News Analysis India

Tag: Trinamool

  • ‘Surgical strikes’ by central agencies must to curb anti-national activities in Bengal: Dilip Ghosh

    Senior BJP leader Dilip Ghosh believes that under the TMC regime, West Bengal is sitting on a ticking time bomb and security and central agencies need to conduct “surgical strikes” to curb anti-national activities in the bordering state. In an interview with PTI, Ghosh expressed concern over a deep-rooted nexus of financial scams and terror modules in the state and predicted heightened activities by central agencies after the elections are over.

    “West Bengal, a bordering state, has witnessed not only a deteriorating law and order situation but also incidents detrimental to national security. Uncovering of bomb-making factories and terror modules indicate that Bengal has become a haven for infiltrators and anti-national elements,” he said.

    Asserting that a significant demographic shift in border areas due to TMC’s alleged politics of appeasement, Ghosh claimed that national security is at stake under the Trinamool regime, since the ruling party lacks control over the state’s affairs. The former state BJP president said, “There exists an anti-national chain in West Bengal, encompassing not only terror modules but also various corruption cases.”

    He alleged that under the TMC regime, several areas resemble Sandeshkhali and Bhoopatinagar, where anti-national elements are allowed a free run.

    “The state is on the verge of an explosion, and it is imperative that security and central agencies must conduct surgical strikes to safeguard it,” Ghosh stressed. Allegations of sexual abuse against TMC leaders have emerged recently at Sandeshkhali in North 24 Parganas district. ED officials faced a mob attack there in January. At Bhoopatinagar in Purba Medinipur district too, an NIA team was allegedly attacked by a mob last week when it went to arrest two suspects in a 2022 blast case. Ghosh criticised the state police and CID for allegedly covering up these issues through biased investigations.

    Referring to Sandeshkhali and Bhoopatinagar, Ghosh accused the TMC of “playing with national security” and emphasized the BJP’s responsibility to protect the state.

    “After the elections are over, you will see how the central agencies unravel the conspiracy against the interests of the nation,” he said.

    Regarding the Citizenship Amendment Act, Ghosh questioned the TMC’s opposition to its implementation, saying “The CAA will clearly distinguish citizens from foreigners.”

    Ghosh asserted that the CAA will not only consolidate the Hindus in Bengal but also help the BJP sweep elections in the state.

    According to the CAA, the rules of which were notified on March 13, the government will grant Indian nationality to persecuted non-Muslim migrants – Hindus, Sikhs, Jains, Buddhists, Parsis, and Christians – from Pakistan, Bangladesh, and Afghanistan who arrived in India before December 31, 2014.

    On the anti-CAA protests that rocked parts of the state in 2019 after the law was passed by Parliament, Ghosh alleged those were engineered by infiltrators who are a voting bloc of the TMC.

    “The lungi party had come down to streets, burnt buses and public property to protest against the CAA. These people are capturing areas in Bengal and are eating into jobs of locals and facilities of the government,” he said.

    Asked about the possibility of a National Register of Citizens in the near future as apprehended by some opposition leaders, Ghosh said, “The NRC in Assam was done as per the Assam Accord and court order.”

    Assam witnessed a six-year-long agitation since 1979 demanding identification and deportation of illegal immigrants. The movement culminated in the signing of the Assam Accord.

    “The government did not do it on their own (in Assam). Now, if anyone moves court and wants NRC to be implemented and the court accepts the plea, then it might happen,” he said.

    Ghosh, an MP of the Medinipur Lok Sabha seat, who has now been shifted to Bardhaman-Durgapur constituency, has exuded confidence about his victory.

    “I am a loyal soldier of the party. Whatever assignment it gives me, I will accept it,” he said.

    Ghosh, when he was the West Bengal BJP head, led the party to significant electoral gains, overseeing its rise from two Lok Sabha seats in 2014 to 18 in 2019 and from three assembly seats in 2016 to 77 in 2021.

    Asked whether turncoats have a bigger say in the state of affairs in the BJP West Bengal unit, he said, “We were in a growing phase in Bengal and our local leaders and workers lacked experience. We had to bring in leaders from other parties to lead the party.”

    To a question, Ghosh said, “The party is accommodating both the old and new; that is how it is functioning in the entire country.”

    Ghosh, who is known for making controversial remarks had recently stirred a controversy by mocking the family background of Chief Minister and TMC supremo Mamata Banerjee in a purported video clip, said he believes in “calling spade a spade.”

    “I am a straightforward person, others might be wary of commenting on something. But I am not as I believe in politics, you need to speak in the language one understands,” he said.

  • Rahul Gandhi’s Yatra hits roadblock; Mamata Banerjee attacks Congress

    The ‘Bharat Jodo Nyay Yatra’ led by Congress leader Rahul Gandhi on Friday could not complete the Murshidabad’s Kandi and Birbhum part fully in West Bengal due to the class 10 board examination. Later on, the yatra entered Jharkhand after crossing parts of Birbhum’s Murarai. The Congress leadership, however, emphasised on INDIA bloc’s fight against the BJP-RSS in the country.Senior Congress leader Jairam Ramesh said, “There is only one party – Congress in the country – which has never supported BJP. That is why the INDIA bloc has been formed as we will fight together and defeat the BJP and RSS ideology. The INDIA bloc parties want to defeat BJP. Mamataji also said her priority is to defeat BJP. If there are differences, those can be ironed out.”In contrast to Congress’ mellowed stance, Trinamool supremo Mamata Banerjee attacked the party and said, “We told Congress to fight 300 Lok Sabha seats across the country and give the rest to the regional parties. But they did not listen to us. They (Congress) came to Bengal and they are tinkling Muslims… BJP does this in the case of Hindus. This cannot happen. No one knows if they will win even 40 seats in the country,” Banerjee said.

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  • After Trinamool, AAP to boycott inauguration of new Parliament building

    By IANS

    NEW DELHI: The Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) on Tuesday announced that it will boycott the inauguration of the new Parliament building by Prime Minister Narendra Modi on May 28 as not inviting President Droupadi Murmu is an insult to her.

    In a tweet, AAP Rajya Sabha member Sanjay Singh said: “Not inviting her Excellency President Droupadi Murmu for inauguration of Parliament House is a gross insult to her. This is also an insult to Dalit, tribal and derived class of the society. AAP will boycott the inauguration orogramme in protest of (Prime Minister) Modi not inviting the President”.

    Earlier in the day, the Trinamool Congress announced a boycott of the inauguration of the new Parliament building.

    In a tweet, Trinamool Congress Rajya Sabha member Derek O’Brien said: “Parliament is not just a new building; it is an establishment with old traditions, values, precedents and rules – it is the foundation of Indian democracy. PM Modi doesn’t get that. For him, Sunday’s inauguration of the new building is all about I, me, myself. So count us out”.

    The Trinamool has already raised objections about the choice of date of the inauguration of the new Parliament building. According to the leadership, the occasion of inauguration of the new building should be on the occasion of the Independence Day on August 15, instead of May 28 which is the occasion of the birth anniversary of RSS patriarch VD Savarkar.

    According to the Trinamool leadership, the Union government has also kept the opposition in the dark over the fate of the old Parliament building.

    Even Congress is likely to boycott the inauguration of the new building. Party sources said that a decision is likely to be taken on Wednesday or Thursday.

    On Tuesday, Congress General secretary communication in-charge Jairam Ramesh also responded to Union Minister Hardeep Singh Puri and said, “SUV – Self-Usurped Vishwaguru – has already annexe-d the Parliament for self-aggrandisement. But surely, there is a fundamental difference between inaugurating an Annexe where officials work and a library which is hardly used on the one hand, and inaugurating not just the Temple of Democracy but its sanctorum itself.”

    He was responding to Puri’s remarks that in August 1975, then Prime Minister Indira Gandhi inaugurated the Parliament Annexe, and later in 1987 Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi inaugurated the Parliament Library.

    A row has erupted on the inauguration of new Parliament building after former Congress chief Rahul Gandhi demanded that President Murmu should inaugurate the new Parliament House instead of PM Modi.

    A war of words has erupted between Congress and the BJP over the inauguration of the New Parliament House by PM Modi on May 28.

    NEW DELHI: The Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) on Tuesday announced that it will boycott the inauguration of the new Parliament building by Prime Minister Narendra Modi on May 28 as not inviting President Droupadi Murmu is an insult to her.

    In a tweet, AAP Rajya Sabha member Sanjay Singh said: “Not inviting her Excellency President Droupadi Murmu for inauguration of Parliament House is a gross insult to her. This is also an insult to Dalit, tribal and derived class of the society. AAP will boycott the inauguration orogramme in protest of (Prime Minister) Modi not inviting the President”.

    Earlier in the day, the Trinamool Congress announced a boycott of the inauguration of the new Parliament building.googletag.cmd.push(function() {googletag.display(‘div-gpt-ad-8052921-2’); });

    In a tweet, Trinamool Congress Rajya Sabha member Derek O’Brien said: “Parliament is not just a new building; it is an establishment with old traditions, values, precedents and rules – it is the foundation of Indian democracy. PM Modi doesn’t get that. For him, Sunday’s inauguration of the new building is all about I, me, myself. So count us out”.

    The Trinamool has already raised objections about the choice of date of the inauguration of the new Parliament building. According to the leadership, the occasion of inauguration of the new building should be on the occasion of the Independence Day on August 15, instead of May 28 which is the occasion of the birth anniversary of RSS patriarch VD Savarkar.

    According to the Trinamool leadership, the Union government has also kept the opposition in the dark over the fate of the old Parliament building.

    Even Congress is likely to boycott the inauguration of the new building. Party sources said that a decision is likely to be taken on Wednesday or Thursday.

    On Tuesday, Congress General secretary communication in-charge Jairam Ramesh also responded to Union Minister Hardeep Singh Puri and said, “SUV – Self-Usurped Vishwaguru – has already annexe-d the Parliament for self-aggrandisement. But surely, there is a fundamental difference between inaugurating an Annexe where officials work and a library which is hardly used on the one hand, and inaugurating not just the Temple of Democracy but its sanctorum itself.”

    He was responding to Puri’s remarks that in August 1975, then Prime Minister Indira Gandhi inaugurated the Parliament Annexe, and later in 1987 Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi inaugurated the Parliament Library.

    A row has erupted on the inauguration of new Parliament building after former Congress chief Rahul Gandhi demanded that President Murmu should inaugurate the new Parliament House instead of PM Modi.

    A war of words has erupted between Congress and the BJP over the inauguration of the New Parliament House by PM Modi on May 28.

  • Violence during ‘Nabanna Chalo’: Four arrested so far, BJP accuses Mamata government of ‘curbing’ democracy in Bengal

    By PTI

    KOLKATA: At least four people were arrested on Wednesday for allegedly assaulting a police officer and setting a police vehicle on fire in Kolkata during the BJP’s rally, an official said.

    The arrests were made during night-long raids in Beliaghata, Topsia and Bowbazar areas, he said.

    Assistant Commissioner of Police (ACP) Debajit Chattopadhyay was chased and assaulted with sticks by some people in the Bowbazar area during the BJP’s ‘March to Nabanna’ rally on Tuesday.

    A police vehicle was also torched near the Kolkata Police headquarters Lalbazar.

    “The raids are still going on,” said an officer of Kolkata Police on Wednesday afternoon. The four arrested persons were identified from video clips of the two incidents,” he said.

    They have been booked under sections dealing with attempt to murder, destruction of government property and preventing public servant from performing duty, the officer said.

    Chattopadhyay suffered multiple fractures and is at present undergoing treatment at a hospital, he said.

    BJP’s national vice-president Dilip Ghosh said the attacks were the handwork of TMC supporters who got into the rally.

    “Our activists are being framed and false charges slapped against them,” he alleged.

    TMC MP Mahua Moitra said what if the West Bengal government follows the Uttar Pradesh “model” and “send bulldozers to homes of BJP workers who destroyed public property”.

    The BJP on Wednesday alleged that West Bengal has become a “lawless” and “bankrupt” state under the Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee-led government.

    A day after BJP workers and police clashed after cops prevented them from marching towards the secretariat in the state capital during their protests, the party hit out at Banerjee for inflicting “police torture” on its members to suppress their voice.

    The BJP had launched a protest march against the ruling Trinamool Congress’ alleged corrupt practises.

    Former Union minister and BJP leader Ravi Shankar Prasad slammed Banerjee, saying she speaks of saving democracy outside the state while crossing all limits to curb people’s democratic and civil rights inside Bengal.

    ALSO READ | NCW seeks action against male officers of Kolkata Police who ‘assaulted’ woman BJP leader

    Suggesting that intra-party rivalry within the TMC may be behind the use of force against BJP members, he said the chief minister’s conduct has been “contrary” to her political evolution, noting her rise from the grassroots and long struggle against the earlier Left rule.

    Is the fight for succession going on in the TMC, he asked, hinting about the reported differences between the chief minister and her nephew Abhishek Banerjee without naming the second most powerful leader in the regional party.

    She has now left the Left behind in inflicting atrocities and brutalities on the BJP, he claimed, asserting that the TMC cannot stop his party’s march in the state.

    “Under Mamata Banerjee West Bengal has become a lawless and bankrupt state,” Prasad said.

    Parts of Kolkata and Howrah district turned into a battlefield on Tuesday as BJP supporters clashed with the police while trying to get past barricades erected to prevent them from marching towards the West Bengal secretariat ‘Nabanna’.

    While the BJP alleged that the Mamata Banerjee government does not want to give space to opposition parties, the TMC described the saffron camp workers as “hooligans”.

    At the BJP press conference, Prasad also took aim at Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar for the spree of firing in Begusarai on Tuesday and the comment of the state agriculture minister that his department was full of “thieves” and he was their “sardaar” (leader).

    “What has happened to you Nitish Kumar ji in the company of your new friends,” the Patna Sahib MP said.

    Kumar had recently broken his party Janata Dal (United) ties with the BJP and joined hands the Rashtriya Janata Dal.

    Prasad alleged that the RJD’s foundation is based on “mafia, corrupt people and corruption” and wondered how long the state government will last.

    KOLKATA: At least four people were arrested on Wednesday for allegedly assaulting a police officer and setting a police vehicle on fire in Kolkata during the BJP’s rally, an official said.

    The arrests were made during night-long raids in Beliaghata, Topsia and Bowbazar areas, he said.

    Assistant Commissioner of Police (ACP) Debajit Chattopadhyay was chased and assaulted with sticks by some people in the Bowbazar area during the BJP’s ‘March to Nabanna’ rally on Tuesday.

    A police vehicle was also torched near the Kolkata Police headquarters Lalbazar.

    “The raids are still going on,” said an officer of Kolkata Police on Wednesday afternoon. The four arrested persons were identified from video clips of the two incidents,” he said.

    They have been booked under sections dealing with attempt to murder, destruction of government property and preventing public servant from performing duty, the officer said.

    Chattopadhyay suffered multiple fractures and is at present undergoing treatment at a hospital, he said.

    BJP’s national vice-president Dilip Ghosh said the attacks were the handwork of TMC supporters who got into the rally.

    “Our activists are being framed and false charges slapped against them,” he alleged.

    TMC MP Mahua Moitra said what if the West Bengal government follows the Uttar Pradesh “model” and “send bulldozers to homes of BJP workers who destroyed public property”.

    The BJP on Wednesday alleged that West Bengal has become a “lawless” and “bankrupt” state under the Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee-led government.

    A day after BJP workers and police clashed after cops prevented them from marching towards the secretariat in the state capital during their protests, the party hit out at Banerjee for inflicting “police torture” on its members to suppress their voice.

    The BJP had launched a protest march against the ruling Trinamool Congress’ alleged corrupt practises.

    Former Union minister and BJP leader Ravi Shankar Prasad slammed Banerjee, saying she speaks of saving democracy outside the state while crossing all limits to curb people’s democratic and civil rights inside Bengal.

    ALSO READ | NCW seeks action against male officers of Kolkata Police who ‘assaulted’ woman BJP leader

    Suggesting that intra-party rivalry within the TMC may be behind the use of force against BJP members, he said the chief minister’s conduct has been “contrary” to her political evolution, noting her rise from the grassroots and long struggle against the earlier Left rule.

    Is the fight for succession going on in the TMC, he asked, hinting about the reported differences between the chief minister and her nephew Abhishek Banerjee without naming the second most powerful leader in the regional party.

    She has now left the Left behind in inflicting atrocities and brutalities on the BJP, he claimed, asserting that the TMC cannot stop his party’s march in the state.

    “Under Mamata Banerjee West Bengal has become a lawless and bankrupt state,” Prasad said.

    Parts of Kolkata and Howrah district turned into a battlefield on Tuesday as BJP supporters clashed with the police while trying to get past barricades erected to prevent them from marching towards the West Bengal secretariat ‘Nabanna’.

    While the BJP alleged that the Mamata Banerjee government does not want to give space to opposition parties, the TMC described the saffron camp workers as “hooligans”.

    At the BJP press conference, Prasad also took aim at Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar for the spree of firing in Begusarai on Tuesday and the comment of the state agriculture minister that his department was full of “thieves” and he was their “sardaar” (leader).

    “What has happened to you Nitish Kumar ji in the company of your new friends,” the Patna Sahib MP said.

    Kumar had recently broken his party Janata Dal (United) ties with the BJP and joined hands the Rashtriya Janata Dal.

    Prasad alleged that the RJD’s foundation is based on “mafia, corrupt people and corruption” and wondered how long the state government will last.

  • ED issues fresh summons to Abhishek Banerjee’s kin after notice row; Trinamool MP threatens of gheraoing BJP leader’s houses

    By PTI

    KOLKATA: The Enforcement Directorate was left red-faced when Maneka Gambhir, the sister-in-law of TMC MP Abhishek Banerjee, arrived at its office here past midnight as the notice served on her in a money laundering case asked her to appear before the agency at 12.30 AM on Monday.

    Wearing a blue kurta, Gambir reached the ED office at CGO complex in the Salt Lake area and posed for a picture before a locked office along with the notice, which the agency later termed as a “typographical error”.

    “I was served with notice to report at 12:30 AM and so I had come,” Gambhir later told a local news channel.

    She was accompanied by a lawyer during her midnight visit to the ED office.

    Gambhir was handed over the summons to appear at the ED office here on Monday “at 12:30 AM” by agency officials at the Kolkata airport on September 10 after she was denied from taking an international flight.

    The agency said she was required to join investigation in an alleged coal scam case.

    She has been issued a fresh summons to appear before the agency here around 2 PM, the officials said.

    The sources said the midnight time printed on the earlier summons was a “typographical error” and erroneous and it should have been “12:30 PM” on September 12.

    Gambhir has not been questioned by the ED in this case till now.

    The CBI had earlier questioned her in the said case.

    The Calcutta High Court in August directed the ED to question Gambhir at its regional office in Kolkata and not in Delhi and also not to take coercive steps against her till the next date of hearing.

    Gambhir had challenged an ED summons that asked her to appear before it in Delhi on September 5 in connection with the alleged coal scam case and had sought direction from the court to the agency to allow her to appear before it in Kolkata, where she claimed she resides.

    The ED has questioned Abhishek Banerjee, the nephew of West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee and the national general secretary of the Trinamool Congress (TMC), and his wife Rujira in this case earlier.

    This case is being investigated by the ED under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA) with Anup Majee being alleged to be the kingpin of a coal mining pilferage-linked money laundering case related to Eastern Coalfield Limited’s mines in Kunustoria and Kajora in and around Asansol in West Bengal.

    Houses of all BJP MPs and MLAs in West Bengal will be gheraoed if provident fund and gratuity benefits are not provided to over 3 lakh tea garden workers in the state by the end of this year, Banerjee said on Sunday.

    Addressing a rally of tea workers in Jalpaiguri district’s Malbazar, Banerjee asked the party’s trade union to start a protest programme demanding PF and gratuity from Monday itself and lodge police complaints against tea garden owners who refuse to provide these benefits.

    “BJP leaders are like migratory birds, they come before the elections, make big promises and fly out after the elections without fulfilling those.

    The Centre promised to take over seven closed tea gardens but did nothing, while the TMC government in the state ensured that all closed tea gardens become operational once again,” he said.

    “Though Narendra Modi was a tea seller, he did nothing for the tea garden workers. Providing PF and gratuity benefits are the responsibilities of the Centre. I ask you all to start protesting on the issue from tomorrow itself. File police complaints against tea garden owners who refuse to provide these. And if the issues are not addressed by the end of this year, then houses of BJP MLAs and MPs will be gheraoed from January,” he added.

    Banerjee, a Lok Sabha MP and the nephew of Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee, promised the tea workers that the state will set up 31 creches for their children in the next six months, primary health centres, and provide them with clean drinking water and land rights.

    “The basic wage was Rs 67 during the Left rule in the state and it has now been increased to Rs 232. The new wage will be implemented in the next three months,” he said, noting that he will take the demands of the tea garden workers to Delhi.

    The announcements by Banerjee, the TMC’s national general secretary, are being seen as a bid to wrest the tea belt of the state from the BJP, which won all the seats in the region in 2019 Lok Sabha polls and continued the streak by winning the most number of seats in last year’s assembly election.

    Asserting that his party will fight against all moves to divide the state, Banerjee said he was also against terms such as ‘north Bengal’ and ‘south Bengal’.

    “There are talks about carving out Coochbehar with parts of sub-Himalayan West Bengal to create a separate state or territory. We will not allow that,” he said.

    “TMC will fiercely oppose any attempt to create a separate state. Even I am opposed to casually referring to the region as north Bengal, and districts in the southern region as south Bengal. Why such terms?” he asked.

    Banerjee also hit out at the BJP, alleging “misuse” of ED and CBI to harass its political opponents.

    “(Law minister) Moloy Ghatak’s house was raided but only Rs 14,000 in cash could be found. Why people who looted crores of rupees of public money and provided shelter by the BJP are being spared?” he asked.

    On speculation of his “new Trinamool Congress”, Banerjee said he never meant that the party will get rid of old-timers.

    “I meant we will continue to reflect the aspirations of people and voice their wishes. We will fix mistakes if any during the journey,” he explained.

    “If anyone commits any wrong, if anyone cheats people, the party will not stand by him. Remember that TMC took action against such offenders,” he claimed.

    The BJP said it was not giving much importance to Banerjee’s rally, claiming that the people of the state have already turned their faces away from the TMC.

    “His rally will not cut much ice as people of Bengal have turned away from the TMC. Also, let me ask why he did not care about the condition of tea gardens all these years. The Modi government and our party MPs are doing everything to improve their condition,” BJP state spokesperson Samik Bhattacharya said.

    KOLKATA: The Enforcement Directorate was left red-faced when Maneka Gambhir, the sister-in-law of TMC MP Abhishek Banerjee, arrived at its office here past midnight as the notice served on her in a money laundering case asked her to appear before the agency at 12.30 AM on Monday.

    Wearing a blue kurta, Gambir reached the ED office at CGO complex in the Salt Lake area and posed for a picture before a locked office along with the notice, which the agency later termed as a “typographical error”.

    “I was served with notice to report at 12:30 AM and so I had come,” Gambhir later told a local news channel.

    She was accompanied by a lawyer during her midnight visit to the ED office.

    Gambhir was handed over the summons to appear at the ED office here on Monday “at 12:30 AM” by agency officials at the Kolkata airport on September 10 after she was denied from taking an international flight.

    The agency said she was required to join investigation in an alleged coal scam case.

    She has been issued a fresh summons to appear before the agency here around 2 PM, the officials said.

    The sources said the midnight time printed on the earlier summons was a “typographical error” and erroneous and it should have been “12:30 PM” on September 12.

    Gambhir has not been questioned by the ED in this case till now.

    The CBI had earlier questioned her in the said case.

    The Calcutta High Court in August directed the ED to question Gambhir at its regional office in Kolkata and not in Delhi and also not to take coercive steps against her till the next date of hearing.

    Gambhir had challenged an ED summons that asked her to appear before it in Delhi on September 5 in connection with the alleged coal scam case and had sought direction from the court to the agency to allow her to appear before it in Kolkata, where she claimed she resides.

    The ED has questioned Abhishek Banerjee, the nephew of West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee and the national general secretary of the Trinamool Congress (TMC), and his wife Rujira in this case earlier.

    This case is being investigated by the ED under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA) with Anup Majee being alleged to be the kingpin of a coal mining pilferage-linked money laundering case related to Eastern Coalfield Limited’s mines in Kunustoria and Kajora in and around Asansol in West Bengal.

    Houses of all BJP MPs and MLAs in West Bengal will be gheraoed if provident fund and gratuity benefits are not provided to over 3 lakh tea garden workers in the state by the end of this year, Banerjee said on Sunday.

    Addressing a rally of tea workers in Jalpaiguri district’s Malbazar, Banerjee asked the party’s trade union to start a protest programme demanding PF and gratuity from Monday itself and lodge police complaints against tea garden owners who refuse to provide these benefits.

    “BJP leaders are like migratory birds, they come before the elections, make big promises and fly out after the elections without fulfilling those.

    The Centre promised to take over seven closed tea gardens but did nothing, while the TMC government in the state ensured that all closed tea gardens become operational once again,” he said.

    “Though Narendra Modi was a tea seller, he did nothing for the tea garden workers. Providing PF and gratuity benefits are the responsibilities of the Centre. I ask you all to start protesting on the issue from tomorrow itself. File police complaints against tea garden owners who refuse to provide these. And if the issues are not addressed by the end of this year, then houses of BJP MLAs and MPs will be gheraoed from January,” he added.

    Banerjee, a Lok Sabha MP and the nephew of Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee, promised the tea workers that the state will set up 31 creches for their children in the next six months, primary health centres, and provide them with clean drinking water and land rights.

    “The basic wage was Rs 67 during the Left rule in the state and it has now been increased to Rs 232. The new wage will be implemented in the next three months,” he said, noting that he will take the demands of the tea garden workers to Delhi.

    The announcements by Banerjee, the TMC’s national general secretary, are being seen as a bid to wrest the tea belt of the state from the BJP, which won all the seats in the region in 2019 Lok Sabha polls and continued the streak by winning the most number of seats in last year’s assembly election.

    Asserting that his party will fight against all moves to divide the state, Banerjee said he was also against terms such as ‘north Bengal’ and ‘south Bengal’.

    “There are talks about carving out Coochbehar with parts of sub-Himalayan West Bengal to create a separate state or territory. We will not allow that,” he said.

    “TMC will fiercely oppose any attempt to create a separate state. Even I am opposed to casually referring to the region as north Bengal, and districts in the southern region as south Bengal. Why such terms?” he asked.

    Banerjee also hit out at the BJP, alleging “misuse” of ED and CBI to harass its political opponents.

    “(Law minister) Moloy Ghatak’s house was raided but only Rs 14,000 in cash could be found. Why people who looted crores of rupees of public money and provided shelter by the BJP are being spared?” he asked.

    On speculation of his “new Trinamool Congress”, Banerjee said he never meant that the party will get rid of old-timers.

    “I meant we will continue to reflect the aspirations of people and voice their wishes. We will fix mistakes if any during the journey,” he explained.

    “If anyone commits any wrong, if anyone cheats people, the party will not stand by him. Remember that TMC took action against such offenders,” he claimed.

    The BJP said it was not giving much importance to Banerjee’s rally, claiming that the people of the state have already turned their faces away from the TMC.

    “His rally will not cut much ice as people of Bengal have turned away from the TMC. Also, let me ask why he did not care about the condition of tea gardens all these years. The Modi government and our party MPs are doing everything to improve their condition,” BJP state spokesperson Samik Bhattacharya said.

  • ‘If my family gets notice from central agencies, will fight it legally’: Mamata

    Her comment came after the Enforcement Directorate (ED) issued a fresh summons to her nephew and Trinamool Congress MP Abhishek Banerjee to appear before its officers on Friday.

  • Chorus against Jawhar Sircar grows in party, Trinamool says disciplinary committee will look into it

    By PTI

    KOLKATA: The chorus in TMC demanding the ouster of its Rajya Sabha MP Jawhar Sircar for criticising the alleged corruption in the party grew louder on Tuesday with several of its senior leaders saying the former bureaucrat is “free to leave” as it does not need “selfish people at the time of crisis”.

    Taking note of the growing resentment in the party against Sircar, Trinamool Congress said its disciplinary committee will look into the complaints.

    Sircar, however, declined to comment on the issue when contacted.

    Senior TMC leader and MP Sougata Roy leading the attack against Sircar said the former Prasar Bharati CEO should stop “trying to show himself as the epitome of morality”.

    The party should immediately initiate disciplinary action against him for violating party discipline, he demanded.

    “If he (Sircar) is so embarrassed by the developments, then why is he still holding on to his post? He should immediately resign from his post of (Rajya Sabha) MP. He is free to leave the party; it won’t have any impact.”

    “People like Jawhar Sircar had no role in TMC’s struggle or the fight in the last Bengal Assembly polls. He has no contribution towards the party,” Roy said.

    Sircar had said on Monday that a section of TMC is “completely rotten” and that the BJP cannot be fought in the 2024 general election with such elements.

    The former Prasar Bharati CEO, who was elected to the Rajya Sabha from Bengal a year ago on a TMC ticket, had recently said his friends and family had asked him to quit politics after party leaders Partha Chatterjee and Anubrata Mondal were arrested by central investigating agencies in connection with the alleged teacher recruitment and cattle smuggling scandals respectively.

    “The party does not need selfish and opportunist people. Jawhar Sircar should immediately resign as MP. He behaves like he is the only one with public stature, and we don’t have any. I will request the party leadership to take disciplinary action against him immediately,” he said.

    TMC spokesperson Biswajit Deb said bureaucrats like Sircar run after power.

    “That is their basic nature. Mr Sircar # please show us an instance where you have done good to common people during your service tenure and thereafter@ MP. Quit asap to allow any sincere party worker to represent @RS in your place,” he tweeted.

    TMC state general secretary Kunal Ghosh said the party’s disciplinary committee would look into the matter.

    “Till then I urge everyone not to make any comments in the public domain,” he said.

    Joining the refrain against Sircar, West Bengal minister Babul Supriyo disapproved of the way Sircar commented on recovery of cash from the appartments of an associate of Chatterjee’s associate and the arrest of Mondal.

    The Enforcement Directorate and CBI had raided their premises and arrested the two and the law will take its own course.

    “Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee has already taken strict action on the issue,” Supriyo, who is the state tourism and IT minister, told reporters at the sideliens of an event.

    “Jawhar Sircar is a senior person. He knows of the steps taken by TMC after the corruption issue (recovery of cash) recently came to light. I am of the view what he said is entirely his personal opinion. But he has to think whether he should air this in a public forum in such way,” the minister said.

    Continuing his criticism of Sircar, he said “If your (Sircar’s) comments embarras the party, if you make loose comments then what is the difference between you, an erudite person, and Dilip Ghosh of BJP ?” he said.

    The BJP national vice-president is known for making controversial comments and has been cautioned by the party from making any comment on the CBI.

    Supriyo, a former union minister in the Narendra Modi council of ministers, said, “Every big party faces crises. I am not denying that our party is faced with a crisis now. But has not TMC already taken a stand on the matter? We can see attempts to topple democratically elected opposition governments in different states. There is also trial by media which goes on.”

    He said though Banerjee has taken strict stand on the developments in TMC and its senior leaders have spoken out, a wrong message about party has been conveyed to society by Sircar’s comments.

    “There can be different types of people in every party and it is not possible for any party to be absolutely 100 per cent stain free like the washed tulsi (holy) leaf.

    “My question is why has there been no arrest of anyone from BJP. Many corrupt people are sitting under the BJP umbrella in different states but why is no action being taken against any of them? The leader of the opposition (in Bengal) Suvendu Adhikari (BJP) had been accused in the Narada scam but he has not been touched. I ask him to face the charges and come clean,” Supriyo said.

    Alleging that only Opposition parties leaders are being targetted by the CBI and ED, he said “This raises serious questions about the credibility of the central agencies. It appears that the governments in Maharashtra, Telangana, Delhi and Jharkhand are being targeted with the intention to harass the Opposition parties,” he added.

    Sircar had joined TMC last year after party supremo Mamata Banerjee named him as its candidate for the Rajya Sabha by-poll when a seat fell vacant after Dinesh Trivedi resigned.

    Trivedi had switched over to BJP ahead of the Bengal Assembly polls.

    KOLKATA: The chorus in TMC demanding the ouster of its Rajya Sabha MP Jawhar Sircar for criticising the alleged corruption in the party grew louder on Tuesday with several of its senior leaders saying the former bureaucrat is “free to leave” as it does not need “selfish people at the time of crisis”.

    Taking note of the growing resentment in the party against Sircar, Trinamool Congress said its disciplinary committee will look into the complaints.

    Sircar, however, declined to comment on the issue when contacted.

    Senior TMC leader and MP Sougata Roy leading the attack against Sircar said the former Prasar Bharati CEO should stop “trying to show himself as the epitome of morality”.

    The party should immediately initiate disciplinary action against him for violating party discipline, he demanded.

    “If he (Sircar) is so embarrassed by the developments, then why is he still holding on to his post? He should immediately resign from his post of (Rajya Sabha) MP. He is free to leave the party; it won’t have any impact.”

    “People like Jawhar Sircar had no role in TMC’s struggle or the fight in the last Bengal Assembly polls. He has no contribution towards the party,” Roy said.

    Sircar had said on Monday that a section of TMC is “completely rotten” and that the BJP cannot be fought in the 2024 general election with such elements.

    The former Prasar Bharati CEO, who was elected to the Rajya Sabha from Bengal a year ago on a TMC ticket, had recently said his friends and family had asked him to quit politics after party leaders Partha Chatterjee and Anubrata Mondal were arrested by central investigating agencies in connection with the alleged teacher recruitment and cattle smuggling scandals respectively.

    “The party does not need selfish and opportunist people. Jawhar Sircar should immediately resign as MP. He behaves like he is the only one with public stature, and we don’t have any. I will request the party leadership to take disciplinary action against him immediately,” he said.

    TMC spokesperson Biswajit Deb said bureaucrats like Sircar run after power.

    “That is their basic nature. Mr Sircar # please show us an instance where you have done good to common people during your service tenure and thereafter@ MP. Quit asap to allow any sincere party worker to represent @RS in your place,” he tweeted.

    TMC state general secretary Kunal Ghosh said the party’s disciplinary committee would look into the matter.

    “Till then I urge everyone not to make any comments in the public domain,” he said.

    Joining the refrain against Sircar, West Bengal minister Babul Supriyo disapproved of the way Sircar commented on recovery of cash from the appartments of an associate of Chatterjee’s associate and the arrest of Mondal.

    The Enforcement Directorate and CBI had raided their premises and arrested the two and the law will take its own course.

    “Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee has already taken strict action on the issue,” Supriyo, who is the state tourism and IT minister, told reporters at the sideliens of an event.

    “Jawhar Sircar is a senior person. He knows of the steps taken by TMC after the corruption issue (recovery of cash) recently came to light. I am of the view what he said is entirely his personal opinion. But he has to think whether he should air this in a public forum in such way,” the minister said.

    Continuing his criticism of Sircar, he said “If your (Sircar’s) comments embarras the party, if you make loose comments then what is the difference between you, an erudite person, and Dilip Ghosh of BJP ?” he said.

    The BJP national vice-president is known for making controversial comments and has been cautioned by the party from making any comment on the CBI.

    Supriyo, a former union minister in the Narendra Modi council of ministers, said, “Every big party faces crises. I am not denying that our party is faced with a crisis now. But has not TMC already taken a stand on the matter? We can see attempts to topple democratically elected opposition governments in different states. There is also trial by media which goes on.”

    He said though Banerjee has taken strict stand on the developments in TMC and its senior leaders have spoken out, a wrong message about party has been conveyed to society by Sircar’s comments.

    “There can be different types of people in every party and it is not possible for any party to be absolutely 100 per cent stain free like the washed tulsi (holy) leaf.

    “My question is why has there been no arrest of anyone from BJP. Many corrupt people are sitting under the BJP umbrella in different states but why is no action being taken against any of them? The leader of the opposition (in Bengal) Suvendu Adhikari (BJP) had been accused in the Narada scam but he has not been touched. I ask him to face the charges and come clean,” Supriyo said.

    Alleging that only Opposition parties leaders are being targetted by the CBI and ED, he said “This raises serious questions about the credibility of the central agencies. It appears that the governments in Maharashtra, Telangana, Delhi and Jharkhand are being targeted with the intention to harass the Opposition parties,” he added.

    Sircar had joined TMC last year after party supremo Mamata Banerjee named him as its candidate for the Rajya Sabha by-poll when a seat fell vacant after Dinesh Trivedi resigned.

    Trivedi had switched over to BJP ahead of the Bengal Assembly polls.

  • Cattle smuggling: Lawyer arrested for writing threat letter to CBI judge hearing Anubrata’s case

    By PTI

    ASANSOL: A lawyer has been arrested for allegedly writing a threat letter to a CBI judge hearing the case of arrested TMC strongman Anubrata Mondal, police said on Tuesday.

    The accused, Sudipta Roy, was nabbed from BNR More in Asansol city on Monday night for allegedly threatening special CBI judge Rajesh Chakraborty with a drug case if Mondal, the TMC Birbhum district president, is not granted bail in a cattle smuggling case.

    He was arrested after his mobile tower location was tracked down while he was attempting to return home, a police officer said.

    During investigation, it was revealed that the accused, out of personal enmity with Asansol District Court head clerk and TMC leader Bappaditya Chattopadhyay, had impersonated him, using his name and official stamp, while sending the threat letter, the officer said.

    “The accused had sent the letter to the CBI court judge on August 23 by speed post to frame Chattopadhyay, his old enemy,” he said.

    The arrested lawyer had allegedly threatened Chattopadhyay a few days ago, he added.

    Chattopadhyay, in a secret statement under Section 164, had on August 26 stated about Roy’s threat.

    Following this, an investigation was initiated by the Asansol-Durgapur Police Intelligence Department.

    Last week, Chakraborty had written to Paschim Bardhaman district judge, urging him to take note of the threat and bring it to the notice of the registrar, judicial service, and appellate side of the Calcutta High Court.

    A fake Aadhaar card in Chattopadhyay’s name was found from the possession of Roy.

    During investigation, it was also found that Roy had earlier forged a stamp of a judge and was also booked in a drug case, the police officer said.

    Mondal was arrested by the CBI on August 11 in the cattle smuggling case.

    He is presently in 14-day judicial custody in Asansol.

    The special CBI court in Asansol is hearing coal and cattle smuggling cases.

    Several people have been arrested.

    ASANSOL: A lawyer has been arrested for allegedly writing a threat letter to a CBI judge hearing the case of arrested TMC strongman Anubrata Mondal, police said on Tuesday.

    The accused, Sudipta Roy, was nabbed from BNR More in Asansol city on Monday night for allegedly threatening special CBI judge Rajesh Chakraborty with a drug case if Mondal, the TMC Birbhum district president, is not granted bail in a cattle smuggling case.

    He was arrested after his mobile tower location was tracked down while he was attempting to return home, a police officer said.

    During investigation, it was revealed that the accused, out of personal enmity with Asansol District Court head clerk and TMC leader Bappaditya Chattopadhyay, had impersonated him, using his name and official stamp, while sending the threat letter, the officer said.

    “The accused had sent the letter to the CBI court judge on August 23 by speed post to frame Chattopadhyay, his old enemy,” he said.

    The arrested lawyer had allegedly threatened Chattopadhyay a few days ago, he added.

    Chattopadhyay, in a secret statement under Section 164, had on August 26 stated about Roy’s threat.

    Following this, an investigation was initiated by the Asansol-Durgapur Police Intelligence Department.

    Last week, Chakraborty had written to Paschim Bardhaman district judge, urging him to take note of the threat and bring it to the notice of the registrar, judicial service, and appellate side of the Calcutta High Court.

    A fake Aadhaar card in Chattopadhyay’s name was found from the possession of Roy.

    During investigation, it was also found that Roy had earlier forged a stamp of a judge and was also booked in a drug case, the police officer said.

    Mondal was arrested by the CBI on August 11 in the cattle smuggling case.

    He is presently in 14-day judicial custody in Asansol.

    The special CBI court in Asansol is hearing coal and cattle smuggling cases.

    Several people have been arrested.

  • Scams fallout: Trinamool to focus on maintaining clean image, to go all out against BJP

    By PTI

    NEW DELHI: The “democracy-is-dead” refrain is unlikely to be effective in cornering the Narendra Modi dispensation, Trinamool Congress sources said on Thursday and added the party is drawing a list of 12 promises that the BJP made but failed to fulfil for its crusade against the government.

    Among the dozen promises that the Mamata Banerjee-led party plans to take up to corner the BJP government are the doubling of farmers’ income by 2022 and houses for all.

    “We have kept it simple. We want to remind the Modi government of the promises it made to the people and also show them how they have failed,” TMC MP Derek O’Brien said.

    TMC sources said it would be impossible to put the government on the backfoot through the “democracy is dead” platform and instead, the focus should be on questioning it on the promises it made to the general public but failed to implement on ground.

    Though the TMC sources did not mention the Congress, the target was apparent.

    ALSO READ | SSC scam: HC extends former Bengal minister Partha Chatterjee’s judicial remand by 14 days

    Earlier this month, senior Congress leader Rahul Gandhi had alleged India is witnessing the “death of democracy” and anybody who raises people’s issues and stands against the onset of dictatorship is “viciously attacked” and put in jail.

    The Trinamool Congress said the government promised to rid the country of black money but in reality, it claimed, 99.3 per cent of such money stashed abroad came back to the country with a maximum of it returning to Gujarat.

    It also alleged the government under Prime Minister Narendra Modi has sold Rs 2.1 lakh crore worth of PSUs and failed to deposit the promised Rs 15 lakh in bank accounts of the poor.

    It has instead squandered away Rs 6.2 trillion in bad loans and Rs 1.22 lakh crore in bank frauds.

    The party also plans to raise the issue of the bullet train project, raising questions on land acquisition, and asked how the Railways accumulated a debt of Rs 7 lakh crore.

    The failure of the government under the Pradhan Mantri Ujjwala Yojana also will be highlighted by the party, the sources said.

    The TMC wants to gain some momentum before the next session of Parliament, which is expected in November, and will go all out against the government, they said.

    Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee on Thursday directed all her ministers to stop using pilot cars with red beacon anywhere in the state, except highways, and advised them to be very careful while signing any official document, a senior official here said.

    The fresh directives from Banerjee are being seen as an attempt to rebuild the image of her government which received back-to-back jolts following the arrests of senior leaders Partha Chatterjee and Anubrata Mondal.

    Addressing the first meeting of the state cabinet, following the recent reshuffle, Banerjee also stated that her department would fix separate tasks for the ministers of state, who till date had “very little responsibilities” to carry out.

    ALSO READ | TET row: HC recalls order asking Trinamool leader’s daughter, five others to appear before it

    “The chief minister at Thursday’s meeting asked her ministers to stop using pilot cars. Ministers can be escorted by pilot cars with red beacon at times when they are travelling on highways, but not anywhere else in the state,” the bureaucrat told PTI after the meeting.

    “She also advised cabinet ministers to go through any documents thoroughly before signing them,” he said.

    At Thursday’s meeting, Banerjee was learnt to have pulled up state forest minister Jyotipriya Mallick, pointing out that she had been receiving several complaints against him.

    She directed Mallick to maintain a “clean image”.

    Partha Chatterjee, who held the industry portfolio, was relieved of his ministerial responsibilities and suspended from the TMC following his arrest by the Enforcement Directorate (ED) last month in connection with the probe into a school recruitment scam.

    Notably, Thursday’s was the first cabinet meeting after Chatterjee’s removal from the ministry.

    NEW DELHI: The “democracy-is-dead” refrain is unlikely to be effective in cornering the Narendra Modi dispensation, Trinamool Congress sources said on Thursday and added the party is drawing a list of 12 promises that the BJP made but failed to fulfil for its crusade against the government.

    Among the dozen promises that the Mamata Banerjee-led party plans to take up to corner the BJP government are the doubling of farmers’ income by 2022 and houses for all.

    “We have kept it simple. We want to remind the Modi government of the promises it made to the people and also show them how they have failed,” TMC MP Derek O’Brien said.

    TMC sources said it would be impossible to put the government on the backfoot through the “democracy is dead” platform and instead, the focus should be on questioning it on the promises it made to the general public but failed to implement on ground.

    Though the TMC sources did not mention the Congress, the target was apparent.

    ALSO READ | SSC scam: HC extends former Bengal minister Partha Chatterjee’s judicial remand by 14 days

    Earlier this month, senior Congress leader Rahul Gandhi had alleged India is witnessing the “death of democracy” and anybody who raises people’s issues and stands against the onset of dictatorship is “viciously attacked” and put in jail.

    The Trinamool Congress said the government promised to rid the country of black money but in reality, it claimed, 99.3 per cent of such money stashed abroad came back to the country with a maximum of it returning to Gujarat.

    It also alleged the government under Prime Minister Narendra Modi has sold Rs 2.1 lakh crore worth of PSUs and failed to deposit the promised Rs 15 lakh in bank accounts of the poor.

    It has instead squandered away Rs 6.2 trillion in bad loans and Rs 1.22 lakh crore in bank frauds.

    The party also plans to raise the issue of the bullet train project, raising questions on land acquisition, and asked how the Railways accumulated a debt of Rs 7 lakh crore.

    The failure of the government under the Pradhan Mantri Ujjwala Yojana also will be highlighted by the party, the sources said.

    The TMC wants to gain some momentum before the next session of Parliament, which is expected in November, and will go all out against the government, they said.

    Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee on Thursday directed all her ministers to stop using pilot cars with red beacon anywhere in the state, except highways, and advised them to be very careful while signing any official document, a senior official here said.

    The fresh directives from Banerjee are being seen as an attempt to rebuild the image of her government which received back-to-back jolts following the arrests of senior leaders Partha Chatterjee and Anubrata Mondal.

    Addressing the first meeting of the state cabinet, following the recent reshuffle, Banerjee also stated that her department would fix separate tasks for the ministers of state, who till date had “very little responsibilities” to carry out.

    ALSO READ | TET row: HC recalls order asking Trinamool leader’s daughter, five others to appear before it

    “The chief minister at Thursday’s meeting asked her ministers to stop using pilot cars. Ministers can be escorted by pilot cars with red beacon at times when they are travelling on highways, but not anywhere else in the state,” the bureaucrat told PTI after the meeting.

    “She also advised cabinet ministers to go through any documents thoroughly before signing them,” he said.

    At Thursday’s meeting, Banerjee was learnt to have pulled up state forest minister Jyotipriya Mallick, pointing out that she had been receiving several complaints against him.

    She directed Mallick to maintain a “clean image”.

    Partha Chatterjee, who held the industry portfolio, was relieved of his ministerial responsibilities and suspended from the TMC following his arrest by the Enforcement Directorate (ED) last month in connection with the probe into a school recruitment scam.

    Notably, Thursday’s was the first cabinet meeting after Chatterjee’s removal from the ministry.

  • SSC scam: HC extends former Bengal minister Partha Chatterjee’s judicial remand by 14 days

    By PTI

    KOLKATA: A special court on Thursday extended the judicial remand of former West Bengal minister Partha Chatterjee and his alleged close aide Arpita Mukherjee, both arrested by the Enforcement Directorate in the school jobs scam, by 14 more days.

    After being in ED custody till August 5 following their arrest on July 23, Chatterjee and Mukherjee had been sent to judicial remand by the PMLA (Prevention of Money Laundering Act) court here.

    Rejecting a bail prayer of the former minister, Judge Jibon Kumar Sadhu granted 14 days’ judicial remand of the two accused on a prayer by the ED till August 31.

    On a prayer by the central investigating agency, the court granted permission to the ED to further interrogate them in the correctional homes they are lodged in.

    Mukherjee did not make any bail prayer before the court on Thursday.

    Chatterjee and Mukherjee were arrested by the ED on July 23 in connection with its probe into the money trail in illegal appointments of teaching and non-teaching staff in West Bengal government-sponsored and -aided schools.

    The ED has claimed to have recovered Rs 49.80 crore, jewellery and gold bars from flats owned by Mukherjee, Chatterjee’s alleged close associate, and documents of properties and a company in joint holdings.

    Chatterjee has been relieved of his ministerial duties by the Mamata Banerjee government, while the Trinamool Congress has also removed him from all posts he held in the party following his arrest.

    Claiming that 70-year-old Chatterjee suffers from chronic illnesses and needs active medical intervention, his lawyer prayed for his bail on any condition.

    The public prosecutor appearing for the ED claimed that Chatterjee and Mukherjee are involved in a criminal conspiracy for illegally giving jobs for the post of teachers and money recovered from her flats were proceeds of crime.

    He also claimed that seized documents reveal a close association of Mukherjee with family members of the former minister through a company named Ananta Texfab Pvt Ltd and the address of it is a flat at Belghoria in the northern outskirts of Kolkata, from where cash amounting to Rs 27.90 crore was seized.

    It was alleged that Chatterjee and Mukherjee entered into a partnership of equal share vide a partnership deed in November 2012 to form a company named APA Utility Services.

    Opposing the bail prayer, the ED counsel submitted that Chatterjee is an influential person as he is a sitting MLA and may influence witnesses in the case.

    Observing that the allegations against the accused are very serious, the judge rejected Chatterjee’s bail prayer.

    KOLKATA: A special court on Thursday extended the judicial remand of former West Bengal minister Partha Chatterjee and his alleged close aide Arpita Mukherjee, both arrested by the Enforcement Directorate in the school jobs scam, by 14 more days.

    After being in ED custody till August 5 following their arrest on July 23, Chatterjee and Mukherjee had been sent to judicial remand by the PMLA (Prevention of Money Laundering Act) court here.

    Rejecting a bail prayer of the former minister, Judge Jibon Kumar Sadhu granted 14 days’ judicial remand of the two accused on a prayer by the ED till August 31.

    On a prayer by the central investigating agency, the court granted permission to the ED to further interrogate them in the correctional homes they are lodged in.

    Mukherjee did not make any bail prayer before the court on Thursday.

    Chatterjee and Mukherjee were arrested by the ED on July 23 in connection with its probe into the money trail in illegal appointments of teaching and non-teaching staff in West Bengal government-sponsored and -aided schools.

    The ED has claimed to have recovered Rs 49.80 crore, jewellery and gold bars from flats owned by Mukherjee, Chatterjee’s alleged close associate, and documents of properties and a company in joint holdings.

    Chatterjee has been relieved of his ministerial duties by the Mamata Banerjee government, while the Trinamool Congress has also removed him from all posts he held in the party following his arrest.

    Claiming that 70-year-old Chatterjee suffers from chronic illnesses and needs active medical intervention, his lawyer prayed for his bail on any condition.

    The public prosecutor appearing for the ED claimed that Chatterjee and Mukherjee are involved in a criminal conspiracy for illegally giving jobs for the post of teachers and money recovered from her flats were proceeds of crime.

    He also claimed that seized documents reveal a close association of Mukherjee with family members of the former minister through a company named Ananta Texfab Pvt Ltd and the address of it is a flat at Belghoria in the northern outskirts of Kolkata, from where cash amounting to Rs 27.90 crore was seized.

    It was alleged that Chatterjee and Mukherjee entered into a partnership of equal share vide a partnership deed in November 2012 to form a company named APA Utility Services.

    Opposing the bail prayer, the ED counsel submitted that Chatterjee is an influential person as he is a sitting MLA and may influence witnesses in the case.

    Observing that the allegations against the accused are very serious, the judge rejected Chatterjee’s bail prayer.