight leaders of this group include seven chief ministers – Mamata Banerjee (West Bengal), MK Stalin (Tamil Nadu), Nitish Kumar (Bihar), K Chandrashekar Rao (Telangana), Hemant Soren (Jharkhand), Bhagwant Mann (Punjab), Arvind Kejriwal (Delhi) – and Bihar deputy chief minister Tejashwi Yadav. The Congress is part of the ruling alliance in TN, Jharkhand and Bihar.

    Sources said the group, called G-8, has invited the Congress to start seat-sharing talks on the condition that the leadership of the united opposition group is left open until after the Lok Sabha elections.  Congress is yet to respond to the proposal. But sources said Rahul Gandhi is keen to engage with G-8 leaders. They said a united challenge to the BJP with all opposition parties coming on one platform was the plan Rahul  Gandhi had referred to in London recently. 

    Some of the group’s leaders like KCR, Kejriwal and Mamata oppose breaking bread with the Congress. It is on their insistence that the condition to freeze the leadership issue until after the elections were conveyed to Congress. Two other chief ministers – Naveen Patnaik (Odisha) and Jagan Mohan Reddy (Andhra Pradesh) – have refused to have any pre-poll understanding with the Congress.

    Sources said if the Congress does not agree to their condition on leadership, they would go ahead and expand the group by including the remaining opposition CMs and other opposition parties. According to sources, Mamata Banerjee’s meeting with Samajwadi Party president Akhilesh Yadav on Friday was an attempt by the non-Congress opposition leaders to send a message to the grand old party not to insist on a leadership position in the opposition. 

    The opposition leaders had not taken kindly to Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge’s remark at an election rally that his party would lead the opposition and form the next government by ousting the BJP.An opposition leader who is privy to the discussions among the G-8 said that the Congress had failed to take on the BJP in the last two Lok Sabha elections. “It was routed in states where it was in a direct fight with the BJP.” It is time the Congress allowed the regional parties that have successfully halted the BJP’s march in their respective states to take the leadership position, he said. 

    NEW DELHI: Seven non-Congress opposition chief ministers and a deputy CM have together formed a group and had three video conferences over the last few weeks to discuss a united fight against the BJP in 2024.

    The eight leaders of this group include seven chief ministers – Mamata Banerjee (West Bengal), MK Stalin (Tamil Nadu), Nitish Kumar (Bihar), K Chandrashekar Rao (Telangana), Hemant Soren (Jharkhand), Bhagwant Mann (Punjab), Arvind Kejriwal (Delhi) – and Bihar deputy chief minister Tejashwi Yadav. The Congress is part of the ruling alliance in TN, Jharkhand and Bihar.

    Sources said the group, called G-8, has invited the Congress to start seat-sharing talks on the condition that the leadership of the united opposition group is left open until after the Lok Sabha elections.  Congress is yet to respond to the proposal. But sources said Rahul Gandhi is keen to engage with G-8 leaders. They said a united challenge to the BJP with all opposition parties coming on one platform was the plan Rahul  Gandhi had referred to in London recently. googletag.cmd.push(function() {googletag.display(‘div-gpt-ad-8052921-2’); });

    Some of the group’s leaders like KCR, Kejriwal and Mamata oppose breaking bread with the Congress. It is on their insistence that the condition to freeze the leadership issue until after the elections were conveyed to Congress. Two other chief ministers – Naveen Patnaik (Odisha) and Jagan Mohan Reddy (Andhra Pradesh) – have refused to have any pre-poll understanding with the Congress.

    Sources said if the Congress does not agree to their condition on leadership, they would go ahead and expand the group by including the remaining opposition CMs and other opposition parties. According to sources, Mamata Banerjee’s meeting with Samajwadi Party president Akhilesh Yadav on Friday was an attempt by the non-Congress opposition leaders to send a message to the grand old party not to insist on a leadership position in the opposition. 

    The opposition leaders had not taken kindly to Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge’s remark at an election rally that his party would lead the opposition and form the next government by ousting the BJP.
    An opposition leader who is privy to the discussions among the G-8 said that the Congress had failed to take on the BJP in the last two Lok Sabha elections. “It was routed in states where it was in a direct fight with the BJP.” It is time the Congress allowed the regional parties that have successfully halted the BJP’s march in their respective states to take the leadership position, he said. 

  • Suvendu writes to PM Modi seeking action against Mamata in Saradha scam

    By Express News Service

    KOLKATA: West Bengal’s Leader of Opposition Suvendu Adhikari on Monday wrote to Prime Minister Narendra Modi seeking his intervention for action against Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee in the Saradha chit fund scam.

    Labelling Mamata as the scam’s “biggest beneficiary”, Suvendu expressed concern over the CBI’s “slow-paced” investigation and questioned the central agency’s “incomprehensible scepticism and hesitation” in getting the TMC supremo convicted.

    Adhikari, in the letter, alleged, “The CBI was handed over the responsibility of the investigation because it was a scam which involved thousands of crores collected from the public allegedly because of the patronage of people occupying high positions in the system.”

    “The CBI was expected to nail the person occupying the highest position in the system,” he wrote.

    Referring to Mamata’s ‘position in the system, he wrote, “Is this why the CBI is hesitant? Or has the height of her chair made them reluctant to act against her? But wasn’t it the primary reason for handing over the investigation to the CBI? So that the position of the high & mighty doesn’t deter them from acting against them and bringing them to justice.”

    Adhikari also alleged that Banerjee’s association with Saradha goes back to the time when she was the railway minister in the UPA-2 government.

    When the ruling Trinamool Congress alleged on several occasions that the CBI and other central agencies are working at the behest of the BJP, Adhikari expressed his unhappiness with the probe’s progress several times in the letter.

    Claiming that Mamata’s link to the scam is “well established,” Adhikari wrote, “Why is CBI going slow regarding Mamata Banerjee and making no progress as such? The lack of action is resulting in the erosion of the faith of the people of West Bengal in the premier investigating agency.”

    Concluding his plea, he wrote, “I hope you (Modi) would consider this plea of the people of West Bengal and see to it that the culprits are punished strictly as per the law of the land.”

    KOLKATA: West Bengal’s Leader of Opposition Suvendu Adhikari on Monday wrote to Prime Minister Narendra Modi seeking his intervention for action against Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee in the Saradha chit fund scam.

    Labelling Mamata as the scam’s “biggest beneficiary”, Suvendu expressed concern over the CBI’s “slow-paced” investigation and questioned the central agency’s “incomprehensible scepticism and hesitation” in getting the TMC supremo convicted.

    Adhikari, in the letter, alleged, “The CBI was handed over the responsibility of the investigation because it was a scam which involved thousands of crores collected from the public allegedly because of the patronage of people occupying high positions in the system.”googletag.cmd.push(function() {googletag.display(‘div-gpt-ad-8052921-2’); });

    “The CBI was expected to nail the person occupying the highest position in the system,” he wrote.

    Referring to Mamata’s ‘position in the system, he wrote, “Is this why the CBI is hesitant? Or has the height of her chair made them reluctant to act against her? But wasn’t it the primary reason for handing over the investigation to the CBI? So that the position of the high & mighty doesn’t deter them from acting against them and bringing them to justice.”

    Adhikari also alleged that Banerjee’s association with Saradha goes back to the time when she was the railway minister in the UPA-2 government.

    When the ruling Trinamool Congress alleged on several occasions that the CBI and other central agencies are working at the behest of the BJP, Adhikari expressed his unhappiness with the probe’s progress several times in the letter.

    Claiming that Mamata’s link to the scam is “well established,” Adhikari wrote, “Why is CBI going slow regarding Mamata Banerjee and making no progress as such? The lack of action is resulting in the erosion of the faith of the people of West Bengal in the premier investigating agency.”

    Concluding his plea, he wrote, “I hope you (Modi) would consider this plea of the people of West Bengal and see to it that the culprits are punished strictly as per the law of the land.”