Tag: Trinamool

  • Trinamool MP Shantanu Sen suspended from Rajya Sabha for remaining part of monsoon session; Parliament sees Opposition ruckus again

    By PTI
    NEW DELHI: TMC MP Shantanu Sen was suspended from the Rajya Sabha on Friday for the remaining period of the monsoon session after a motion moved by the government was passed by the House.

    Soon after the obituary references and laying of papers, Minister of State for Parliamentary Affairs V Muraleedharan moved a motion for Sen’s suspension after the Trinamool Congress (TMC) member snatched papers from Information Technology Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw and tore those in the House on Thursday.

    The motion was passed by a voice vote and Chairman M Venkaiah Naidu asked Sen to leave the House.

    The TMC members protested and raised objection to the manner in which the motion was brought without listing it in the day’s business.

    TMC MP Sukhendu Sekhar Ray raised the issue of Sen being threatened by a minister, but the chairman said it happened after the House was adjourned.

    Soon after Sen was asked to leave the House by the Chairman after a motion was passed against him, TMC members raised strong objections on the suspension and raised uproar.

    Minister of State for Parliamentary Affairs V Muraleedharan had moved a motion for Sen’s suspension after the Trinamool Congress (TMC) member snatched papers from Information Technology Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw and tore those in the House on Thursday.

    Congress and other opposition members also demanded a discussion on the Pegasus spyware issue and created uproar.

    Chairman M Venkaiah Naidu adjourned the House till 12 noon.

    He earlier urged the government and the opposition to sit together and evolve a strategy to help run the House smoothly.

    When the House reassembled at 12 noon for Question Hour, Deputy Chairman Harivansh Narayan Singh requested Sen to withdraw himself from the Rajya Sabha saying the motion had been accepted by the Chairman.

    “Dr Shantanu Sen, a motion moved and accepted by the chairman and I therefore ask you to kindly withdraw yourself from Rajya Sabha,” he said.

    As the protest from the opposition members continued, the Chair was forced to adjourn till 12.30pm.

    The Lok Sabha too was adjourned for the day on Friday after opposition members continued to raise slogans against the Government on various issues.

    As the House reassembled at 12 noon, Kirit Solanki, who was in the Chair, asked protesting members to take their respective seats.

    During the brief period for which the House functioned, resolutions were passed to appoint and elect new members in various Parliamentary panels as some of the members have become Ministers in the recent reshuffle of the Union Council of Ministers.

    As opposition uproar continued, Solanki said that such behaviour does not suit senior elected members of the House and adjourned the proceedings for the day.

    Opposition members have been protesting over various issues for the fourth straight sitting of the Monsoon session.

    Similar scenes were witnessed when the House met in the morning, forcing Speaker Om Birla to adjourn the House till 12 noon.

    The Lok Sabha will meet on July 26 after a routine weekend break.

  • Trinamool bringing culture of violence to Parliament, says IT Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw

    By ANI
    NEW DELHI: Union Electronics and Information Technology Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw on Friday hit out at the Trinamool Congress (TMC) after a copy of his statement was snatched from his hand during a ruckus that broke out in the Rajya Sabha.

    The TMC has a culture of violence and is trying to bring it to Parliament, the newly inducted IT minister said, asking what message was being sent to the rest of the country.

    “The kind of violence they (TMC) inflicted on Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) workers in Bengal, that is the same culture they are bringing. What message are we giving to the country, to the next generation parliamentarians?” Vaishnaw asked.

    TMC MP Santanu Sen had on Thursday snatched a copy of Vaishnaw’s statement, while he was delivering his speech about the Pegasus Project matter in Rajya Sabha. Sen proceeded to tear it into pieces.

    A verbal feud followed between BJP and TMC MPs. Marshals intervened to bring the situation under control.

    Heated words were exchanged between Union Minister Hardeep Singh Puri and TMC MP Santanu Sen after the latter snatched the sheet from Vaishnaw.

    After the incident, sources informed that the government is planning to give privilege motion notice against Trinamool Congress MPs who “misbehaved” with the IT Minister.

    They said the government will also urge the chair to suspend Trinamool Congress MP Santanu Sen, who snatched the copy of Vaishnaw’s statement from him and tore it into pieces in the upper House.

  • Congress, Left that oppose BJP nationally shouldn’t fight Trinamool in Bengal: Partha Chatterjee

    By PTI
    KOLKATA: Congress and the Left, which oppose BJP nationally, should not work against the TMC in West Bengal, and efforts should be made for a broadbased alliance of opposition parties ahead of the 2024 Lok Sabha polls, Trinamool Congress Secretary General Partha Chatterjee has said.

    He said TMC Supremo Mamata Banerjee will be a pivotal anti-BJP force in the general elections and play a crucial role in ousting the BJP from power.

    Chatterjee, an influential minister in the Banerjee cabinet, also said the TMC is undergoing a generational change so it can have a perfect balance of the old and the young.

    Talking about a torrent of TMC deserters wanting to return to the party after its triumph over the BJP in the assembly elections, he said, the decision on their reinduction will be made on a “case to case basis” but wondered whether they would have bothered to return if the party had not become victorious.

    “Mamata Banerjee is the most credible and dependable anti-BJP face in the country. It is my appeal that all anti- BJP forces should come together. Some parties like the Left and the Congress are opposing BJP nationally but are working against us in Bengal. This should not be the case.”

    “Mamata Banerjee and the TMC will be the pivotal anti-BJP force in 2024 and play a very vital role in ousting the BJP,” Chatterjee told PTI in an interview.

    Responding to a question about the recent elevation of young leaders such as Lok Sabha MP and Banerjee’s nephew Abhishek Banerjee, he said the party was going through a generational shift.

    Abhishek was appointed TMC national general secretary soon after the party’s victory in the assembly elections in May.

    “We started our journey in 1998. Now we are undergoing a generational shift. This is being done with an eye on the future. to groom the next generation that can take over the mantle in times to come,” he said.

    Chatterjee said Mamata Banerjee is herself overseeing this generational shift to prepare the party for future battles.

    “Abhishek is a very popular youth leader and is shaping well,” he said.

    “There has to be a perfect balance of the old and the new. You have to bring in young blood as it is required for future. Now, what will be the ratio of the young to the old is for our party supremo to decide,” he said.

    The TMC veteran rejected suggestions of a possible conflict between the old guard and the young leaders during such change.

    “We go through the process of discussion, conciliation and consensus before arriving at any decision. Above all, we have Mamata Banerjee, who is our guiding force and takes the final call,” the 68-year old leader said.

    The issue of reinduction of the turncoats will be decided by Mamata Banerjee on a “case to case” basis, one of the main troubleshooters of the West Bengal chief minister said.

    “We won the elections without these turncoats. They deserted the party on the eve of elections as they felt we might not return to power. But our party returned to power, and these turncoats have made a beeline (for return).”

    “My question to these turncoats is why are you now so desperate to return? I wonder whether these leaders would have bothered to come back to the party had we not returned to power,” he said.

    BJP national vice president Mukul Roy, who had quit the TMC in 2017, returned to the state’s ruling party last month, and many more were said to be keen on re-joining Banerjee’s outfit.

    About the possibility of the return of former minister Rajib Banerjee, who had joined the BJP just before the polls, the TMC secretary general said disdainfully,” He is not such a big leader who we need to discuss.”

    “When we wanted to retain him, held meetings with him, he was not willing to stay back. He was desperate to take a chartered flight to Delhi to join some other party. What happened suddenly that he is so desperate to take a return chartered flight to Kolkata?” Chatterjee said derisively.

    Rajib Banerjee and a few other TMC leaders had flown to New Delhi just ahead of the assembly elections and joined the BJP.

    Banerjee, after the saffron party’s loss and his own defeat from his tradition seat, has been criticising the BJP and sending feelers to his former party in order to return to its fold.

    Chatterjee said while TMC workers who had crossed over to the BJP are free to return, Mamata Banerjee will personally take a call about leaders.

    Responding to a question with regard to the the row over appointment of Mukul Roy as the chairperson of the Public Accounts Committee, Chatterjee said there was nothing wrong about it.

    “Roy is still an MLA of the BJP,” he quipped and referred to the practice of appointing an opposition legislator the head the important assembly panel.

    The BJP has vehemently opposed Roy’s selection as the head of the PAC, insisting he had crossed over to the ruling party and demanding his disqualification.

  • Health Secretary to brief floor leaders on COVID-19; ‘Constructive opposition prevails’, says TMC leader

    By PTI
    NEW DELHI: The Union Health Secretary will address floor leaders of political parties on COVID-19 on Tuesday in the presence of Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Trinamool Congress MP Derek O’ Brien said here, terming it as a victory of a “constructive Opposition” which had insisted that the PM’s address on the issue should be before Parliament.

    At an all-party meeting on Sunday, opposition parties had objected to the government’s offer for a joint address by Modi to all floor leaders on COVID-19 in a building in the Parliament complex, saying this will be “highly irregular” at a time when Parliament was in session and claimed it was intended to “bypass” norms.

    Opposition leaders, including from the Trinamool Congress (TMC) and the CPI(M), also said that when the pandemic and issues related to it can be discussed on the floor of the House, what was the need to go “outside”.

    “#Parliament. Constructive Opposition prevails. At all-party meet Parliamentary Affairs Minister announced. PM would make presentation on #COVID19 in a conference room’. We insisted any statement by PM must be inside Parliament. Now been informed HEALTH SECRETARY TO ADDRESS MEET in august presence of PM’.Ok (sic),” O’ Brien tweeted.

    He also said that the opposition parties would like to hear the PM speak on the pandemic and the other issues in Parliament.

    “Dear Prime Minister, Sir. We so want to see you in #Parliament We so want to hear you in both Houses.”

    “Tell us about key issues #COVID19 #PriceHike #FarmersProtest #economy #federalism and more. Please don’t book conference halls in the neighbourhood. Parliament is supreme,” he tweeted.

    The health secretary will address the leaders at 6 PM and is also expected to show presentations on the pandemic and how it was managed, sources said.

  • Rajya Sabha MP seeks probe into nationality of MoS Home Nisith Pramanik; Trinamool joins row

    By PTI
    NEW DELHI/KOLKATA: Rajya Sabha member and Assam Pradesh Congress Committee president Ripun Bora on Saturday urged Prime Minister Narendra Modi to conduct an inquiry into allegations that newly appointed Union Minister Nisith Pramanik is a Bangladeshi national.

    While sources close to Pramanik, a BJP Lok Sabha MP of West Bengal, rejected the allegation saying the minister was born, brought up and educated in India, Trinamool Congress leaders joined the issue wondering how the Centre allowed such a “security lapse”.

    BJP West Bengal general secretary Sayantan Basu advised the TMC to move the court on the issue.

    In his letter, which was also posted on his Twitter handle, Bora claimed that the reports in news channels namely Barak Bangla and Republic TV Tripura and digital media, India Today and Business Standard, showed that Pramanik is a Bangladeshi national.

    Quoting the reports, the MP claimed that the union minister’s birthplace was Harinathpur under Palasbari police station in Gaibandha district of Bangladesh and he reportedly came to West Bengal for computer studies.

    After getting a computer degree, he first joined the Trinamool Congress (TMC) and later the BJP and was elected as an MP from Cooch Behar, Bora claimed.

    “Did no amount of background check happen before his appointment? And let’s not forget the innumerable criminal cases. Shame!” TMC leader and West Bengal Education Minister Bratya Basu tweeted, attaching Bora’s letter to Modi.

    West Bengal’s Minister of State for Information and Cultural Affairs, Indranil Sen, said in a Twitter post: “Shocked and stunned to learn that Union Minister @NisithPramanik might be a citizen of Bangladesh! “This is of alarming concern to the security of India if an incumbent Union Minister is a foreign national. How could the @narendramodi Govt. allow for such a security lapse?” According to the news channels, Bora claimed, Pramanik showed his address as Cooch Behar in election papers “by manipulation”.

    The channels also highlighted the “jubilant scenario”, including a statement of “his elder brother” and some villagers of his native village in Bangladesh expressing their satisfaction on Pramanik being appointed as union minister of state for home.

    “If it is so, this is a very serious matter for the country, that a foreign national is appointed as a union minister.”

    “Therefore, I urge upon you to conduct an inquiry about the actual birthplace and nationality of Nisith Pramanik in a most transparent way and clarify the whole issue as it creates confusion across the country,” Bora said in his letter to Modi.

    When contacted, sources close to Pramanik said the minister is a “patriotic Indian” who was born, brought up and educated in India and asserted that the allegations were baseless.

    The sources said if some relatives of the minister were celebrating in another country, what can he do.

    “If an Indian relative of a Canadian MP feels proud and celebrates in India, what can the Canadian MP do about it,” a source said.

    It may be a similar case, the sources noted and hit out at Bora saying a responsible MP should know what is wrong and what is right.

    The BJP’s West Bengal general secretary Sayantan Basu said that the allegation has no basis.

    “If they want to squeeze the issue further, the Trinamool Congress is free to move the court,” Basu added.

  • Bengal CEO asks officials to check EVMs in vacant assembly seats

    By PTI
    KOLKATA: The Chief Election Officer (CEO) of West Bengal, Aariz Aftab, has directed officials to conduct checking of Electronic Voting Machines (EVMs) and Voter Verifiable Paper Audit Trail (VVPAT) machines in seven assembly seats that are lying vacant due to deaths of candidates or resignation of MLAs, an official said on Saturday.

    Aftab’s order was issued on Friday, a day after a Trinamool Congress parliamentary party delegation met the Election Commission in Delhi to press for its demand for holding by-polls to the vacant assembly seats in the state at the earliest.

    The TMC is keen on the bypolls as party supremo Mamata Banerjee, who lost the assembly election from Nandigram, will have to get elected within six months to continue as the chief minister.

    In that case, the bypolls must be conducted by November 5.

    “The CEO has written to the district election officers (DEOs) of Cooch Behar, Nadia, North 24 Parganas, South 24 Parganas and Kolkata Dakshin to start the first-level checking of the EVMs & VVPATs before the by-elections due there are held,” the official told PTI.

    The DEOs have been instructed to conduct the checking between August 3 and 6 strictly following Covid-19 protocols,” the official said.

    The bypolls are due in the constituencies of Bhabanipur, Khardah, Gosaba, Shantipur, Jangipur, Samserganj and Dinhata.

    Banerjee is expected to file nomination from Bhabanipur in Kolkata, which was vacated by winning TMC candidate Sobhandeb Chattopadhyay, days after the results were declared.

    Chattopadhyay is slated to contest the by-election from Khardah in North 24 Parganas district, which fell vacant after the TMC’s Kajal Sinha succumbed to COVID-19.

    At Gosaba seat in South 24 Parganas, TMC MLA Jayanta Naskar also died of COVID-related complications last month.

    At Dinhata in Cooch Behar district and Santipur in Nadia district, the winning BJP nominees quit as MLAs as they wanted to retain their parliamentary berths.

    Polls were countermanded in Jangipur and Samserganj, both in Murshidabad district, following the death of candidates due to the viral disease.

    “As no polling was held in Murshidabad district, there is no need to check the EVMs and VVPATs there,” the officer said.

    In a memorandum submitted to the Election Commission on Thursday, the TMC stated that with the decreasing number of coronavirus cases in the state, conditions are conducive for conducting the bypolls with Covid appropriate protocols in place.

    The Election Commission said on Friday said that bypoll to the Rajya Sabha seat from West Bengal vacated by Dinesh Trivedi earlier this year will be held on August 9.

  • Bengal ruled not as per Constitution but at whims of an individual: BJP after NHRC report

    By PTI
    NEW DELHI: The BJP Friday cited an NHRC report on alleged post-poll violence in West Bengal to attack Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee and her Trinamool Congress, alleging the state is ruled not as per the Constitution but at the whims of an individual.

    In its report submitted to the Calcutta High Court on July 13, the National Human Rights Commission said the situation prevailing in West Bengal is a manifestation of “law of the ruler” and not “rule of law”, in a damning indictment of the Banerjee government, and recommended CBI investigation in cases of rape and murder.

    Addressing a press conference here Friday, BJP spokesperson Gaurav Bhatia launched a scathing attack on the TMC and Banerjee, saying the NHRC received 1,979 complaints of post-poll violence.

    He claimed 15,000 people were tortured in such incidents and as many as 8,000 people committed violence and misconduct, but no action was taken.

    “The way violence took place in West Bengal after May 2 (the result day) and innocent civilians were killed and women molested, it seems that West Bengal today is not ruled as per the Constitution but at the whims of an individual. Banerjee closed her eyes and gave free hand to TMC goons,” Bhatia alleged.

    He also alleged the state police did not fulfil its responsibility while TMC workers were “on the rampage, creating a ruckus in the state”.

    The NHRC panel, constituted following an order by a five-judge bench of the Calcutta High Court, also said the cases of alleged rape and murder should be tried outside the state.

    After the report was submitted Tuesday, the court had directed that its soft copies along with annexures be supplied to the counsel for the petitioners, the Election Commission, and the Additional Solicitor General of India.

    Banerjee, however, has cried foul, claiming the report was leaked to the media by the rights panel, which the NHRC denied.

    She also said the NHRC team did not consult the state government or take into account its views.

  • Bengal violence: Only three per cent of accused now in jail, says NHRC report

    By PTI
    KOLKATA: The NHRC committee enquiring into alleged post-poll violence in West Bengal as per a Calcutta High Court order has said that a large number of complaints have been received from six districts of the state, while only three per cent of the total accused people are currently in jail.

    The report submitted to a five-judge bench of the high court on July 13 said that Cooch Behar recorded 322 complaints, Birbhum 314, South 24 Parganas 203, North 24 Parganas 196, Kolkata 172 and Purba Bardhaman 113.

    Making a list of alleged notorious criminals in various districts, it noted the names of a state minister, a ruling party MLA and a former MLA among others.

    The seven-member enquiry committee, which was formed by the chairman of the National Human Rights Commission on a direction by the Calcutta High Court, said that the percentage of accused arrested and that of accused who are still in custody is abysmally low, showing “inept performance of local police and there is no deterrence for criminal elements.”

    It said that the data provided by the West Bengal director general of police reflects that, out of the 9,304 accused cited in FIRs, only 1,354 (14 per cent) have been arrested and, out of them, 1,086 (80 per cent) already secured bail.

    “Thus, overall speaking, less than 3 per cent of the accused are in jail, while 97 per cent are out in the open, making a mockery of the whole system, the report said.

    “It is quite evident that police is working under influence and in a biased manner and do not have the courage to take action against looming goons belonging to the ruling dispensation,” the seven-member NHRC committee report said in a scathing remark.

    The report noted that the inspectors in-charge of police stations have not visited the places of many of the violent incidents, nor collected any evidence or recorded statements, “let alone registering FIRs.”

    It said that out of the 311 spot enquiries conducted by the NHRC teams, in as many as 188 instances (60 per cent), FIRs have not been registered and that in 33 (27 per cent) of the remaining 123 cases, “police have resorted to dilution by using milder sections of law.”

    The report said that when the NHRC operational teams visited these 311 places, additionally, 2,869 people approached them with petitions requesting enquiry and registration of cases.

    “To summarize, for 123 cases registered by the police, there were another 3,057 (2869+ 188) number of complainants/ petitioners/victims, whose cases were either not registered by police or cases were diluted or police were not accessible to them and therefore, they wanted NHRC teams to enquire into their issues,” the report said.

    If this is considered as a sample of the state of affairs in West Bengal, the extent of burking and minimisation of crime across the state can be well imagined, the committee said in its observation.

    National Commission for Women (NCW) member Rajulben L Desai, who is a member of the NHRC committee, “during her visit to villages observed that people are not coming out of their houses because of the reason that if they make a complaint then the goons of TMC (Trinamool Congress) will further victimise their family members.”

    The report said that Desai observed in this situation there is no rule of law in the state.

    “There is need of good governance in the state of West Bengal for implementing the rights provided by Indian Constitution i.e, Right to live with dignity (Article 21) which includes right to residence and right to food, right to medical, legal aid and freedom of expression,” she observed, according to the report submitted before the high court.

    Holding that the committee’s work was severely affected by prevalent fear among victims, the report said that it precluded many victims from mentioning their plight or the name of the perpetrators of crime or abettors.

    Asserting that the “poor and common people have lost faith in police,” the report said that almost all the victims informed the inquiry committee and their teams that the police either did not respond to their phone calls or came and stood as mere spectators while goons went on a rampage from one place to another.

    “The police were either negligent or complicit or under pressure not to take any action against the goons belonging to the ruling dispensation,” it said.

    It said that the sanctioned and actual manpower in police stations is very low, given the large area and dense demography.

    It is not sufficient to cover large scale incidents and carry out effective beat policing at beat/chowki level, the report said, adding that this shortage has been sought to be augmented by deployment of civic volunteers.

    “The spate of violence shows a pernicious politico- bureaucratic-criminal nexus. Criminals indulged in violence against political rivals while the bureaucratic edifice was complicit in various degrees.”

    “This is a deadly combination that has sinister implications for any State and will ultimately corrode the entire edifice. The presence of this nexus in a border State also has larger national security implications,” the committee said in its report.

    Recommending ex-gratia payments to the victims, the NHRC committee said that the next of kin of deceased persons should be given Rs 5 lakh each, while survivors of sexual assault should be given Rs 2 lakh each.

    Victims who suffered vandalisation/looting/destruction of their properties should be given Rs 1 lakh each.

    Victims who suffered grievous injuries should be given Rs 1 lakh each and those who suffered a simple injury should be given Rs 50,000 each, the panel recommended.

    The NHRC Thursday rejected as “baseless and factually incorrect” allegations that a report prepared by its committee probing the incidents of post-poll violence in West Bengal has been leaked by the rights panel.

    The National Human Rights Commission said in a statement that the panel had submitted its report to the Calcutta High Court on July 13.

    “The NHRC refutes allegations in a section of the media, regarding the leak of the report, relating to the post-poll violence in West Bengal,” the statement said.

    Since the report is already available with all the concerned parties as per the directives of the court, “there is no question of leakage at the level of the NHRC,” the rights panel said.

    The attribution regarding the alleged leak of the report to the NHRC is absolutely “baseless and factually incorrect,” the statement said.

    The NHRC has already shared the copy of the report with the “advocates of the concerned parties in this matter in accordance with the directions of the Hon’ble Calcutta High Court”, it added.

    The Commission had constituted the committee to inquire into the post-poll violence in the state as per the directions of the Calcutta High Court.

    “On further directions of the court, the committee provided a copy of it, to its advocate in Calcutta, who shared with the advocates of all the concerned parties in the related multiple writ petitions,” the statement said.

    “The matter being sub judice, the committee of the NHRC did not share its report to any entity other than those specified by the hon’ble court,” it added.

    The committee, in the report placed before the Calcutta High Court, has recommended a CBI investigation into “grievous offences like murder and rape” and suggested that these cases be tried outside the state.

    The report, however, drew the wrath of Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee, who said the panel was pursuing “political vendetta” on behalf of the BJP by “leaking” its findings to the media.

  • Bengal bypolls soon? Trinamool meets EC as state says COVID situation conducive

    By PTI
    NEW DELHI: A Trinamool Congress parliamentary party delegation, comprising six MPs, met the Election Commission here on Thursday demanding that the bypolls in six vacant West Bengal Assembly seats be held at the earliest.

    In a memorandum submitted to the poll body, the party stated that with the decreasing number of coronavirus cases in the state, conditions are conducive for conducting the bypolls with Covid appropriate protocols in place.

    “The number of COVID-19 cases is at least 17 times lower now with fewer than 831 cases reported till July 14. There has been a steady decline in the number of daily cases recorded. Hence, it is conducive to hold the bye-polls to the aforementioned constituencies at this time. Going by the steady decline, it is expected that by the time the bye-elections are announced and conducted, the number of daily cases will decrease further. During this time, appropriate Covid safety norms as may be prescribed by the Election Commission of India (ECI), may be adopted during campaigning,” the party said.

    The Trinamool Congress (TMC) is keen on the bypolls as West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee, who lost the Assembly election from Nandigram, will have to get elected in the next six months to continue as the chief minister.

    In that case, the bypolls must be conducted by November 5.

    After the election results, Sovandeb Chattopadhyay, the TMC MLA from Bhabanipur constituency, had vacated the seat to allow Banerjee to contest from there.

    Banerjee had won from Bhabanipur twice since 2011.

    Dinhata and Santipur Assembly seats fell vacant after BJP leaders Nisith Pramanik and Jagannath Sarkar resigned as MLAs to retain the Lok Sabha membership.

    Polling could not be held in Samserganj and Jangipur seats in Murshidabad district due to the death of candidates.

    Khardah seat in North 24 Parganas district felt vacant after TMC candidate Kajal Sinha died of COVID-19 before the results were announced.

    Sinha won the election posthumously.

    The party also said that if general elections could be held at the height of the pandemic, bypolls too could be held at a time when the cases were significantly lower.

    It further argued that in April 2021, wherein polls were conducted in eight phases spread across the month, there was a steep rise in daily Covid cases in West Bengal.

    From the middle of April 2021, at the peak of the elections, the daily cases rose from approximately 6,000 cases to 17,000 cases.

    “Despite the rise in Covid cases and our repeated requests, the remaining phases of the polls were not clubbed together, as the ECI concluded that it was safe to conduct elections.”

    “Constitutional principles mandate that voters from the aforesaid assembly constituencies have the fundamental right to elect a representative of their choice to represent them in the Legislative Assembly of the State,” the memorandum stated.

    Meanwhile, Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee on Thursday said her government has informed the Election Commission that the state was prepared to hold the pending by-elections to seven assembly seats as the COVID-19 situation is these poll-bound areas are largely under control.

    Banerjee, during a press meet here, noted that the EC had sought to know if Bengal was ready to conduct polls to two vacant Rajya Sabha seats, and the chief secretary, in his reply, gave assurance that the state could also hold bypolls to the seven assembly constituencies, while adhering to all COVID-19 guidelines.

    “With the COVID-19 positivity rate having come down to 1.5 per cent in Bengal, the situation is conducive to conduct the by-elections as most of the poll-bound areas haven’t reported any fresh infection of late,” she said.

    In a jibe at the BJP, which claimed that Banerjee is desperately waiting for the bypolls as she needs to get elected to the Assembly to retain the CM’s chair, the TMC boss said the saffron party is opposed to the demand as it knows well that it won’t be able to clinch any seat.

    “We have placed our demands before the EC following all constitutional norms. There is nothing illegal about it. If an emergency situation arises, the EC will accordingly take a decision. But isn’t COVID-19 under control in the seven seats now? Several wards of Bhabanipur havent reported any case over the past few days,” she pointed out.

    Banerjee, who lost the elections from Nandigram, is expected to file nomination from Bhabanipur, which was vacated by winning TMC candidate Sobhandeb Chattopadhyay, shortly after the results were declared.

    Chattopadhyay is slated to contest by-election from Khardah, which fell vacant after TMC’s Kajal Sinha succumbed to COVID-19.

    In Gosaba, too, TMC winning candidate Jayanta Naskar died of COVID-related complications.

    Polls were countermanded in Jangipur and Samserganj following the death of candidates, also due to the viral disease.

    In Dinhata and Santipur, the winning BJP nominees quit as MLAs as they wanted to retain parliamentary berths.

    Two Rajya Sabha seats fell vacant in the state after Dinesh Trivedi quit the membership of the Upper House in February this year, having switched to the BJP from the TMC, and Manas Bhuniya’s election as an MLA in the March-April Assembly polls.

    The party, in a memorandum to the EC, said that if assembly elections could be held at the height of the pandemic, bypolls could be held at a time when the cases were significantly lower.

  • Petrol prices, COVID, farmers movement to top Trinamool’s agenda in monsoon session

    By PTI
    KOLKATA: The Trinamool Congress is likely to raise the issue of hike in fuel prices, alleged mishandling of COVID situation and farmers stir against the three agri laws to corner the BJP-led central government during upcoming monsoon session of Parliament, party sources said Tuesday.

    The Parliament session will commence from July 19 and end on August 13.

    “We will raise the issue of petrol price hike, COVID mishandling, farm bills and attempts to undermine the federal structure.

    “The people of the country are suffering due to several anti-people policies of the centre. We will raise those issues,” TMC Lok Sabha party leader Sudip Bandopadhyay told PTI.

    Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee headed Trinamool Congress has 22 MPs in Lok Sabha and 11 in Rajya Sabha.

    In Lok Sabha, TMC and YSR Congress Party are the fourth largest with 22 MPs each after BJP, Congress and DMK.

    In the upper house TMC has third largest MPs after BJP and Congress.

    The upcoming monsoon session of Parliament will be the first after bitterly fought Bengal polls and the TMC is expected use every opportunity to pin down rival BJP.

    Echoing Bandopadhyay, party colleague Sougata Roy said the party would also raise the economic situation and how the BJP has failed to tackle it.

    “The fuel prices are not only triggering inflation in the country but also sent the economy for a toss. Its not just fuel prices.”

    “It is the anti-people, anti-poor policies that and mismanagement of the COVID situation that has pushed the economy to an all-time low,” Roy, TMC MP from Dum Dum said.

    Bandopadhyay also pointed out that while questioning the mishandling of the COVID situation, the parliamentary party would also discuss the eight-phase assembly polls in Bengal, leading to a spike in the COVID situation in the state.

    “While raising the issue of COVID, we would also point out how eight phases of elections were held in Bengal, which led to the spike in COVID cases.”

    “But, now the BJP leaders are planning to raise this issue to postpone assembly by-polls in six[i]seats in the state,” he said.

    He,however, stressed that the issues will be further sorted out after the all-party meeting on July 17.

    “We will also hold discussion with our party leadership on the outcome of the meeting and decide our course of action,” he said.

    Rakesh Tikiat and other farmers leaders of Samyukta Kisan Morcha (SKM) had recently met Mamata Banerjee in Kolkata and she supported their cause.

    When asked whether the party would push for greater opposition unity in Parliament to corner the BJP, Bandopadhyay said it doesn’t depend only on the TMC.

    The party during this session would also push for disqualification of Sisir Adhikari and Sunil Mondal, who was elected as TMC MPs but switched over to the BJP ahead of the assembly polls.

    “We had already moved to Lok Sabha speaker, requesting him to initiate the process for disqualifying memberships of Sisir Adhikari and Sunil Mondal.

    “We would take that process forward during this session,” another senior TMC MP said, who did not wish to be named.

    Sisir Adhikari, MP from Kanthi, is father of Suvendu Adhikari, a protege-turned-rival of Mamata Banerjee.