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Tag: Trinamool Congress

  • Parakram Diwas: Trinamool, BJP lock horns over legacy of Netaji ahead of assembly polls

    By PTI
    KOLKATA: The Trinamool Congress and the BJP on Saturday were engaged in a verbal duel seeking to appropriate the legacy of Netaji Subhas Chandra Bose on his 125th birth anniversary ahead of the assembly elections in West Bengal.

    While TMC supremo and Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee kicked off the celebrations with a grand procession in Kolkata, Prime Minister Narendra Modi visited the city to participate in “Parakram Diwas” programmes to commemorate the legendary freedom fighter’s birth anniversary.

    As the BJP celebrated the day as “Parakram Diwas”, the TMC observed it as “Desh Nayak Diwas”.

    Netaji’s birth anniversary was celebrated on Saturday across West Bengal with several programmes held by the BJP-led central government and the TMC administration in the state.

    Paying her homage to Bose at his ancestral home, Banerjee criticised the Centre for abolishing the Planning Commission, which, according to her, was conceptualised by Netaji.

    “Why the national Planning Commission, which was conceptualised by Netaji in independent India, was dissolved? Why the demand for a national holiday on Netaji’s birthday by our government was not yet met?” she said in her brief speech at Netaji Bhawan.

    The Planning Commission, a government institution which formulated India’s Five-Year Plans besides performing other functions, was set up in March 1950.

    The Narendra Modi government disbanded it in 2014 and formed Niti Aayog.

    Banerjee said that she would ask the prime minister why the plan panel was replaced with NITI Aayog.

    She had said earlier this year that her government would come up with a Planning Commission-like body to take ahead the national hero’s ideas and vision.

    On Saturday, Banerjee also participated in a grand procession from Shyambazar in north Kolkata to Esplanade in the heart of the city.

    “A monument, named after Azad Hind Fauj, will be erected at Rajarhat. A university named after Netaji is also being set up which shall be funded entirely by the state, and will have tie-ups with foreign universities,” she tweeted.

    PM Modi paid homage to Bose on his birth anniversary and said a grateful nation will always remember his sacrifice and dedication for its independence.

    “Tributes to Netaji Subhas Chandra Bose, a great freedom fighter and a true son of Mother India, on his birth anniversary,” the prime minister said in a tweet.

    Celebration of Netaji Subhas Chandra Bose’s 125th birth anniversary as ‘Parakram Diwas’ will inspire hope and national pride, Modi said at a programme in Assam.

    Arriving in Kolkata from the Northeastern state to take part in the “Parakram Diwas” celebrations, the PM visited the ancestral house of Bose to pay his homage.

    “I sometimes wonder how Netaji would have felt if he had seen how a new and strong India is taking shape,” he said at a programme in the Victoria Memorial Hall.

    Meanwhile, the BJP, which is being tagged by West Bengals ruling TMC as a party of “outsiders”, left no stone unturned to mark the birth anniversary of Bose with pomp and grandeur.

    Apart from taking out rallies in various parts of the state, the saffron party held multiple programmes to observe the Parakram Diwas.

    On TMC supremo Mamata Banerjee’s accusation that the Centre is not observing the birth anniversary of Netaji as ‘Desh Nayak Diwas’ as demanded by her government, BJP state president Dilip Ghosh said, “We don’t need lessons from her on how to commemorate the day.” 

    The election for the 294-member West Bengal assembly is scheduled to be held in April-May.

  • Expelled from Trinamool, disgruntled MLA Baishali Dalmiya maintains suspense over next move

    By PTI
    KOLKATA: The ruling Trinamool Congress in West Bengal on Friday expelled disgruntled MLA Baishali Dalmiya from the party for anti-party activities, sources said.

    The legislator from Bally said she felt relieved by the decision of the TMC leadership but asserted that her expulsion proved that “rotten elements” are calling the shots in the party.

    Dalmiya, who has been publicly speaking against a section of the TMC leadership, maintained suspense over whether she will join the BJP.

    She had earlier also claimed that there is no place for “honest and sincere people in the party”.

    In a statement, the TMC said that its disciplinary committee met on Friday and decided to expel Dalmiya from the party.

    “Indiscipline won’t be tolerated and stern action would be taken against those leaders who are trying to publically harass the party,” it said.

    Her expulsion came hours after senior TMC leader Rajib Banerjee resigned from the Mamata Banerjee cabinet, joining the growing list of dissenters who have put the ruling camp in a tight spot ahead of the assembly election.

    “The decision to expel me shows that rotten elements are calling the shots in the party. I am answerable to the people of my constituency. If I can’t work for them, if I can’t speak for them, there is no use being part of such a party,” Dalmiya told reporters.

    “I had spoken out against the corruption of a section of leaders after the cyclone Amphan,” she said.

    Protests were held in various parts of West Bengal over alleged lapses in the distribution of monetary compensation to those whose houses were damaged in the cyclone that ravaged the state in May last year.

    A section of the victims and opposition parties had alleged that many TMC leaders and their relatives received compensation though their houses were not damaged in the cyclone.

    When asked whether she would join the BJP in the days to come, Dalmiya said, “Let’s see, only time will say (about it).”

    The state BJP leadership said if Dalmiya wants to join the party, it would be looked into.

    The daughter of late cricket administrator Jagmohan Dalmiya made her poll debut as TMC candidate in 2016 from the Bally assembly seat.

    The TMC Howrah district chief and minister Arup Roy, known to be a detractor of Dalmiya, said that the party did the right thing by expelling her.

    “More the people like her leave the party, the better. No one is above the party discipline. She would have never been an MLA had the TMC and Mamata Banerjee not supported her,” he said.

  • Election Commmission dismisses Trinamool Congress’ allegation of BSF coercing voters​

    By ANI
    KOLKATA: Referring to Trinamool Congress’ (TMC) allegation that the Border Security Force (BSF) is coercing voters to favour one party, Chief Election Commissioner Sunil Arora on Friday said the remark is ‘unfortunate’.

    Briefing the media, Arora said, “It is unfortunate that a party made averments about the BSF. I have asked for concrete instances. They are (BSF) one of the finest forces in the country. There is no point in castigating any force, ad nauseam.”

    “We had an in-depth interaction with political parties. Most had concerns about law and order situation. They spoke of high voltage electioneering which could precipitate into political violence and threaten to vitiate the electoral process,” he added.

    CEC’s comments came a day after the delegations of various political parties in West Bengal met the top Commission of India (ECI) officials regarding the upcoming Assembly polls. During the meeting, TMC leaders alleged that the BSF was intimidating people in border areas of West Bengal to cast their votes in favour of a ‘particular political party’.

    On the other hand, West Bengal BJP chief Dilip Ghosh urged the ECI to deploy Central Forces in the state at the earliest claiming there is a ‘sense of fear’ among people ahead of elections. Ghosh also asked ECI to take its cognisance of the issue of alleged inclusion of Rohingyas in the voter’s list in the border areas.

    “The political parties wanted optimal deployment of Central Armed Police Forces (CAPFs). Some political parties also cited anomalies in the electoral rolls,” said Arora.

    After consultations with the Chief Secretary, DGP and Home Secretary of West Bengal, the Election Commission of India (ECI) has decided that there will be no civic police and green police volunteers near any polling station.

    Arora said the number of polling stations has been increased keeping the pandemic situation in mind. “Earlier West Bengal had 78,903 polling stations. Now the state has 1,01,790 polling stations. All polling stations shall be at the ground floor level,” he added.

    To make elections more inclusive, the top ECI officials met with Persons with Disabilities (PwD) icons in Bengal to discuss measures to facilitate PwD voters. The ECI will hold special drives and awareness camps to enrol more such voters.

    Elections to 294 Assembly seats in West Bengal are scheduled to take place in the next few months.

  • Bengal polls: In big jolt to Mamata, Rajib Banerjee quits as minister

    By Express News Service
    KOLKATA: Bengal Minister for Forest Affairs Rajib Banerjee on Friday stepped down from Mamata Banerjee’s cabinet amid murmurs of his defection to the BJP.

    Banerjee’s move came weeks after former Trinamool Congress strongman and Bengal CM’s former aide Suvendu Adhikari and sports minister Laxmi Ratan Shukla resigned from Cabinet. While Adhikari joined the saffron camp, Shukla said he wanted to concentrate on his sports activities.

    Banerjee handed over his resignation letter to governor Jagdeep Dhankhar at Raj Bhavan and broke into tears while explaining the reasons behind his decision. 

    “My removal from the irrigation department and the way it was done was unexpected. After spending two days in north Bengal, I returned to Kolkata and was in the party office. I came to know that I was moved to the forest department from TV news. I expected the minimum courtesy from the chief minister,” said Banerjee.

    Banerjee’s resignation letter reads: “It has been a great honour and privilege to serve the people of West Bengal. I heartily convey my gratitude for getting this opportunity.”

    Banerjee, however, did not rule out the possibility of joining another political platform. “I want to work for the people. I don’t know what platform I will get.”

    Before going to Raj Bhavan, Banerjee went to the chief minister’s office at her Kalighat residence and tendered his resignation.        

    The MLA from Domjur had been airing his grievances against a section of TMC leaders over the past few weeks alleging he was not being able to work for the people. “I had decided to resign two-and-a-half-year ago after I was removed from the irrigation department. The chief minister, somehow, stopped me. In the past few weeks, I expressed my discontent on several occasions. But the statements by a section of my colleagues were painful enough to make this decision,” said Banerjee.

    Banerjee had skipped five consecutive cabinet meetings. TMC leadership held a series of meetings with him but it proved futile.

    TMC MP and spokesperson Saugata Roy said Banerjee’s resignation was expected. The party’s secretary-general Partha Chatterjee said party leaders like Banerjee and others would realise that their decision was wrong.

    BJP state president Dilip Ghosh said Banerjee resigned as a minister but he is still a TMC MLA. “We cannot do anything unless he resigns from the party and the post of the MLA. We will wait for him if he wants to join our party,” he said.

  • Deeply hurt by personal attacks, had to quit cabinet: Trinamool Congress MLA Rajib Banerjee

    By PTI
    KOLKATA: Shortly after resigning from the Mamata Banerjee cabinet, senior TMC leader Rajib Banerjee on Thursday said that he quit the state forest minister’s post as he was “deeply hurt” by the personal attacks aimed at him for airing grievances against a section of party leaders.

    However, he declined to comment when asked if he plans to quit the party in the days to come. “I had grievances against some of the party’s senior members and informed the leadership about it. I also had a word with party supremo, but nothing happened. Instead, I was personally attacked by a section of the leaders,” he said.

    This is to inform you that I am resigning as the Minister in Charge, Department of Forest, West Bengal from today. pic.twitter.com/dfVq6aVxUj
    — Rajib Banerjee (@RajibBaitc) January 22, 2021

    “I was deeply hurt by the personal attacks aimed at me. Hence, I resigned from the cabinet,” he told reporters after meeting Governor Jagdeep Dhankhar at Raj Bhavan.

    The Domjur legislator said earlier, too, he had decided to quit the state cabinet, when removed as the irrigation minister without any notice, but Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee had stopped him from doing so back then.

    However, he thanked the chief minister profusely, and said that he would always remain “indebted to her for allowing him to serve the people of the state”.

  • AIMIM exposed after Bihar polls, would not be a factor in Bengal: Mamata

    By PTI
    KOLKATA: West Bengal Chief Minister and Trinamool Congress supremo Mamata Banerjee on Thursday said Asaduddin Owaisi’s AIMIM would not be a factor in the upcoming assembly polls in the state as its role as “B team of the BJP” has been exposed in the Bihar elections.

    During a meeting in Murshidabad, a Muslim-dominated district, Banerjee urged party leaders to put up a united fight against the BJP and the other divisive forces.

    “During the core committee meeting, Mamata di assured us that AIMIM would not be a factor in Murshidabad district. She told us that Owaisi’s party was exposed after the Bihar polls,” a local TMC leader said.

    Murshidabad district comprises 22 assembly seats.

    In the recently concluded Bihar elections, the AIMIM won five seats in the Muslims-dominated Seemanchal region on the border of West Bengal.

    Earlier this month, Owaisi had met Pirzada Abbas Siddiqui of Hooghly district’s Furfura Sharif to discuss the seat-sharing arrangement.

    The AIMIM chief has already expressed his desire to fight the upcoming assembly elections in the state.

    The TMC had dubbed the AIMIM’s entry in the state as an attempt to split the Muslim votes in the state and help the BJP.

    The AIMIM has termed the allegation as “baseless” and “motivated”.

    A deciding factor in nearly 100-110 seats in the state, Muslims, who constitute 30 per cent of the population, till 2019, have acted as a bulwark of the TMC against its rivals, with most of them voting in favour of the party, considering it to be a “credible” force that can resist the saffron surge.

    In a development that might upset several political equations in election-bound state, Siddiqui on Thursday floated a new political outfit, contending that he wishes to be the kingmaker after the polls.

    The influential Muslim cleric said his new outfit — Indian Secular Front (ISF) – plans to contest the elections from all 294 assembly seats in the state.

    Elections to the Bengal assembly are likely to be held in April-May.

  • West Bengal: Good riddance barb draws two goodbyes

    By Express News Service
    KOLKATA: Hardly 24 hours after the Trinamool Congress chief Mamata Banerjee’s ‘good riddance’ remark on turncoats, two more legislators added their names to the long list of defectors. While Santiur (Nadia) MLA Arindam Banerjee reached Delhi on Wednesday and joined the saffron camp.

    Diamond Harbour legislator Dipak Haldar is likely to switch to BJP during a rally at Baruipur in South 24-Parganas on Thursday.

    Bhattacharya, who was elected on Congress ticket in 2016 and later had defected to the TMC, said, “When people like me quit their profession and join politics, they come with a vision. I joined politic to uplift the lot of the people of my constituency. My repeated pleas to the leadership to address the malpractices and corruption had always fallen on deaf years. Hence, the decision to join BJP.”

    Haldar, too, had been vocal about his discontent over the party leadership.

    ‘Goli Maaro’ chants mar adhikari rally

    In an ominous signal of the Bengal electoral battle being marred by violence, “goli maaro…” chants were raised at TMC and BJP rallies, though both parties distanced themselves from the slogan.

    At a rally led by Suvendu Adhikari in Chandannagar on Wednesday, the slogan “desh ke gaddaron ko, goli maaro…” (shoot the traitors) was allegedly raised by a few BJP cadre.

  • Trinamool MLA Arindam Bhattacharya joins BJP, alleges Mamata’s party ‘lacks vision for Bengal’

    By PTI
    NEW DELHI: Desertions and dissidence continued to afflict the ruling Trinamool Congress, with another MLA joining the BJP on Wednesday while another elected representative publicly aired his grievances.

    Arindam Bhattacharya, the MLA of Santipur in Nadia district, met the BJP’s national general secretary and Bengal minder Kailash Vijayvargiya in New Delhi and joined the saffron camp at the party’s national headquarters.

    Bhattacharya had won the assembly election on a Congress ticket in 2016 and switched over to the TMC the next year.

    After joining the BJP, he claimed that the state’s youth are not happy with the Mamata Banerjee government due to a lack of jobs and industrialization.

    “West Bengal now wants to get identified with Modiji’s Mantra of Atmanirbhar Bharat. We want an Atmanirbhar West Bengal,” he said and alleged that he was not allowed to work in his area.

    Bhattacharya joins the growing list of the TMC leaders and elected representatives who changed sides ahead of the assembly election due in April-May this year.

    Reacting to the development, senior TMC MP Sougata Ray said that Bhattachraya’s desertion is good riddance.

    “More the people like him leave the party, the better it would be for us. He had come to the TMC from the Congress, and now he joined the BJP. It only shows his true colours,” Ray said.

    The TMC received a major jolt last month during Union Home Minister Amit Shah’s rally at Midnapore, when in the biggest desertion from the TMC on a single day, party heavyweight Suvendu Adhikari and 34 other leaders, including five MLAs and an MP, switched over to the saffron camp.

    Since the 2019 Lok Sabha polls, in which the BJP bagged 18 seats in West Bengal, just four less than the TMC, and emerged as its challenger in the state, 15 MLAs and an MP of the TMC, three Left MLAs and and an equal number of Congress legislators have joined the BJP.

    However, none of them, except Suvendu Adhikari, resigned as a member of the assembly.

    Meanwhile, Uttarpara MLA Prabir Ghosal alleged that repair work of a key road in his constituency was not being allowed by a section of party leaders to harm his poll prospects.

    “I am not allowed to work properly in my area. My sources told me that they are creating hurdles in developmental work in my area as they want me defeated in the next election. A section of the (Hooghly) district unit is conspiring against me,” he said.

    The Kanaipur-Nabagram Road has been in a very bad shape but his initiative to repair it is being foiled by a group led by Kanaipur gram panchayat pradhan and local TMC leader Achhe Lal Yadav, the journalist turned politician claimed.

    Terming Ghosal’s allegations as baseless, Yadav said, “He is an ornamental MLA. He is issuing such statements only to show me in poor light.”

    Party sources said Ghosal and TMC Hooghly district president Dilip Yadav have been at loggerheads over organisational matters.

    Ghosal joins MLA Baishali Dalmiya, ministers Rajib Banerjee and Sadhan Pande, and several other TMC to voice grievances about the way of functioning of party leaders.

  • Bengal polls: Mamata to challenge BJP’s Suvendu Adhikari on his home turf Nandigram

    By Express News Service
    KOLKATA: Trinamool Congress chief Mamata Banerjee on Monday announced that she would contest from Nandigram, from where her former aide Suvendu Adhikari, who joined the BJP last month, was elected in 2016. 

    She asked the party’s president Subrata Bakshi to ensure her candidature from the minority-dominated Assembly segment. “Nandigram is my lucky place. I will contest from here,” she said while addressing the rally in Nandigram.

    Bengal CM’s announcement is said to be a political move to challenge Adhikari family members, who claim to be the kingmakers in the district with 16 Assembly seats. Suvendu Adhikari’s father Sishir and brother Dibyendu are TMC MPs from Contai and Tamluk Lok Sabha constituencies respectively.

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    “The BJP has assigned Suvendu Adhikari to secure victory in all 35 seats in East Midnapore, West Midnapore, and Jhargram districts. Bengal CM’s announcement to contest from Suvendu’s constituency is a pressure tactic. If she contests from Nandigram, Suvendu’s political activities will be confined to East Midnapore district to ensure her defeat and save the other 15 seats in the district from the influence of the CM’s candidature,” said a senior TMC leader.

    Mamata Banerjee also said she would also contest in her own Bhowanipore constituency in south Kolkata. She also requested the electorates of Bhowanipore to bear with her decision. “Nandigram is my elder sister and Bhowanipur is my younger sister. I will fight from both, is possible. In case, I am unable to contest from Bhowanipore, don’t feel sad. I will give a good candidate for you,” she said.

    Referring to the exit of Suvendu Adhikari and other TMC functionaries, the TMC chief accused the BJP of receiving looters in its fold. “They looted public money. BJP leaders are saying if you are with the TMC, you will be in jail. If you join BJP, it is a washing machine and you will come out clean,” she said.

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    Suvendu Adhikari is one of the accused in the Narada sting operation case being probed by the CBI.

    Replying to Mamata’s surprising announcement to contest from his constituency, Suvendu, too, accepted the challenge. “If I can’t defeat her by half-lakh votes, I will quit politics,” he said.        

    Bengal BJP, however, described Mamata Banerjee’s announcement to contest from Nandigram as a reflection of her ‘nervousness’. “Mamata Banerjee’s decision to shift seat from Bhowanipore to Nandigram, for the first time in 10 years, indicates her political nervousness,” tweeted Amit Malviya, the BJP’s social media head and in-charge of Bengal.  

  • West Bengal polls: Mamata Banerjee to challenge BJP’s Suvendu Adhikari on his home turf Nandigram

    By PTI
    NANDIGRAM: West Bengal CM Mamata Banerjee on Monday declared she will contest the upcoming assembly election from Nandigram, as she took her battle for th state to the home turf of poitical heavyweight Suvendu Adhikari, who recently quit the TMC and joined the BJP.

    That Banerjee chose Nandigram to make the big announcement reflects the TMC supremo’s determination to take the BJP, which has launched a spirited campaign to unseat her after a decade-long stint in power, head on.

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    Addressing a rally here, Banerjee said she is not worried about those joining rival parties as they were hardly areound when the TMC was formed. Banerjee said these leaders left the ruling party to protect the money “they have looted” in the last few years.

    “I have always started my campaign for the assembly polls from Nandigram. It is a lucky place for me. So this time I feel that I should contest the assembly polls from here. I request our state party president Subrata Bakshi to approve my name from this seat,” Banerjee said.

    Bakshi, who was on the podium, swiftly accepted the request. Nandigram was the scene of massive public protest against “forcible” land acquisition by the then Left Front government for creation of a special economic zone.

    The protracted and often bloody protests added to Banerjee and her party’s political heft and catapulted the TMC to power in 2011, marking the end of the Left Front rule of 34 years. Adhikari is considered the face face of the movement in Nandigram, some 130 km south-west of Kolkata.

    After switching over to ther BJP, Adhikari has often accused Banerjee of having forgotten the people of the area who helped her gain power in the state.

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    Banerjee is at present the MLA from Bhawanipore in south Kolkata. “If possible, I will contest from both Bhawanipore and Nandigram. In case I am unable to contest from Bhawanipore, someone else will,” she said.

    Banerjee said she would never allow “a handful of people” to sell out Bengal to the BJP. “Those who have left the party have my best wishes. Let them become president and vice president of the country. But don’t you dare to sell out Bengal to the BJP. As long as I am alive, I won’t allow them to sell out my state to the BJP,” she said.

    Assembly elections in the state are likely in April-May.