News Analysis India

Tag: Saugata Roy

  • ‘Why should we back Murmu in presidential poll?’ Trinamool MP on BJP letter seeking support

    By PTI

    KOLKATA: Veteran TMC MP Saugata Roy on Friday said that he and other parliamentarians of his party have received a letter from the Bengal BJP leadership, seeking their support for NDA presidential nominee Droupadi Murmu.

    Roy, in the same breath, also said that lawmakers of his party would vote for joint non-BJP candidate Yashwant Sinha.

    Murmu, who had been touring states for electioneering, is scheduled to visit Kolkata to meet BJP MPs and MLAs from West Bengal.

    “We have received a letter signed by BJP state president Sukanta Majumdar and Leader of the opposition in West Bengal assembly Suvendu Adhikari, urging us (TMC MPs) to support NDA nominee Droupadi Murmu for presidential polls. They have claimed that Murmu’s victory is certain, and we all should vote for her to strengthen democratic and constitutional norms,” Roy said.

    The veteran TMC MP, however, ruled out any possibility of backing Murmu.

    “Why should we support the NDA candidate when the opposition parties together have fielded Yashwant Sinha? We will vote for Sinha,” he said.

    Last month, Majumdar and Adhikari had written to Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee, urging her to support Murmu in the July 18 presidential poll.

    The Bengal BJP had in June announced that it would write to all the TMC MPs and MLAs, seeking their support for the NDA nominee.

    Last week, Banerjee had said that Murmu, a tribal BJP leader from Odisha, could have been a consensus candidate had the saffron party discussed with the opposition parties before fielding her.

  • Governor Dhankar sending anti-Mamata Banerjee messages to me every day: TMC MP Saugata Roy

    By ANI

    KOLKATA: Trinamool Congress (TMC) MP Saugata Roy on Wednesday alleged that West Bengal Governor Jagdeep Dhankhar has been sending him messages against Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee every day.

    Roy said that ‘it is unethical’ for the Governor to engage in such activities.

    Speaking to ANI, the TMC MP said, “Sending messages against Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee to me by Governor Dhankhar is very unethical. Chief Minister is the leader of the party of which I am a member. I think someone is provoking the Governor. Governor tweets all this after meeting with either Shubhendu Adhikari or Amit Shah. Governor making statements against Chief Minister every day. He is diminishing the dignity of the post of Governor.”

    Referring to the extension of the jurisdiction of the Border Security Force (BSF) by the Centre, the TMC MP said, “We had opposed the Centre’s move of extending BSF’s jurisdiction. The Governor also had countered our views on the matter.”

  • Trinamool will do very well in Goa Assembly polls: Babul Supriyo

    By PTI

    PANAJI: Trinamool Congress leader Babul Supriyo on Monday expressed confidence that his party will do “very well” in the Goa Assembly elections due early next year.

    Several TMC leaders, including Supriyo and party MPs Mahua Moitra and Saugata Roy, have arrived in Goa ahead of West Bengal Chief Minister and TMC head Mamata Banerjee’s visit to the state scheduled on October 28.

    The TMC has already announced its decision to contest the Assembly elections in Goa.

    The forthcoming Goa Assembly poll is an important election and the “TMC will do very well in it,” Supriyo told reporters.

    “This (Goa) is one place in India which should see a lot of development to make it more tourist-friendly,” said Supriyo, who joined the TMC last month after quitting the BJP.

    He said Goa is known for its culture, tradition, music and wonderful beaches.

    “A lot more can be done here,” he added.

    Last month, former Goa chief minister Luizinho Faleiro joined the TMC, while state Independent MLA Prasad Gaonkar has also extended support to the Mamata Banerjee-led party.

    The TMC last week appointed Faleiro as its vice president.

    The party has been inducting several local leaders in its fold ever since it announced its intention to contest the Goa Assembly polls.

    Elections to the 40-member House in the state are due in February 2022.

  • Half of BJP MLAs want to be with TMC: Saugata Roy

    By Express News Service
    KOLKATA:  The Trinamool Congress claimed half of the BJP’s MLAs are in touch with its leadership and a decision on whether all of them will be inducted is yet to be taken. The party also said it was not happy with the Calcutta High Court’s recent order observing that the state government is in denial mode on the issue of post-poll violence.

    “More than half of BJP’s newly elected MLAs are in touch with our party, expressing their willingness to join. The party is yet to take a stand on this issue. It is the chief minister who will take the final decision,’’ said TMC MP and spokesperson Saugata Roy.

    Ever since her stupendous victory in the Assembly elections, TMC chief Mamata Banerjee has opened the door only for Mukul Roy. Many BJP MLAs, who had defected from the TMC, said they were not happy with the saffron camp’s political narrative.

    Former minister Rajib Banerjee, who joined the BJP ahead of the elections, said he was not happy with the party’s divisive politics. Roy also said the party was not happy with the Calcutta High Court’s observation on post-poll violence. “The observation and order was given by a bench of five judges which include acting chief justice Rajesh Bindal. We wrote to the Chief Justice of India seeking removal of Bindal.”

    ALSO READ | No bypoll? Mamata Banerjee has a workaround, says Trinamool

    Last month, TMC MLA and  Bar Council of West Bengal chairperson Ashok Kumar Deb had alleged that Bindal was biased in the hearing of some prominent cases. Condemning the HC order engaging the National Human Rights Commission to submit a report, Roy said there was no need to engage the NHRC. “Such order is suitable when there is no government. We have a stable government and the state has its own human rights commission.” 

  • Bengal polls 2021: TMC MPs meet EC, say free, fair elections in state becoming ‘distant reality’

    By PTI
    NEW DELHI: Alleging that fair elections in West Bengal are becoming a ‘distant reality’, a delegation of TMC MPs met the Election Commission on Friday to register their protest against the poll panel’s reported decision to not permit state police personnel within 100 metres of polling stations.

    The TMC parliamentary delegation, including Saugata Roy, Yashwant Sinha, Md Nadimul Haque, Pratima Mondal and Mahua Moitra, described the Election Commission’s approach as ‘partisan and biased’.

    “It is becoming increasingly clear that free, fair and transparent elections in State of West Bengal is becoming a distant reality.”

    “This is evident from the partisan and biased approach taken by the Election Commission of India (ECI) in respect of the ongoing elections in the State,” a memorandum submitted to the apex poll panel said.

    “On the first count, it has been reported in media that the ECI has decided to not permit presence of State police within 100 m of polling stations and only deploy Central Forces in such arena. If true, this decision is unprecedented and casts severe aspersions on the reputation of the police administration in the State of West Bengal,” it added.

    The memorandum said this needs to be substantiated at the appropriate level.

    Stating that the ECI’s decision is only for West Bengal and not the other four poll-bound states in the country, the Trinamool Congress said the deployment of central forces should be to help the state government deal with law and order and “not deliberately demonise the state police personnel that have worked under different governments”.

    “Propriety demands that there should be proper coordination between the State and Central forces to ensure free and fair elections and that combined groups of both State and Central Police forces be deployed within 100 m of the polling booths,” the letter by the party said.

    Despite several requests, it said, the apex poll panel had “summarily dismissed the demand for tallying of all VVPAT machines, allegedly on account of the decision of the Supreme Court of India passed in March 2019”.

    According to the party, its detailed submissions on the matter had clearly not been factored in.

    “We urge you to withdraw your decision to deploy only central forces within 100 m of the polling stations. Further, we reiterate our demand to tally 100% VVPAT machines with EVMs after polling is over, to reassure the voters that his/her choice has indeed been recorded, both electronically and physically,” it said.

  • Farmers protests: Delhi Police stops 15 Opposition MPs from reaching Ghazipur border

    By PTI
    NEW DELHI: Fifteen MPs from 10 opposition parties, including the SAD, DMK, NCP and the Trinamool Congress, were stopped by police from reaching Ghazipur border on Thursday to meet farmers protesting against new farm laws, a leader said.

    According to SAD MP Harsimrat Kaur Badal who coordinated the visit, the leaders were not allowed to cross the barricades and reach the protest site.

    Besides Badal, Supriya Sule from NCP, Kanimozhi and Tiruchi Siva from the DMK, Saugata Roy from the TMC were part of the delegation.

    Members of the National Conference, RSP and the IUML were also part of it.

    During a discussion in Parliament on Wednesday, several opposition parties asked the government to withdraw the three contentious farm laws without making it a prestige issue and not to treat the agitating farmers as “enemies”.

    Stringent security continued at Ghazipur on the Delhi-Uttar Pradesh border, one of the key protest sites where thousands of farmers are camping with a demand that the Centre repeal the new agri-marketing laws enacted last September.

    Meanwhile, nails that were fixed near barricades at the Ghazipur border were being repositioned, with security arrangment remaining same at the protest sites.

    “Videos and photos are getting circulated in which it’s shown that nails are being taken off Ghazipur. These are just being repositioned. Position of arrangement at border remains the same,” said Delhi Police.

    They recently cemented nails near barricades at Ghazipur (Delhi-Uttar Pradesh) and Tikri (Delhi-Haryana) borders.

    Also, police have heavily barricaded the Ghazipur border. Barbed wire and cement barricades have been planted on the roads to restrict the movement of the farmers.

    Farmers have been protesting against three of the Centre’s laws: Farmers’ Produce Trade and Commerce (Promotion and Facilitation) Act, 2020, the Farmers (Empowerment and Protection) Agreement on Price Assurance and Farm Services Act, 2020, and the Essential Commodities (Amendment) Act, 2020.

    Opposition leaders, including Kanimozhi, Supriya Sule and Harsimrat Kaur Badal, were stopped from reaching #GhazipurBorder.Express photo | @parveennegi1.#FarmersProtest pic.twitter.com/lFgs4qNYKO
    — The New Indian Express (@NewIndianXpress) February 4, 2021

    The protesting farmers have expressed the apprehension that these laws would pave the way for the dismantling of the minimum support price (MSP) system, leaving them at the “mercy” of big corporations.

    However, the government has maintained that the new laws will bring better opportunities to farmers and introduce new technologies in agriculture.

    Eleven rounds of formal talks between the government and the protesting farmer unions have failed to break the deadlock.

    While unions have stuck to their main demand of repeal of the laws and legal guarantee of MSP, the government has offered some concessions including keeping these laws on hold for 1-1.5 years.

    Even the Supreme Court has stayed the laws for two months and set up a panel to look into the matter.

    (With ANI Inputs)

  • President shouldn’t have shown support to new farm laws during Parliament address: TMC

    He added that 19 opposition parties, including the TMC, did not attend the joint session addressed by the President.