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Tag: Soumendu Adhikari

  • Suvendu Adhikari’s brother Soumendu not given BJP ticket in West Bengal municipal poll

    By PTI

    KOLKATA: BJP has not given ticket to Soumendu Adhikari, who had joined the saffron party following the footsteps of his elder brother and Leader of Opposition Suvendu Adhikari, for the February 27 municipal poll in Kanthi raising eyebrows in political circles in West Bengal.

    With this Kanthi municipality in Purba Medinipur district will not have a contestant from the Adhikari family for the first time in three decades.

    Soumendu Adhikari was a former chairman of the municipality before he joined BJP in January 2021.

    He had been its administrator till 2020 after the civic body’s term had expired a year ago.

    Soumendu, who is the secretary of BJP’s Kanthi organisational committee, rubbished speculations in political circles about his not being fielded by the party.

    “We (BJP) don’t believe in the culture of vesting the responsibility of running a municipalty to the same family forever. For me that is dynastic politics and BJP does not believe in it,” he said.

    Taking a swipe at the ruling TMC, Soumendu said “We (BJP) are not a private limited company like some other party. We will win Kanthi if there is no intimidation or terror on election day”.

    During the campaign for the 2021 state poll BJP had often described TMC as a private limited company run by its supremo Mamata Banerjee and her nephew and party general secretary Abhishek Banerjee.

    Soumendu’s father Sisir Adhikari, an MP, was the chairman of Kanthi municipality from 1990 to 2005 and Suvendu Adhikari occupied the post from 2006 to 2010.

    Soumendu had been at the helm of the civic body since then to 2020.

    Senior TMC leader Firhad Hakim when asked said, “Simply put he is scared of losing. Hence he does not want to contest”.

  • Calcutta HC stays proceedings against Suvendu Adhikari, brother in tarpaulin scam case

    By PTI

    KOLKATA: The Calcutta High Court on Monday ordered a stay on all further proceedings in a case of alleged tarpaulin theft against Leader of Opposition in West Bengal assembly Suvendu Adhikari and his brother Soumendu.

    Passing the interim order, Justice Kausik Chanda observed that the political overtones of this criminal case cannot be brushed aside.

    The court ordered that there will be a stay on all further proceedings pending before the additional chief judicial magistrate, Contai, Purba Medinipur district, till six weeks after the ensuing Puja vacation.

    Justice Chanda directed that the opposite party may file affidavits-in-opposition within two weeks after the Puja vacation.

    The court said the petitioners may file affidavits in reply within another week after that.

    The petition of Suvendu and Soumendu, a former chairman of Contai Municipality, praying for quashing of proceedings against them in connection with the case in Contai police station will be taken up for hearing again four weeks after Puja vacation, the court directed.

    P S Patwalia, senior advocate appearing for Suvendu Adhikari submitted that the petitioners had been implicated in this case since they had changed their political affiliation from the ruling Trinamool Congress to the opposition BJP.

    Senior advocate Kishore Datta, representing the state, submitted that since the complaint discloses cognizable offences, it is mandatory for the police to lodge an FIR.

    Observing that political overtones of this present criminal case cannot be brushed aside with both the petitioners having left the ruling party and joined the opposition party, the court said that the present criminal proceeding is one of the contemporaneous criminal cases launched against Suvendu Adhikari soon after the change of his political affiliation.

    Justice Chanda also took note of an earlier order of another bench of the high court wherein it had said “Prima facie there appears to be an attempt at implicating and victimising him (Suvendu Adhikari) in criminal cases and mala fides, malice and collateral purpose in registering the FIRs against the petitioner and his associates.”

    It was claimed by Suvendu Adhikari’s lawyers that at least six criminal cases have been lodged against him at various police stations in the state since he changed his political affiliation.

  • FIR against Suvendu Adhikari, brother Soumendu for stealing relief materials for cyclone victims

    By Express News Service
    KOLKATA: An FIR has been lodged with Contai police station in East Midnapore against Leader of Opposition Suvendu Adhikari, his brother Soumendu Adhikari, who was the chairman of the local municipality, and two others for allegedly stealing relief materials meant for cyclone Yaas victims.

    In the complaint, Ratnadeep Manna, a member of the civic body’s board of administrators, alleged the loot was committed with the help of central force personnel who were assigned for Suvendu’s security.

    On May 29, 2021, around 12.30 pm, central force personnel came to the godown of Contai municipality in a small truck and with the help of two employees of the civic body, Himangshu Manna and Pratap Dey, they decamped with tarpaulin sheets, given by the state government as relief materials for cyclone victims, worth more than Rs 1 lakh, Manna wrote in his complaint.

    “Along with another member of the board of administrators Sheikh Habibur Rehman, I questioned Himangshu and Pratap. The two fumbled and admitted that they committed the crime on the direction of Suvendu and Soumendu,’’ Manna alleged in the FIR.

    Based on the complaint, police registered a case under Indian Penal Code (IPC) sections 379 (theft), 409 (criminal breach of trust), 448 (trespassing) and 120B (criminal conspiracy) and 51/53 of Disaster Management Act , 2005, which deals with misappropriation of goods means for relief.     

    However, none of Suvendu and Soumendu could be contacted for their reaction.

  • BJP leader Suvendu Adhikari’s brother’s vehicle attacked in Contai, blames TMC

    By ANI
    PURBA MEDINIPUR: Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leader Suvendu Adhikari’s brother Soumendu Adhikari’s vehicle was attacked by miscreants at Sabajput area in Contai and his driver was thrashed allegedly by Trinamool Congress (TMC) members, as polling for the first phase of West Bengal assembly elections is underway.

    Soumendu and his brother Dibyendu Adhikari alleged that TMC block president Ram Govind Das has orchestrated the attack and that he was involved in poll rigging in three booths. meanwhile, Soumendu was unharmed in the incident.

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    Speaking to ANI, Soumendu said: “Under the leadership of TMC block president Ram Govind Das and his wife, poll rigging was taking place at three polling booths. My arrival here created a problem for them to continue with their mischiefs, due to which they attacked my car and thrashed my driver,” he said.

    Meanwhile, Dibyendu said that he had informed the police about the incident and called on the Election Commission (EC) to take strong action in the matter.

    “With the help of TMC block president Ram Govind Das, some people attacked the car and beat up the driver. They were trying to rig the polls there. I have informed the police and the Election Commission should take strong action,” said Dibyendu.

    He also recalled the attack on CPIM candidate from Garbeta Sushanta Ghosh, calling it ‘unfortunate’.

    The driver, Ramon Das, alleged that some ‘bohiragato’ (outsider) goons had suddenly attacked him while he was speaking with Soumendu.

    West Bengal has a history of violence in the Legislative Assembly elections.

    Polling for the first of the eight-phase assembly polls in West Bengal began at 7 am on Saturday with voters deciding the fate of 191 candidates in 30 constituencies.

    All constituencies in Purulia, Jhargram and segments of Bankura, Purba Medinipur and Paschim Medinipur are going to decide the electoral fate of 191 candidates, including 21 women candidates in the fray. The polling will end at 6.30 pm.

    The BJP and TMC have been at loggerheads over various issues and an intense tussle of power between the two parties has been seen during the run-up to the assembly elections.

  • West Bengal polls: People stopped from voting in Contai, alleges Soumendu Adhikari

    By ANI
    PURBA MEDINIPUR (West Bengal): Soumendu Adhikari, BJP leader and brother of Suvendu Adhikari on Saturday alleged that people were being stopped from voting at a polling centre in Contai.

    “Voters being influenced and stopped from voting at booth number 149. Overall polling is being held peacefully. EVMs are malfunctioning at some locations; it happens in all polls, the EC is looking into it,” Soumendu Adhikari told ANI.

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    The BJP leader said there should be free and fair polls and they have approached the Election Commission.

    “We approached the EC that there should be free and fair polls. People will choose whom they want. TMC is scared. We have given the name of one Alauddin to Election Commission, he created disturbance there,” Adhikari said.

    Soumendu Adhikari, a former Trinamool Congress (TMC) leader, joined BJP earlier this year ahead of the West Bengal Assembly elections.

    Polling is underway on 30 seats covering all assembly constituencies in the districts of Purulia and Jhargram and a segment of Bankura, Purba Medinipur and Paschim Medinipur. The first phase of polling will decide the electoral fate of 191 candidates including 21 women.

    The state is witnessing a triangular contest this time with Trinamool Congress (TMC), Congress-Left alliance and Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) in the fray.

    However, the power-packed campaigns involving stormy rallies and mega roadshows were mostly dominated by the ruling TMC and the BJP. The third front i.e. the coalition of the Congress, Left Front and Indian Secular Force has been observed to be on the back foot when it comes to fierce campaigning.

    In the first phase, the total number of general electorates is 73,80,942 in which there are 37,52,938 male voters, 36,27,949 female voters and 55 of the third gender.

    Elections to the 294-member West Bengal Assembly are being held in eight phases starting from March 27 with the final round of voting taking place on April 29. The counting of votes will take place on May 2.

  • Supreme Court refuses to entertain BJP leader Soumendu Adhikari’s PIL

    By ANI
    NEW DELHI: The Supreme Court on Monday refused to interfere with the petition filed by newly joined BJP leader, Soumendu Adhikari, who had knocked the top court alleging that the West Bengal government had played petty politics with him and it removed him from the Chairmanship of a local municipality board in the state, after his brother Suvendu Adhikari, resigned from the Trinamool Congress to join BJP.

    A bench headed by Justice N V Ramana said: “You (Soumendu Adhikari) wait for the Calcutta High Court order.”

    The petitioner had approached the Apex Court against the adjournment of his case in the Calcutta High Court, which had not passed any order and deferred his petition in the case.

    It was subsequently challenged by Soumendu Adhikari before the Supreme Court seeking appropriate directions in his case, as the West Bengal government allegedly had in February removed him from the said post.