News Analysis India

Tag: Mamata Banerjee

  • Mamata’s purported conversation with Trinamool nominee after Sitalkuchi firing stirs row

    By PTI
    KOLKATA: A controversy erupted on Friday after the BJP released a purported audio clip in which West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee is heard telling the Trinamool Congress nominee of Sitalkuchi to hold rallies with bodies of the four persons killed in CISF firing during polling on April 10.

    Claiming that such a conversation never took place, the TMC described the audio clip as “bogus” and wondered whether the Centre is tapping a chief ministers phone.

    PTI could not independently verify the authenticity of the audio clip which was released on the eve of the fifth phase of the polls.

    Releasing excerpts of the telephonic conversation between Banerjee and Partha Pratim Ray, the TMC candidate of the Sitalkuchi seat, the BJP’s IT Cell chief Amit Malviya claimed that the “chief minister is trying to instigate riots by asking her party leaders to take out rallies with bodies”.

    “She is heard asking her party candidate to frame the case in such a way that both the superintendent of police (of Cooch Behar) and other central forces personnel can be framed. Is this expected from a chief minister? She is trying to instil a sense of fear just for minority votes,” he said.

    BJP president JP Nadda alleged that the ruling party of the state signifies the culture of vultures.

    “TMC signifies VULTURE CULTURE- of feasting on death for petty political gains. TMC should be ashamed of themselves,” Nadda said in a tweet.

    Four persons were killed as central forces opened fire allegedly after coming under attack from locals, who “attempted to snatch their rifles”, near a booth in Sitalkuchi in Cooch Behar district during the fourth phase of polling.

    According to BJP sources, the saffron party has decided to move the Election Commission over the audio clip.

    In the purported audio clip, Banerjee is heard instructing Ray to keep his cool till the polling is over.

    “Don’t panic. You should make arrangements for conducting a rally with the bodies the next day. And also consult a lawyer and file a police complaint so that neither the SP nor IC can escape,” she is heard saying.

    The TMC’s Sitalkuchi candidate termed the audio clip as “bogus”.

    “Such a conversation never took place. This audio clip is totally bogus. The BJP is just trying to confuse the people before the fifth phase of polling,” he said.

    TMC spokesperson Derek O’ Brien and his Rajya Sabha colleague Sukendu Sekhar Roy asked the BJP not to play mind games with the people of the state.

    “Did the Centre tap the private phone conversations of a sitting CM? We condemn this blatant breach of privacy and illegitimate usage of state machinery for petty political agenda,” Roy said at a late-night press conference.

    “We will trounce BJP in this election. Don’t play mind games with the people of Bengal!” O’Brien said.

    Earlier, Banerjee has described the firing as genocide by central forces and termed it as a conspiracy by Union Home Minister Amit Shah.

    Out of the eight-phase assembly elections in the state, four phases have been completed and the remaining four are scheduled to be held between April 17 and 29.

  • BJP responsible for COVID surge in Bengal, will urge EC to prevent entry of outsiders during campaigning: Mamata

    By Agencies
    NABADWIP: West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee said on Friday she will call upon the Election Commission to stop the BJP from bringing “outsiders” during campaigning, squarely blaming the saffron party for exacerbating the COVID-19 situation in the state.

    Banerjee, during a public meeting here in Nadia district, said the BJP brought people from “worst-hit” states like Gujarat for erecting marquees for Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s poll rallies.

    ALSO READ | Mamata reluctant to grant citizenship to Matuas, Namsudras; Rahul a ‘tourist politician’: Amit Shah

    “For 5 months there was no COVID19, now they (BJP) have brought people from outside & no one is being tested. Whoever comes from outside should be tested…. People from outside are coming & spreading COVID19. When our people will die, they will blame us,” Banerjee told ANI at a rally in Noapara.

    “I will tell the EC to stop the inflow of outsiders from states like Gujarat who are responsible for the COVID-19 spread in Bengal.

    “We have nothing to say if the PM or other leaders come for campaigning. Why should the BJP bring people from worst-affected states to set up podiums and pandals for rallies,” she said.

    The Trinamool Congress boss said local labourers and decorators can be engaged for the purpose after necessary COVID-19 tests.

    Referring to her injury, the chief minister said the BJP wanted to stop her from canvassing by “targeting her leg”, but she has managed to come out triumphant.

    “They had targeted my leg, but I proved them wrong with the blessings of people. The injury has healed 75 per cent,” she said.

    Banerjee, who suffered injuries on her leg during campaigning in Nandigram on March 10, has since been seen seated on a wheelchair in rallies and roadshows.

    She said the COVID-19 surge in West Bengal could have been under check had Modi ensured vaccination for every citizen of the state.

    “The virus had become weak in the last five-six months. But, the PM did not take steps to vaccinate every citizen. He did not even respond to my suggestion for free vaccination for people of the state for political reasons.

    “On our part, we have already started free inoculation at some camps in Kolkata and other areas,” Banerjee said West Bengal on Thursday recorded the highest single- day spike of 6,769 coronavirus cases and at least 22 more fatalities.

    Urging all eligible voters to exercise their franchise on Saturday, the fifth phase of assembly elections, she alleged, “If you don’t, citing some excuses, the BJP will try to delete your name from the voter list.”

    The TMC chief also slammed the BJP-led government at the Centre for the hike in LPG cyclinder prices.

    “If they have their way, BJP will take it to Rs 5,000 per cyclinder. Tell them we don’t want cash for votes, we want cooking gas for free,” she said, accusing the saffron party of distributing money among people for votes.

    Speaking about the temple town Nabadwip, Banerjee said her government has spent Rs 300 crore for the heritage spot.

    “There are two heritage towns in the state – Nabadwip and Cooch Behar. What we have done for these places, no other government had done so during their tenure,” she asserted.

    Banerjee added that a world heritage centre was also coming up in Mayapur.

    “Nabadwip and Cooch Behar will be a pilgrimage hub when the planned projects are completed, attracting lakhs of tourists and providing more employment opportunities,” the CM said.

    (With ANI and PTI inputs)

  • Mamata reluctant to grant citizenship to Matuas, Namsudras; Rahul a ‘tourist politician’: Amit Shah

    By PTI
    TEHATTA: Union Home Minister Amit Shah Friday accused West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee of denying citizenship to Dalit Matua and Namsudra communities as her “vote bank would not like it”.

    Reaching out to the two numerically strong communities which can infuence the outcome of assembly elections in many seats, Shah said a Rs 100 crore fund will be created for their welfare if the BJP is voted to power in the state.

    He also mocked Congress leader Rahul Gandhi, calling him a “tourist politician”.

    “These Matua and Namsudra families are living here for 50-70 years, for three generations. But Didi says they will not get citizenship, why? Because her vote back would not like it,” he told an election rally in Tehatta in Nadia district.

    Taking a swipe at Rahul Gandhi who addressed his first two election rallies on Wednesday after keeping off the campaign in the state where his party is contesting in alliance with the Left while fighting against it in Kerala, Shah branded him a “tourist politician”.

    “A tourist politician arrived in Bengal after almost the entire poll got over and questioned our DNA. BJP’s DNA is development, nationalism and Atmanirbhar Bharat,” he said.

    Flaying “dynasty politics” in the TMC, Shah said while the BJP wants to implement the PM Kisan Samman Nidhi scheme for farmers in Bengal, “Didi only wants Bhaipo (nephew) Samman Nidhi”.

    Top BJP leaders have been accusing Banerjee’s nephew and Diamond Harbour MP Abhishek Banerjee of wielding “unwarranted influence” over the government machinery and running “extortion syndicates”.

    “After people’s mandate on May 2 (counting day), nobody will be left to take cut money, the government of syndicates will be no more there, the government that works for Bhaipo will be gone,” he asserted.

    The home minister assailed the TMC government for “failing to check infiltrators who take away the jobs of our youths and food of our poor”.

    “Let alone illegal immigrants, not even a bird from across the border will be allowed to enter Bengal.

    Not the TMC, neither the Left, nor the Congress, only BJP can stop infiltration,” he asserted.

    He claimed the demography of Nadia district, which shares border with Bangladesh, had got altered because of infiltration.

  • Will not stage dharna over 24-hour campaign ban: Dilip Ghosh

    By PTI
    KOLKATA: With the Election Commission (EC) having barred him from campaigning for 24 hours, West Bengal BJP president Dilip Ghosh on Thursday said that he will strictly abide by the order and not stage a dharna over the poll panel’s decision, unlike TMC supremo Mamata Banerjee.

    Banerjee sat on a dharna in the city on Tuesday to protest the EC’s 24-hour ban on her campaigning for her comments against central forces and a statement which had alleged religious overtones.

    ALSO READ: Mamata holds roadshow, Dilip Ghosh barred from campaigning for 24 hours

    “I will abide by the Election Commission’s order and not stage any dharna on the streets,” Ghosh said, in an apparent dig at the TMC chief.

    The poll panel has imposed the ban on the state BJP chief for his remarks referring to last week’s CISF firing at Sitalkuchi in Cooch Behar, which killed four people.

    Ghosh further said that he would use the opportunity to take rest as he had been undertaking hectic poll campaigns over the past few weeks.

    “I will stay at home, eat and rest for a day,” he added.

  • FIR against Mamata Banerjee in Cooch Behar for ‘instigating’ people to gherao central forces

    By PTI
    COOCH BEHAR: An FIR has been lodged against West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee at a police station here, alleging that she instigated voters to gherao central forces and that, in turn, led to the incident of firing in Sitalkuchi and the subsequent death of four persons.

    Siddique Ali Mia, the zilla president of BJP’s minority cell in Cooch Behar, cited the TMC supremo’s comments during a rally in Banerswar area as he filed a complaint on Wednesday claiming that her address provoked people to attack CISF personnel during the fourth phase of state elections.

    He attached a video clip of Banerjee’s speech in his complaint at Mathabhanga police station.

    Villagers, after being provoked by such provocative statements of Mamata Banerjee, tried to snatch fire arms of the deployed paramilitary forces, Mia said.

    “The said villagers including women launched attack upon the paramilitary forces with the intention of causing bodily injury, knowing it to be likely to cause death of the deployed paramilitary forces,” he wrote in the FIR, a copy of which is with the PTI.

    The BJP leader, when contacted, said he would launch a massive protest demanding the chief minister’s arrest, if the police “sit idle” on the FIR in the next few days.

    “She is solely responsible for the death of those four people. She is answerable to all the voters of our district,” Mia stated.

    At least four persons died outside a polling booth in Sitalkuchi assembly constituency on April 10 when CISF personnel opened fire in “self defence” allegedly after coming under attack from locals.

    The Election Commission had suspended the voting exercise at the booth following the incident.

    In its statement, the EC said, “The joint report of the two special observers has been received …wherein they interalia stated that recourse to open fire by the CISF personnel became absolutely necessary in order to save the lives of the voters lined up at the polling booth, those of other polling personnel and their own lives as the mob had attempted snatching their weapons.”

    The poll panel had also banned political leaders from entering the district for three days.

    Banerjee met the family members of those killed in the firing on Wednesday.

  • ‘Mamata getting disturbed despite PM giving her respect’: Smriti Irani on Modi’s ‘Didi, o Didi’ slogan

    By ANI
    NORTH 24 PARGANAS: Union Minister and Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leader Smriti Irani on Wednesday lashed out at West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee, saying that while she talks of ‘khela hobe’, the people of the state are saying there will be slogans for lotus.

    Addressing a public gathering in Shikarpur, Irani said: “Didi is getting disturbed on being called ‘Didi’ and is stating why PM Modi is saying ‘Didi, o Didi’. She is getting disturbed. PM Modi is giving her respect and she is insulting him. But her ‘khela’ means insulting others.”

    “Before this election, she told every person ‘khela hobe’. But she does not know that after each phase, people of Bengal are telling her ‘Didi, you are saying khela hobe, people are saying ‘poddophooler naara hobe’ (there will be slogans for the lotus),” she added.

    Lotus is the election symbol of the BJP.

    She further targeted Banerjee, saying that the party which talks of ‘Ma, Mati and Manush’ is “insulting women, bloodying the soil and handing over homes to syndicates”.

    She alleged that Mamata Banerjee came to power on the claims of bringing ‘poriborton’ (change) and ending the atrocities inflicted by the Left government but the “previous government’s goons have now turned into the goons of Trinamool Congress (TMC).”

    Irani also claimed that a video clip has emerged in Ashok Nagar where Mamata Banerjee allegedly told a TMC candidate “to stop his smuggling”.

    “This is not an ordinary election. This election is for the development of every poor person and family, the respect of every woman in Bengal,” she said.

    “Didi says’ Bangla nijer meyeke chaaye’ (Bengal wants her own daughter). I said earlier that which daughter are you talking about? What situation she and her goons had left the state in after the Amphan cyclone? Did the rice sent by the PM Modi reach the people? TMC’s goons have stolen the rice of poor people,” the Union Minister said.

    Irani said once a BJP government is formed in the state, “every TMC goon will be sent behind bars”.

    “Every vote for the TMC is an insult to women, poor people, and the state. If you want to protect the state and preserve the culture, press the lotus and give your blessings to BJP,” she added.

    The high-decibel campaigning for the fifth phase of the ongoing West Bengal Assembly elections concluded at 6 pm on Wednesday, as leaders of the political parties taking part in the high-stakes polls left no stone unturned to woo the voters of the state.

    The campaigning ended early today as the Election Commission (EC) on Saturday said the silence period for the fifth phase shall be extended to 72 hours. The decision came after violence in the fourth phase of the election in which five persons died.

  • ‘Bell for Mamata’s departure has already rung’: Nadda lashes out at Bengal CM

    By PTI
    JAMALPUR/ASANSOL/KOLKATA: BJP president J P Nadda Wednesday hit out at Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee for the language she used against BJP top leaders and for disrespecting the culture of Bengal and said the bell for her departure has already rung.

    Contending that the BJP is the true upholder and protector of Bengal’s culture, Nadda said that the saffron party has worked to spread the messages of great philosophers and thinkers of the state who provided direction to the people of the country.

    Nadda said that it is BJP which has been spreading the messages of Sri Ramakrishna Paramahans, Swami Vivekananda, Bankim Chandra Chattopadhyay, Rabindranath Tagore and Syama Prasad Mookerjee throughout the country.

    “Are the words used by her for Modiji (PM), Amit Shah during her campaigns and the adornments she used with my name the culture of Bengal?” he asked.

    “So it is we who are insiders, we who are the protectors of Bengals culture. You (Banerjee) have disrespected the culture of Bengal while we have given it the appropriate respect,” the BJP chief asserted while addressing a public meeting of the party at Jamlpur in Purba Bardhaman district.

    Banerjee has often called BJP a party of outsiders, meaning a party of poeple from other states.

    Nadda claimed that the chief minister is doing ‘Chandi path’ (reciting hymns of Goddess Chandi) with the election in mind after denying permission for the immersion of Durga idol and holding of Saraswati puja in the state.

    “She may ring the bell (in a temple) as much as she wants, but the bell for her departure has already rung,” he said.

    Banerjee has politicised the police and criminalised politics in the state in her 10-year-long rule to give a free run to extortion, corruption and cut money culture, the BJP president asserted.

    “I urge you (people) to exercise your franchise to ban her (Banerjee) permanently for the sake of development of the state,” Nadda said at another rally at New Town in Kolkata.

    The BJP president said that on one side there is Prime Minister Narendra Modi who spreads the ho asks message of ‘sab ka sath sab ka vikas sab ka viswas’ for the collective development of 130 crore people of the country, while on the other side there is a political leader (Banerjee) who asks people of a community to get united.

    Why is she doing this and against whom? “Her (Banerjees) anxiety has reached such a point that being a chief minister she is asking people to gherao CAPF jawans,” he said.

    Maintaining that the Election Commission had banned Banerjee from campaigning for 24 hours for her comment asking people of a particular community to unite, Nadda wondered at the kind of government in West Bengal for the last 10 years (under TMC) “which works for dividing the society”.

    He said, It is astonishing that the chief minister did not spare a word about the killing of first time voter Ananda Barman, a dalit youth at the hands of TMC goons at Sitalkuchi.

    “Barman was killed in the fourth phase of the ongoing state poll on April 10. The death of every person is unfortunate, including that of the four persons who died in firing by central armed police force personnel when a mob allegedly tried to snatch their firearms and the voting machine also at Sitalkuchi. Banerjee should have spoken of Barman also while she expressed her deep sorrow for the loss of lives of the others,” Nadda said.

    Reacting to Nadda’s allegation, TMC MP Saugata Roy said that the BJP presiident need not give lessons to the TMC government on the issue and claimed that Dalits in Bengal are in a much better condition than in BJP-ruled states.

    Roy said that the TMC after returning to power in Bengal will ensure assistance for everyone who died and there will be no discrimination.

    Paying his espects to B R Ambedkar, the father of Indian Constitution on his birth anniversary, Nadda alleged at a rally at Katwa that under Banerjee’s leadership TMC leaders are insulting Dalits so many years after Independence.

    Claiming that a woman TMC leader had recently used derogatory words against people of scheduled castes and backward classes people, he said “Mamata didi has not said a word castigating the leader for her remarks, proving the TMC’s anti-Dalit stance.”

    At another poll meeting at Asansol, Nadda said that Bengal’s turnaround is not possible until the people of the state have an honest leadership and claimed that this time all the combinations for a real “parivartan” (change) are in place.

    Maintaining that a BJP government has to take over for ensuring the economic development of the state, the partys president said “What the people of Bengal are looking for is not just a change, but to regain its lost glory and recreation of Sonar Bangla (prosperous Bengal).”

    Earlier in the day, Nadda took part in a well-attended road show at Bongaon in North 24 Parganas district.

  • Bengal polls: NRC highlight of Didi’s campaign in remaining four phases

    Express News Service
    KOLKATA: West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee on Wednesday made it clear that the National Register of Citizens (NRC) will be an issue that she will use against BJP in the remaining four phases of Assembly elections in the state.

    It comes in response to Union Home Minister Amit Shah’s claim in Kalimpong on Tuesday that there was no plan to implement NRC as of now.

    The hills of Bengal go to polls in the fifth phase and the huge Gorkha population of the region is apprehensive that NRC can go against them. Calling Shah’s assurance a lie, Mamata the cited the example of Assam, where people have been sent to detention camps over the issue of citizenship.

    “The moment election ended in Assam (earlier this month), the BJP government started issuing notices asking people, who were left out of the list of citizens, why they should not be evicted by implementing the NRC.

    Mamata Banerjee (picture left) meets relatives of those killed in CISF firingin West Bengal’s Sitalkuchi

    “They are issuing detention camp notices. Do not trust them. BJP should be ousted through NRC, NPR and only then, people will be able to stay in the country,’’ she said at a rally in Jalpaiguri.

    Mamata’s comments are aimed at refugee voters who migrated from Bangladesh in large numbers. S he also lashed out at BJP for “bringing outsiders” in the name of elections and spreading Covid-19 in West Bengal.

    A day earlier, Shah had said there was no plan to implement NRC in the region at the moment and even if it is, it would have no impact on Gorkhas.

    This community constitutes a considerable chunk of the electorate in the hills.

    Visiting kin of victims

    Mamata went to Sitalkuchi, after the Election Commission’s 72-hour ban barring political leaders from visiting Cooch Behar district ended. She met family members of the four persons killed in firing by CISF personnel on April 10.

    She also met relatives of a first-time voter, who was shot dead in a separate incident. BJP has claimed he was their supporter and killed by TMC workers.

    Without naming the Election Commission, which barred her from campaigning for 24 hours, Mamata said: “They did not allow me to visit Sitalkuchi for three days. I was not allowed to address rallies for 24 hours. The people of Bengal have witnessed this injustice to me and they will give a befitting reply to it in this election.’’

    The Trinamool Congress chief reiterated that after coming to power in West Bengal, her government will conduct a probe into the killing of the four persons and also the fifth person, who the BJP claims to be their supporter.

  • BJP brought outsiders in Bengal for poll campaign, contributed to COVID surge: Mamata Banerjee

    By PTI
    JALPAIGURI: West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee on Wednesday alleged that the BJP has contributed to the recent rise in COVID-19 cases in the state by bringing “outsiders in large numbers” for campaigning during the ongoing assembly elections.

    Addressing a poll rally here, Banerjee also accused the BJP-led government at the Centre of not responding to the state’s plea to vaccinate a majority of people, which could have helped contain the spread of the disease.

    “They (BJP leaders) have brought outsiders for campaigning and contributed to the rise in COVID cases. We had managed to get hold of the COVID situation, they made it complicated,” she said at the public meeting.

    Speaking on the Election Commission’s decision to prohibit her from campaigning for 24 hours, she said, “Is it a fault to ask Hindus, Muslims and others to vote together? What about Prime Minister Narendra Modi who is mocking me at every election meeting? Why is he not banned from campaigning?” she asked.

    The Election Commission had barred Banerjee from campaigning for 24 hours from Monday 8 pm for her remarks against the central forces and a statement that had alleged religious overtones.

    Accusing the prime minister and Amit Shah of peddling lies at poll rallies, the TMC supremo said, “The Centre has kept the NRC and the NPR bills alive, but the home minister had claimed at a meeting at Lebong in the hills that he had no plans to enforce the National Register of Citizens.”

    “Don’t trust them. If they come to power, you may face the same experience like the 14 lakh Bengalis in Assam (referring to the final NRC in the northeastern state). BJP is a dangerous party which is trying to divide Bengal,” she claimed.

  • West Bengal government to start probe into Cooch Behar killings to track, punish culprits: Mamata

    Banerjee lamented that she could not meet the next of kin of the deceased earlier owing to a 72-hour ban on entry of political leaders in Cooch Behar.