Tag: Mamata Banerjee

  • CM Mamata visits gutted Kolkata slum, promises to rebuild shanties

    By PTI
    KOLKATA: West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee on Thursday visited a gutted slum in north Kolkata’s Bagbazar area and assured the dwellers that their shanties will be rebuilt by her government.

    Locals claimed that more than 700 people living in around 150 shanties have been rendered homeless by a blaze that erupted on Wednesday evening.

    It was brought under control after four hours of firefight. Banerjee walked around the area and said that affected people will be provided with food and shelter till their shanties were rebuilt.

    She promised each family five kg of rice, lentils, vegetables and milk for children.

    “You will stay at the Bagbazar Women’s College till your residences are rebuilt,” Banerjee told the slum dwellers.

    She asked state minister and local MLA Shashi Panja to ensure that an adequate number of blankets are provided to them.

    Leaders of other political parties also visited the area since morning and spoke with the affected people.

  • “Nonsense”: Babul Supriyo slams West Bengal CM Mamata Banerjee’s ‘free COVID vaccine’ promise

    By ANI
    ASANSOL: Lashing out at Mamata Banerjee for her “free vaccine” claim, BJP’s Member of Parliament Babul Supriyo on Tuesday urged the West Bengal chief minister to refrain from such “nonsense.”

    Addressing mediapersons here on Tuesday, Supriyo further said that the Central government has already announced vaccines free of cost to people. “Prime Minister held video conferencing with Chief Ministers of all states. Of course, all state health workers will have to do the on ground inoculation. I request Mamata Banerjee to not say nonsense like providing free vaccine.”

    Banerjee had on January 10 announced that the state government is making arrangements to vaccinate all the people in the state against COVID-19 vaccine without any cost.

    Yesterday West Bengal BJP chief Dilip Ghosh had lambasted Mamata Banerjee and accused her of ‘publicising Centre’s schemes and vaccine under her own name’ in the poll-bound state. Ghosh said she wants to publicise the vaccine by renaming it as “Tikashree” or “Mamatashree” ahead of the elections.

    West Bengal is gearing up for the upcoming Assembly Election for 294 seats this year. The tenure of the current government in the state of West Bengal is coming to an end on May 30.

  • Mamata Banerjee plays CAA card to win back Matua support

    By Express News Service
    KOLKATA: Ratcheting up her rhetoric against the Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA), Mamata Banerjee on Monday fired a fresh volley at the BJP in an attempt to draw the Matua population away from the saffron camp. Matuas are Hindu immigrants from Bangladesh counting on the implementation of CAA to gain Indian citizenship, a desire the BJP capitalised on during the last Lok Sabha election. 

    “Why do you (Matua) need citizenship? You are already citizens,” said Mamata, addressing the electorate at Ranaghat in Nadia on Monday. Mamata’s Monday rally was an attempt to regain the ground it lost to BJP in Nadia in the last hustings. “I will never allow the BJP to implement CAA or NRC. It (BJP) is trying to hoodwink people,” she said at what was her citadel before the saffron wave swept across the region, which accounts for over 40 per cent of the Matua electorate that supported the BJP in 2019. 

    Tapping into the simmering discontent among the Matuas over the delay in the implementation of CAA, Mamata reiterated her position that the Act would entail the Centre demanding documents related to date of birth of elderly parents. “Most of them do not have such documents. If your parents fail to submit the documents, they will be driven out of the country. So, in the upcoming elections, drive the BJP out of Bengal to protect your family,” she said. 

    Mamata has been into an overdrive to draw the Matuas away from the BJP by playing up their citizenship fears. Last month, she addressed a rally in Bongaon in North 24 Parganas and on Monday, she was in Ranaghat. Electorate at both the seats is predominantly Matua and Dalit immigrants from Bangladesh. Mamta’s attempt is aided by the studied silence maintained by the BJP leadership. Recently, BJP MP from Bongaon Shantanu Thakur had expressed his discontent over the delay and hinted at possible shift in Matuas’ political allegiance.

  • At meeting with PM Modi, Mamata Banerjee asks about efficacy of COVID vaccines

    By PTI
    KOLKATA: West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee on Monday asked about the efficacy of the two COVID-19 vaccines which the Centre has decided to use during the nationwide inoculation drive and enquired why states were not given any option to choose between the two.

    During a virtual meeting between Prime Minister Narendra Modi and chief ministers of various states on the vaccination process starting January 16, Banerjee enquired whether or not the states have to purchase the vaccines for people other than those in the priority category such as health and other frontline workers.

    According to an official statement, she also asked if “adequate scientific confirmation was available in support of both the vaccines (Covishield and Covaxin) that are now being offered by the government of India”.

    Banerjee said that “states have been left with no option to choose or procure between the two vaccines and the Government of India has made a specific decision in favour of both the vaccines”.

    She said that adequate scientific opinions should be obtained before confirming the efficacy of both the vaccines and sought a clarification on whether there was any side effect of the vaccines.

    Later, she was assured by Niti Aayog member Prof (Dr) Vinod K Paul that both the vaccines are “completely safe based on the scientific evidence” and there is no report of serious side effects.

    The chief minister also sought “frontline worker” status for transport workers and said that the authorities should provide them with the COVID-19 vaccine.

    At the meeting, she assured the prime minister that the state government is fully prepared for the vaccination exercise and various committees have been formed to handle the process, the statement said.

    She also informed Modi that the state has prepared adequate storage capacity for the storage of the vaccine, and all 941 cold chain points have been thoroughly inspected.

    The chief minister said that the state has identified 44,000 vaccinators and more than 4,000 vaccination sites across West Bengal for the first phase of the exercise.

    At least 5.8 lakh government and private healthcare workers have been enrolled for the first phase and all the data have been uploaded on Co-WIN portal, an online platform for monitoring COVID-19 vaccine delivery, she said.

  • License of private hospitals to be canceled if they don’t accept state-run health scheme card: Mamata Banerjee

    Various reports have suggested that some hospitals have refused to accept #39;Swasthya Sathi #39; cards, a health scheme launched in 2016 to provide a cover of up to Rs 5 lakh per annum to eligible families

  • ‘You have already become Indian citizens’: Mamata tells Matuas at rally

    By Express News Service
    KOLKATA: Challenging the BJP’s poll plank of citizenship for Matuas, Bengal CM Mamata Banerjee on Monday addressed a rally in Nadia’s Ranaghat — one of her erstwhile citadels comprising more than 40 per cent of Matua electorates who turned to be vote-bank of the saffron party in the 2019 Lok Sabha elections. 

    Aiming to woo the support of the Matua community, the CM asked: “They (the BJP) hoodwinked the people living in the region. I will not allow the Centre to implement NRC and CAA in Bengal. Why do you need citizenship? You have already become Indian citizens.” 

    The CM said the Centre would ask for documents related to date of birth of the elderly. “Most of them do not have their date of birth documents. If your parents fail to submit the documents, they will be driven out of the country. So in the upcoming elections, drive the BJP out of Bengal to protect your family members,” Mamata said in her speech.

    As the discontent among the Matuas, comprising Hindu migrants from neighboring Bangladesh, has surfaced on many occasions in the recent past over the issue of delay in implementing the CAA, Mamata decided not to miss the opportunity to regain her party’s support base. 

    Last month, she had addressed a rally in Bongaon in North 24 Parganas and on Monday, she was in Nadia’s Ranaghat, both the seats dominated by Matuas and Dalits migrated from Bangladesh.

    Though the BJP bagged victory in both the seats in the last year’s general elections riding the citizenship rhetoric, the party’s national leadership including national president JP Nadda and Union Home minister Amit Shah dodged the issue whenever asked about the deadline to implement the new Act. 

    BJP MP in Bongaon Shantanu Thakur recently hinted at possible changes in Matuas’ political allegiance in the upcoming elections and demanded an announcement of the deadline to implement the CAA. Following this, Amit Shah’s Bengal visit was scheduled for January 30. He is expected to assure the Dalit electorates on citizenship.

    Taking a jibe at the BJP on its ‘Sonar Bangla’ rhetoric, Mamata said, “West Bengal has already been turned into Sonar Bangla. Bengal is now heading towards the goal of ‘Biswa Bangla’.

    Referring to TMC functionaries’ migration to the BJP, Bengal CM said the turncoats changed sides to protect their money. “They made a huge volume of money. Now BJP is offering the deal saying they can join the party and protect the money or face probe by the CBI or ED,” she alleged.

  • Country staring at food crisis, famine because of BJP: Mamata

    By PTI
    RANAGHAT: The country is staring at a food crisis and famine because of the “adamant” approach of the BJP to the continued agitation by farmers for withdrawal of the three new farm laws, West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee said on Monday.

    She also called the BJP a “junk” party for inducting “rotten” leaders from other political outfits.

    Reaffirming her opposition to the NRC, CAA and NPR, Banerjee, while reaching out to the Nadia district’s Matua population, said all refugees will be granted land rights, and no one can banish them from the country.

    “The country is staring at a food crisis. There will be famine and food shortage if the BJP continues to remain adamant on the farm laws. The Centre is trying to create famine through these farm bills.

    “The farmers are assets of our country and we should not do anything that goes against their interest,” she said, addressing a TMC rally here in Nadia district.

    The TMC supremo also demanded immediate repeal of the three farm laws as sought by farmers agitating at Delhi’s borders.

    “We stand by the farmers and their demands. On one hand the BJP is lecturing us on farmers’ issues and on the other it is torturing the farmers who are protesting against the laws. So many farmers were beaten up in Haryana and Punjab,” she said.

    Unleashing a stinging attack on the BJP over the party inducting a raft of leaders from other political parties, including her own, Banerjee said the saffron outfit had turned itself into a washing machine where “tainted leaders come out clean after joining it”.

    “BJP is the biggest junk party in the country. It’s a dustbin party filling up its rank and file with corrupt and rotten leaders from other parties.

    “You must have seen some (TMC) leaders switch over to the BJP.

    They have done it to protect the public money they had looted.

    We were removing them from our party.

    The BJP runs the party like a washing machine, where corrupt leaders turn into saints the moment they join them,” she said.

    Alleging that there’s virtual “dictatorship” in the country, Banerjee said the saffron party uses either money or muscle power to poach leaders from other parties.

    Talking about the recent defections from the TMC, Banerjee said the BJP might have “bought a few leaders”, but it can never buy her off.

    “They (BJP) are afraid of me as I have not bowed down before them,” she asserted.

    Slamming the saffron camp over the Citizenship (amendment) Act, the TMC boss said, those born in this country are its legitimate citizens.

    “All refugee colonies in the state have been recognised by the West Bengal government.

    All refugee families will have land holding rights.

    We have started the process and several families have already got it.

    “No one can remove you from here.

    You are born here and are citizens of this country.

    You don’t need the BJP’s certificate to prove your citizenship,” she asserted.

    Reaching out to the Matua community that constitutes roughly 40 per cent population of Nadia district, Banerjee said, the BJP was trying to “fool” them with the promise of citizenship.

    “I want to assure everyone that no one needs to be afraid of the NRC, NPR and CAA.

    ” The Matuas, originally from East Pakistan, are a scheduled caste group, who entered India, particularly West Bengal, after Partition and creation of Bangladesh.

    While many of them have got Indian citizenship, a sizeable number has not.

    The BJP had made significant gains in the district in the last Lok Sabha polls and bagged the Ranaghat seat.

    Nadia has two Lok Sabha seats.

    She exuded confidence about returning to power for the third consecutive time with an even bigger mandate.

    She also drew a parallel between BJP cadres and US President Donald Trump’s supporters who stormed the Capitol recently.

    “They have ruined the entire country, and now they want to ruin Bengal.

    The BJP is a party of liars.

    Lies, lies and more lies is the characteristic of the BJP.

    The day the BJP loses elections, its cadre and supporters will behave like those of Trump and say they disagree with the poll results,” she said.

    Calling BJP president J P Nadda’s lunch at a tribal household in the state on January 9 a “show off”, Banerjee claimed that the food items served to him were cooked at five-star hotels.

    Accusing the BJP of being a “party of outsiders” trying to “destroy” the state’s culture, Banerjee said West Bengal will never allow the saffron party’s “hate politics” to triumph over secularism.

    “BJP leaders from other states are coming here with money bags.

    If they offer you money, take it but don’t cast a single vote for them,” she said.

    Reacting to Banerjee’s comments, West Bengal BJP president Dilip Ghosh said the TMC leader has sensed that the days of her government are numbered.

    “Why is she now calling leaders who have joined the BJP corrupt? If they were corrupt, then why did the TMC government not take any action against them for so many years?” he asked.

  • Mamata government’s decision to bring resolution against farm laws poll gimmick to fool masses: BJP

    State BJP chief Dilip Ghosh wondered that if the TMC is so concerned for the farmers, then why is it quot;creating roadblocks quot; for the implementation of the new agriculture laws.

  • Repeal anti-farmer acts now: Mamata on Shastri’s death anniversary

    By PTI
    KOLKATA: West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee on Monday targetted the Centre over the new farm laws, demanding their withdrawal as she paid tribute to former prime minister Lal Bahadur Shastri on his 55th death anniversary.

    Remembering Shastri’s slogan of ‘Jai Jawan, Jai Kisan’, Banerjee said farmers are the heroes of the nation.

    “Tribute to Lal Bahadur Shastri, former prime minister, on his death anniversary. He gave us the inspirational slogan ‘Jai Jawan, Jai Kisan’. We are proud of our farmer brothers and sisters. Farmers are the heroes of our nation. The Centre MUST repeal the anti-farmer Acts NOW!,” she tweeted.

    Banerjee has been vocal about her opposition to the new farm laws, against which farmers are protesting outside Delhi for weeks.

    Her party, the Trinamool Congress, has also extended support to the protest.

  • West Bengal’s TMC government appropriating central schemes: BJP leader Suvendu Adhikari

    By PTI
    PURULIA: Senior BJP leader Suvendu Adhikari on Sunday accused the Mamata Banerjee dispensation of appropriating central projects, and said only three to four people in the state government call the shots, with the rest functioning as rubber stamps.

    Maintaining that Prime Minister Narendra Modi has already said that three crore health workers and 27 crore people above the age of 50 years will be administered the vaccine for free across the country, Adhikari claimed that Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee, despite the announcement, wrote to all COVID warriors and stated that her government would not charge anything for the inoculation.

    Earlier in the day, Banerjee said that arrangements were being made to provide COVID-19 vaccines for free to all the people of the state, and not just the COVID-19 warriors. She also clarified that frontline workers would be given priority over others.

    Alleging that the TMC government was changing names of central projects to claim those to be its own, the former state minister said, “The name of Centre’s Swachh Bharat Abhiyan project has been changed to Nirmal Bangla mission.”

    Adhikari, during a public meeting here, also contended that natural resources of Purulia, including coal and other minerals, were being looted by organised gangs, with the state government doing nothing about it.

    The former MLA, during his speech at an adivasi- dominated district, further said that the ‘Ol Chiki’ language of Santhalis was given recognition in the eighth schedule of the Constitution by former prime minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee, but the TMC government did not provide any book or teaching facility to promote it.

    He also claimed that the TMC has ceased to be a political party and functions as a private limited company, with “three or four persons from south Kolkata running the government with 20 of 30 departments in their hands”.

    Asserting that the rural areas of the state have long been neglected by the TMC leadership, he said that the “fight is between the villages and a few privileged persons from south Kolkata”. He also said that the district-level service commissions for recruitment of school teachers have been replaced by a centralised system based in Kolkata, thereby reducing job opportunities for youths.