News Analysis India

Tag: Trinamool

  • BJP has become ‘Borrowed Janata Party’, Trinamool’s victory will herald change in 2024: Yashwant Sinha

    By PTI
    KOLKATA: Former Union minister and newly appointed TMC vice president Yashwant Sinha feels the BJP has become “Borrowed Janata Party” which is fighting elections with the hired leaders of other parties and said victory of Trinamool Congress in the West Bengal assembly polls will trigger a change in 2024 general election.

    Noting that BJP doesn’t have a credible face to counter Mamata Banerjee in West Bengal and is dependent on outsiders “Shah-Modi”, Sinha said the desperation to win Bengal is driven by the fact that it has slim chances of winning polls in Kerala, Tamil Nadu and Union Territory Puducherry and a victory in Assam, where it is in power, won’t be a big prize.

    He despised thinking that he joined TMC for the sake of getting Rajya Sabha membership, saying “it is a very cheap way to look at my decision”.

    Sinha, who served as finance and external affairs minister in the Atal Bihari Vajpayee cabinet, commented the present-day BJP is controlled by “two-people”, who call the shots.

    “The BJP has turned itself into a Borrowed Janata Party in Bengal. They are fighting elections with leaders and workers from other parties. They don’t have their own leaders to match Mamata Banerjee in Bengal,” he told PTI in an interview.

    Talking about the Bengal elections, Sinha said the saffron party would bite the dust despite creating an unprecedented hype around the state assembly elections.

    “Four states-West Bengal, Kerala, Tamil Nadu and Assam- and Union Territory of Puducherry are going to the polls this time.”

    “They are the ruling party in Assam already, so a win there won’t be a big prize. Therefore, the only real prize worth getting is Bengal, and that is why the BJP is putting most of its efforts there,” he said.

    Noting that the Bengal polls results will have national implications, Sinha said its a must to stop the saffron party for the sake of the country.

    “The BJP has created an unprecedented hype around the elections. They think they can overcome and overrun all the opposition in the country. But, despite all the noises they are creating, they don’t have a ghost of a chance in Bengal.”

    “The win of TMC in West Bengal assembly polls will ring the changes in 2024 general elections and defeat the BJP. The entire country is looking at this election, it will unite the opposition,” Sinha said.

    The veteran politician, who started his political career with Janata Party in 80s, feels the BJP lacks a credible face as a challenger to Mamata Banerjee in Bengal.

    “The fact that BJP doesn’t have a credible face in Bengal to counter Mamata Banerjee itself keeps TMC ahead of the BJP,” he said.

    Speaking on the insider-outsider debate in Bengal, Sinha said this ought to come up as BJP is seeking votes by projecting Narendra Modi and Amit Shah.

    “Had the BJP projected any local leader as CM face, this narrative would not have come up in this election, as they could have easily said that they are here to assist the local leadership.

    “But the party is projecting Shah-Modi as its faces, and that is why they are termed as outsiders,” he said.

    When asked about he too being branded as an outsider in Bengal by the BJP leadership, he said, “I am not here to contest election neither I am projected as a face here. I am here to assist Mamata Banerjee and the TMC”.

    Sinha had joined TMC in mid-March to assist the feisty Bengal leader against the saffron party.

    The bureaucrat-turned-politician, a bitter critic of Modi and Shah, had left BJP in 2018.

    His son Jayant Sinha remains in the saffron party and is MP from Hazaribagh in Jharkhand.

    Speaking about BJP projecting 88-year-old “Metro Man” E Sreedharan in Kerala, and a TMC turncoat Rabindranath Bhattacharya of the same age in Bengal, Sinha said, “it is a complete violation of its own policy that all leaders above 75 years should retire from active politics”.

    “They made this rule of people of above 75 year of age not being fielded in polls to corner senior BJP leaders L K Advani, Murli Manohar Joshi and likes of them.

    “So once this was done, now the rule is of no use, and it can be broken. They are doing the same,” the octogenarian leader said.

    When asked why he decided to join the TMC, Sinha said his decision was prompted by the country’s situation going from “bad to worse”.

    “In 2018, I had decided not to indulge in party politics and would only speak on issues related to national importance.

    But, then circumstances changed, and things have gone from bad to worse.

    “I thought I could make a greater contribution if I join a political party; then I looked around and saw the kind of hype BJP has created around Bengal elections and felt it is only Mamata Banerjee who can stop the BJP,” he said.

    The 83-year old veteran politician also said that the “tipping point” was the attack on Banerjee in Nandigram that prompted him to join her.

    When asked about speculations that he might be the party’s nominee for the Rajya Sabha seat, which has fallen vacant after Dinesh Trivedi quit his post and party to switch over to the saffron camp, he said, “it is a very cheap way to look at my decision to join the TMC.

    “Let me tell you that I was offered Rajya Sabha seat a few years back by both the TMC and the AAP. I had declined both the offers”.

  • No development in 10 years, Mamata took Bengal back to 19th century, says Rajnath

    By PTI
    JOYPUR: Accusing Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee of “taking back Bengal to the 19th century, with no development work undertaken in the past 10 years”, Defence Minister Rajnath Singh on Thursday said the TMC dispensation, just like its predecessor, the Left Front, has wronged the people of the state.

    Singh, who addressed a series of public meetings in Purulia, Bankura and South 24 Parganas districts, took at dig at the TMC’s khela hobe (game will be played) slogan, and said Bengal, now on, will witness only work and development.

    Alleging that the TMC supremo delivers speeches encouraging acts of violence and aggression, the union minister said, “Unke bhashan mein bhi hingsha hote hai. woh kehti hai ke isko mar bhagao, usko bartan se pit pit kar bhagao (During her speeches, she talks of violence. she asks people to beat up and oust a few, hit others with utensils).”

    He wondered if the chief minister “seeks to divide the country” by repeatedly terming people who have come from other states as outsiders.

    Stressing that the Bharatiya Jan Sangh, which later became the BJP, was established by Syama Prasad Mookerjee — a son of Bengal — Singh said, “Will any brother from this state be considered an outsider in Uttar Pradesh? All people born on the soil of India are brothers to each other.”

    Claiming that the TMC dispensation has done nothing for the people of Bengal, Singh said, “How is it possible that those belonging to one party (BJP) are outsiders, while you, having ruined Bengal, are an insider? The CM, instead of undertaking development work, makes thoughtless remarks.

    “Neither ‘Maa nor mati or manush’ (mother, motherland, and people) feel safe in the state.”

    ‘Maa, Mati, manush’ is another slogan that was coined by the TMC during 2009 general election.

    Singh further accused Banerjee of not fulfilling her promise of putting an end to water crisis in Purulia.

    “Prime Minister Narendra Modi, on his part, has promised piped water availablility in every household of the country by the end of 2024,” the defence minister stated.

    Drawing parallels between the BJP and former India cricket captain Saurav Ganguly, he said just like the stylish southpaw, who hit a sixer whenever he stepped out of the crease, people have placed the saffron party across the crease during the Lok Sabha polls by giving it 18 seats in West Bengal.

    No one can now stop us from hitting a sixer,” he said.

    Maintaining that the BJP government at the Centre has never discriminated against the people of the state, as often alleged by the TMC, the senior saffron party leader said, “The Congress-led UPA government at the Centre had given Rs 1.32 lakh crore to Bengal under the 13th Finance Commission, while the Modi government allotted Rs 4.48 lakh crore to the state under the 14th Finance Commission.”

    Noting that more than 150 saffron camp workers have been killed in West Bengal, the senir BJP leader said that it is the responsibility of the state’s chief minister to ensure the safety and security of its people, no matter which party they bore allegiance to.

    “Bomb-making factories are openly being run in Bengal. If the same had happened in Uttar Pradesh (of which he was once the chief minister), the matter would have been dealt with sternly.”

    “The BJP, if allowed to form government in Bengal, will make security arrangements not just for saffron camp workers, but also those belonging to the Congress, Left and the TMC,” he said, exuding confidence that his party will bag more than 200 seats in the state.

    Emphasising that the BJP is not a party that creates enmity between people, he said, the TMC supremo has been trying to divide the people of Bengal on religious lines.

    “The BJP will not practice discrimination on the basis of religion. It would rather punish anyone creating trouble or indulging in such crimes. Now no one will be able to stop Durga Puja celebrations or Saraswati Puja in Bengal,” he said.

    Controversy had erupted in 2017 at a school in Tehatta, Nadia district, over celebration of Saraswati puja, with one section of students apparently trying to stop another group from observing the festival.

    In that very year, the West Bengal government had imposed curbs on Durga idol immersion, as the occasion coincided with Muharram, but the high court later eased the restrictions.

    Insisting that the country has become stronger under the Narendra Modi dispensation, the Defence Minister said that the Indian Army “stood firm” during a face-off with China in Ladakh, referring to the incursions by the Chinese PLA and the disengagement of the armies thereafter.

    He also said that the country has taught Pakistan a lesson with airstrikes on terror bases to eliminate ultras, following attacks in Uri and Pulwama in Jammu and Kashmir.

    “Modiji has a 56-inch chest. If you want to see a strong India, you have to bring the BJP government to power in Bengal as well,” he said.

  • Mamata reduced Bengal to state of penury: Adityanath hits out at Bengal CM

    By PTI
    KOLKATA: BJP leader Yogi Adityanath Thursday said that West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee has reduced the state to extreme penury with no intention of developing it but “promoting goons and extortionists”.

    Speaking at three public rallies in Sagar assembly constituency in South 24 Parganas, Chandrakona in West Midnapore and Nandigram in East Midnapore here, Adityanath said that Bengal once upon a time was the most advanced and progressive state in the country.

    “Bengal was once an advanced state and progressive too. But first the Congress, then the Communists and now the Trinamool Congress have destroyed the industrial development of the state and allowed corruption to blossom unbound,” he said.

    He said the count down has begun and after 35 days BJP will form the government in Bengal.

    “The people of West Bengal are yearning for jobs and development. People will be benefitted by the development which will take place then”.

    The Uttar Pradesh chief minister said the soil of Bengal has produced great patriots like Gurudev Rabindranath Tagore, Bankim Chandra Chattopadhyay and Netaji Subhas Chandra Bose.

    Referring to Syama Prasad Mukherjee, the founder of Bharatiya Jana Sangh, Adityanath said he raised his voice against Article 370 in Jammu and Kashmir which has been scrapped by the BJP-led government at the Centre fulfilling his dream.

    He said the saffron party leader Suvendu Adhikari, once a follower of Banerjee had shown courage to leave TMC and join BJP with the vision to create a prosperous state.

    Hitting out at TMC, Adityanath said it had “successfully produced goons and extortionists who have destroyed the development of the state”.

    He claimed that in the last ten years under Mamata Banerjee’s chief ministership, people did not get money in their hands though funds had been sent by the Centre like after Cyclone Amphan.

    “Prime Minister Narendra Modi had given Rs 1000 crore to the state just after Amphan cyclone. That money never went to the hands of the people but was taken away by TMC leaders,” he said.

    Adityanath said people of UP have received benefits of Pradhan Mantri Awas Yojana, the PM Ujjwala scheme, Ayushman Bharat and farmers under Kisan Samman Nidhi scheme.

    “Then why the people of West Bengal will be deprived of these benefits ? This shows TMC is not bothered about the development of the state,” he added.

    He said once the state gets the government by the party (BJP) that is in power at the Centre, then benefits will flow to the people of the state.

    Commenting on Mamata Banerjee’s opposition to ‘Jai Sri Ram’ slogan of BJP, Adityanath said there was a government in UP which also disliked it like her.

    “But the people of UP overthrew the government and brought BJP into power”.

    Taking a dig at the TMC supremo, he said she is only keen to protect the infiltrators and has always encouraged the politics of appeasement to preserve her vote bank.

    “If BJP is given a chance to come to power in West Bengal, infiltration will be stopped”, he said.

    Adityanath said India is fighting terrorism under the leadership of Modi.

    “Earlier, Pakistan used to enter Indian territory and launch attacks. But, now Indian jawans are launching surgical strikes destroying terrorists camps in that country”, he added.

  • Bengal polls: Parties bank on identity politics, promise of industrialisation in high-profile Nandigram seat

    By PTI
    NANDIGRAM: Identity politics and industrialisation have emerged as poll planks in West Bengal’s high-profile Nandigram seat, where Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee will contest her former lieutenant and BJP candidate Suvendu Adhikari.

    In a constituency where 30 per cent minority votes can influence the results, both the BJP and TMC are also engaged in competitive Hindutva to woo the majority community.

    The obscure agrarian region in Purba Medinipur district had shaken the foundation of the mighty Left Front regime through the anti-land acquisition movement in 2007 that had ultimately catapulted the TMC to power in 2011.

    The then two prominent faces of the stir, Banerjee and Adhikari, will now contest each other in the second of the eight-phase elections on April 1.

    The CPI(M), with its young candidate Minakshi Mukherjee, is seeking to regain its ground lost to the BJP.

    Apart from communal polarisation, the constituency is also witnessing the ‘insider-outsider’ debate but here, Banerjee, who has used the plank to label BJP as a ‘party of outsiders’, is facing the flak as Adhikari is projecting himself as a ‘Bhoomiputra’ (son of soil) and the TMC chief as an outsider from Kolkata.

    Banerjee, who lives in Kalighat area of the metropolis, has left her Bhowanipore constituency in the city to battle her former cabinet minister in Nandigram.

    To counter the ‘outsider’ label, Banerjee has branded her former confidante Adhikari as ‘Mir Jafar’, a commander of Bengal’s last independent nawab Siraj ud-Daula who had betrayed the ruler at the Battle of Plassey leading to the East India Company’s victory.

    Ironically, political parties of all hues are now promising industrialisation in the region, that had tooth- and-nail opposed a chemical hub in the area proposed by the Left Front, so that people don’t have to migrate to other places for employment.

    Parties other than the TMC and BJP, however, feel that the electoral tussle in Nandigram has become a prestige issue and personal fight for both Adhikari and Banerjee over the legacy of the anti-land acquisition movement.

    “Nandigram had never before witnessed such communal polarisation as is being seen during the electoral contest between Banerjee and Adhikari, in which minority votes will play a key role,” local SUCI (C) Bhabani Prasad Das said.

    Two contrasting murals on a mud wall — one of ‘Jai Shri Ram’ slogan and the other of Adhikari dressed as Mir Jafar bowing before the BJP — sums up the political mood in the constituency.

    An Islamic cleric said Muslims will vote wisely as the choice is tough.

    “On one hand, Suvendu has been one of our own for many years, while on the other, Mamata di had stood by us like a rock during the movement days. The choice will be tough,” he said.

    For Adhikari, the electoral battle is that of political survival as defeat will likely stunt his growth in his new party, while victory will establish him as one of the tallest leaders in the state and push him ahead in the race for the chief minister’s post if BJP attains a majority in the 294-member assembly.

    For Banerjee, who is running for a third term as the chief minister, victory is essential not only to lead the government but also to keep her party together in the face of an unprecedented exodus.

    Nandigram has 2,57,299 voters, of whom 1,33,323 are males and 1,23,975 females.

    The assembly segment comprises two blocks — Nandigram I and Nandigram II — with the first having 35 per minority population and the second almost 15 per cent.

    Adhikari has claimed that Banerjee is fighting the polls from the seat as she believes the TMC will pocket the entire monitory vote share.

    “Out of 2,57,299 voters, around 68,000 are from the minority community. She thinks people of the minority community will vote for her. But I firmly believe that Hindus, who are against her brand of appeasement politics, will vote for me,” he had said.

    With identity politics taking centre-stage in the Nandigram election campaign, Banerjee has been using ‘soft Hindutva’ to counter Adhikari’s aggressive Hindutva campaign.

    Confident of bagging the major chunk of the minority votes, especially after Abbas Siddiqui’s Indian Secular Front (ISF) decided against contesting the seat and leaving it for alliance partner CPI(M), the feisty TMC boss is now trying to woo a section of the Hindus as well.

    From visiting 12 temples to reciting Sanskrit slokas to asserting her Brahmin identity, Banerjee has pulled all the stops to reach out to the electorate of Nandigram, especially to the majority community, as the party is now apprehensive of a Hindu consolidation in favour of the BJP.

    Apart from harping on her ‘Bangla Nijer Meyeke Chai’ (Bengal wants its daughter) poll slogan to shed the ‘outsider’ tag labelled on her by Adhikari, Banerjee is also flaunting her Brahmin identity.

    “Both Hindus and Muslims are with the TMC. We don’t need any certificate from the BJP on secularism or Hinduism. We don’t believe in dividing communities,” local party leader Swadesh Das said.

    With the cultivation of paddy and vegetables and pisciculture generating only around Rs 5,000-Rs 6,000 monthly income, almost every family has a migrant worker in Kolkata or other parts of the country.

    Unemployment and the hardships faced during the coronavirus-induced lockdown last year have prompted the locals to demand industrialisation, which they had opposed 14 years ago.

    “We want industry in Nandigram. Our children work in other states, stay there for months. Industrialisation of the area would be beneficial for all of us,” Krishnendu Mondal, the elder brother of Bharat Mondal killed during the anti-land acquisition movement here in 2007, said.

    Political parties have also adjusted their electoral promises, sensing the change in demands of the locals.

    While Banerjee has vowed to make Nandigram a “model area” by implementing several development projects including a university, Adhikari has pledged to usher in a new era of industrial growth.

    The CPI(M), which is fighting a lone battle to prove its relevance in the area it had dominated for decades, alleged that both Adhikari and Banerjee are misleading the people of Nandigram to serve their political interests.

    “When we wanted to bring industry in Nandigram, the TMC had opposed it and misled the people. Now, when people want industry, it is bringing up the issue of communal polarisation,” CPI(M) candidate Minakshi Mukherjee said.

    Mukherjee, the 34-year old firebrand orator and DYFI state president, said the Congress-Left-ISF alliance if voted to power will take people along and work towards industrialisation of the area.

    Nandigram was a CPI bastion from the 1950s to 2007, when the Left Front government’s attempt to industrialise the area backfired.

    Since 2008, Nandigram has been a TMC bastion, with party candidate Firoja Bibi winning the seat twice, in a by-election and again in 2011.

    Banerjee had nominated Adhikari in the seat in 2016 and he won by bagging near 68 per cent of the votes.

    However, with the Left and Congress pushed to the margins of the state politics, BJP has made slow and steady inroads into the area riding on anti-incumbency and identity politics.

    Communal polarisation was first witnessed in the area when the saffron camp managed to take out a massive Ram Navami rally in 2015 and many TMC supporters had even taken part in the programme.

    Riding on the Left’s declining vote share and grievances of the Hindus, the BJP made deep inroads into the area.

    The saffron party’s meteoric rise was noticed in the 2016 byelection to the Tamluk Lok Sabha seat, under which Nandigram assembly constituency falls, when it secured the second position by bagging 1,96,450 votes.

    The BJP further consolidated its position in 2019, bagging nearly 37 per cent of votes and coming runners-up.

    It is to be seen whether the BJP can improve its Lok Sabha result with the influential Adhikari family by its side.

    TMC’s Kanthi MP Sisir Adhikari also recently joined the BJP.

    “This time the fight is between the present TMC and the turncoat TMC. There is no BJP or CPI(M),” Bhaswati Jana said.

    SUCI(C)’s Manoj Kumar Das and four other independent candidates are also in the fray.

  • Woman in saree flaunting her leg not reflection of Bengali culture: Dilip Ghosh justifies ‘bermudas’ comment

    By PTI
    KHARAGPUR: Justifying his controversial comment on Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee, West Bengal BJP president Dilip Ghosh said on Thursday that a woman in a saree flaunting her leg is not a reflection of the Bengali culture.

    Addressing an election rally in Purulia on Tuesday, Ghosh had targetted Banerjee over her injured leg, saying that if she has to display her “broken leg” for votes, she can very well wear Bermuda shorts, which help people see it clearly.

    Asked about the comment, Ghosh told reporters, “Being a woman chief minister we certainly expect from her some decency that goes well with the culture and tradition of Bengal, and with the values of a Bengali woman.”

    “However, here we can see a saree-clad woman who is flaunting her leg frequently. Do you consider this as a reflection of the culture of Bengal? I have protested against this (at the meeting),” he said.

    Reacting to Ghosh’s justification, the Trinamool Congress said the BJP president has gone on to defend the insult he meted out to the “daughter of Bengal” and the people will punish the “misogyny”.

    “Be it saree clad women or those wearing ripped jeans, Bengal won’t forgive!” it tweeted.

    State minister Chandrima Bhattacharya said that women of Bengal won’t give a single vote to people of such mindset.

    Actor-turned-politician Nusrat Jahan said, “Misogyny and the need to control women as per the wishes of men is so deeply embedded in BJP leaders that it’s a matter of national concern now.”

    The BJP state president has earlier been in the midst of controversies for his comments, which ranged from claims that the milk of “desi” cows milk has gold content to demands that Balakot-like surgical strikes be carried out on Jadavpur University to drive out Communists.

    The chief minister has been campaigning for the elections on a wheelchair with her left leg plastered after she was injured in an incident in Nandigram soon after filing her nomination papers on March 10.

    She had alleged that the BJP hatched a conspiracy to prevent her from campaigning by organising the “attack”, a charge rubbished by the opposition party.

  • Four Pakistans can be created if India’s 30 per cent Muslims united, says Trinamool ‘leader’

    By PTI
    NANOOR: A video clip, where a local leader, with a TMC poster in hand, is heard stating “four Pakistans can be created if India’s 30 per cent Muslims united”, has drawn major flak from the BJP, which sought to know if the ruling party in Bengal endorses such remarks.

    The TMC, however, has distanced itself from the comment, stating that Sheikh Alam, seen in the video, is not a member of the TMC, and the party doesn’t support what he said.

    The 30-second video, apparently shot at Nanoor in Birbhum, has gone viral on social media.

    Alam is heard saying in the clip, “We minorities constitute 30% (of the population). The rest make for 70%. They (BJP) think they will come to power (in Bengal) with the help of this 70%. If 30% of minorities unite, if India’s Muslims unite, four Pakistan can be created. Where will India’s 70% go?”

    Reacting to the clip, BJP national general secretary and the party’s Bengal minder, Kailash Vijayvargiya, said it exposes the TMC’s real intention.

    “This video brings out the truth about the TMC. This is a serious thing. How can someone staying in India claim that he will turn the country into Pakistan? We will never allow this to happen. Mamataji owes a reply to the people of the state and the country,” he said.

    Senior BJP leader Amit Malviya, in a tweet, wondered if Banerjee endorses Alam’s stance.

    “Yday, TMC leader Sheikh Alam, giving a speech in Basa para, Nanoor, in Birbhum AC said, if 30% Muslims in India come together, then 4 Pakistan can be formed. He obviously owes his allegiance to Mamata Banerjee. Does she endorse this position? Do we want a Bengal like that?” he tweeted.

    TMC Birbhum district president Anubrata Mandal, however, quickly clarified that Alam was not a leader of the state’s ruling camp.

    “Sheikh Alam is neither a member of the party nor is he a leader from Nanoor. We have no relation with him. We don’t support such statements. India is a secular country and will remain so,” he said.

    Sheikh, when approached by reporters, said his words have been misinterpreted.

    “I never said we want to build a Pakistan in India. I just wanted to convey that if the Muslims are threatened, then we, too, know how to care of ourselves,” he said.

  • Level of violence in Bengal unprecedented: BJP spokesperson lashes out at Mamata

    By PTI
    NEW DELHI: The BJP’s national spokesperson for economic affairs Gopal Krishna Agarwal on Monday claimed that West Bengal had registered the maximum number of political murders in the country in 2019 and the level of violence in the state was “unprecedented”.

    Citing the National Crime Record Bureau data of 2019, the Public Policy Research Centre (PPRC) report, titled ‘Political Violence in West Bengal’, noted that the state registered the maximum number of political murders in the country.

    The report also claimed that West Bengal registered the highest number of dowry cases, cases of grievous hurt, and attempts to murder.

    “The level of violence is unprecedented along with stunted industrial development despite the state’s huge potential. The people will keep in mind these factors before voting,” Agarwal said.

    Citing the report, he claimed that the rate of killing and abduction in West Bengal was five times more than that of Tamil Nadu, which has almost equal population.

    Sumeet Bhasin, the director of PPRC, said that despite having a woman as chief minister, West Bengal has registered the highest number of crimes against women on several parameters, “be it dowry or suicide cases among women”.

    “Further, West Bengal registered the highest number of cases of grievous hurt, highest number of attempts to murder cases in the country. According to the Economic Survey 2020-21, the proportion of households with health insurance increased in Assam, Bihar and Sikkim by 89 per cent while it decreased by 12 per cent in West Bengal between 2015-16 to 2019-20,” Bhasin said.

  • Trinamool member dead in mysterious circumstances in tribal Jhargram district

    By PTI
    JHARGRAM: A Trinamool Congress anchal committee member died in mysterious circumstance in poll-bound West Bengal’s tribal Jhargram district on Monday trigerring a blame game between the party and BJP.

    Police said Durga Soren (50), a resident of Pindra village was found unconscious in neighbouring Netura bazar area on Sunday evening.

    Soren was declared dead by doctors of Jhargram Superspeciality Hospital, where he was rushed.

    Police said there was no mark of any wound on Soren’s body and the reason behind his death will only be known after the post mortem, the police said.

    Another person was found injured at Netura Bazar area.

    His elder brother said he had received a head injury.

    As tension gripped Netura and Pindra areas as the news of the death spread, the TMC and BJP got into a blame game.

    TMC leader Debangshu Bhattacharya who was campaigning in the area, visited the hospital and alleged that BJP workers had insulted Soren’s wife and he was beaten to death when he protested.

    “We used to hear about such incidents happening in Uttar Pradesh and Bihar. Today such things are happening in West Bengal because of BJP,” Bhattacharya said.

    BJP Jhargram district president, Tufan Mahato told the media that the party has no connection with the “unfortunate” incident.

    Soren’s mother Phulboni and his son Dulal said that they had heard that there was a fight between two groups of people in the bazar area but did not know what had happened since they were at home.

    Police personnel were deployed at Netura Bazar area, and Jhargram Superspeciality Hospital to avoid any untoward incident.

    Polling in Jhargram is slated for March 21 in the first phase.

  • ‘Didi will score 10 goals even with broken leg’: Trinamool MP Dev backs Mamata

    By PTI
    JHARGRAM: Trinamool Congress MP Dev on Sunday claimed that the work done by the Mamata Banerjee government in West Bengal is unparallel, asserting that she would score 10 goals in the upcoming elections even with a broken leg.

    Addressing an election rally at Silda in the Jhargram district, the Tollywood superstar hit out at the BJP over the rise in fuel prices.

    “The work done by Mamata Banerjee in the last 10 years is unparallel. No other chief minister in any other state has done such great work ever. Because of the work done by her, ‘Didi’ can score 10 goals even with this broken leg,” Dev said amid chants of ‘Khela Hobey’ (game will happen) from the crowd.

    “It will be a game to take people on the path of development, and people will ensure to end the game of those who play politics of religion. The people of Bengal will win the game,” he said at the rally, which saw a massive gathering to see the superstar amid sweltering heat.

    The Trinamool Congress leader said that women in Bengal are more secure than those in other states, slamming the BJP for “false propaganda”.

    Dev was campaigning for TMC’s Binpur candidate Debnath Hansda.

  • The game is over: PM Modi, BJP lash out at Mamata Banerjee in Bengal

    By Online Desk
    Prime Minister Narendra Modi Saturday launched a frontal attack on West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee, alleging her lawmaker nephew Abhishek was the only “single window” in the state without crossing which no work gets done.

    He also accused the TMC supremo of presiding over an administration full of ‘tolabaj’ (extortionists) and corrupt people.

    The PM blamed both the Congress and the Left front as well for being an impediment to development in the state during their political reign.

    “Yesterday WhatsApp, Instagram & Facebook were down for 50-55 min, everybody got worried. But in Bengal, development, & dreams have been down for 50-55 years. First, it was Congress, then Left, and now TMC, who’ve blocked state’s development,” Modi said at the poll rally. 

    West Bengal supports BJP! Watch from Kharagpur. https://t.co/y0tHE5HvhJ
    — Narendra Modi (@narendramodi) March 20, 2021

    Attending his second rally in the election-bound state in three days, the prime minister alleged Banerjee was engaged in “khela” (game) of appeasement for vote bank politics.

    “Industrial units are getting shuttered. You know, a single-window system is created for speedy clearances for industries. In Bengal, too, exists a single window. The single window of ‘Bhaipo’ (nephew) without crossing which no work gets done,” he said without naming Banerjee’s nephew and Diamond Harbour MP Abhishek Banerjee.

    “You have seen destruction by Congress & the Left. TMC ruined your dreams. In the last 70 years, you gave opportunities to everyone but give us 5 years, we will free Bengal from the 70 years of destruction, we will sacrifice our lives for you,” he said.

    Single Window System by the Department of Policy for Industry and Internal Trade’s supports the ease of business policy by allowing a single window system to provide clearances to investors and bringing together all stakeholders.

    The accusations come just a day before the Bharatiya Janata Party is set to unveil its manifesto for West Bengal polls.

    The BJP has often accused Abhishek of running syndicates that extort money from common people.

    In local parlance, syndicates refer to gangs run by TMC toughs who sell substandard construction material to people at exorbitant rates.

    Rejecting the outsider tag Mamata Banerjee has given to his party, the prime minister said,”The BJP is the only real party of Bengal. Syama Prasad Mookerjee founded Jana Sangh, the BJP’s forerunner. He was the son of Bengal.”

    Ridiculing Banerjee over the “khela hobe” (game will happen) slogan, Modi said “Didir khela shesh hobe, vikas aarambh” (Didi’s game will be over and development will start).

    Referring to the ‘Ayushman Bharat’ health insurance scheme, the prime minister said the TMC government has not implemented it as it thought the Centre will get credit for the measure.

    “Mamata Didi stands like a wall to block central schemes,” he alleged.

    He claimed the previous Congress, Left and the current TMC governments had all stalled West Bengal’s development.

    Modi also spoke about the alleged killing of around 130 BJP workers by TMC activists since the 2018 panchayat elections.

    “Mamata Didi runs a school of brutality where ‘tolabaji’ (extortion), cut money, syndicate and anarchy are part of the syllabus,” he alleged.

    Bengal BJP chief Dilip Ghosh also lashed out at Mamata.

    “Those who said Khela Hobe, have broken their leg and left the field. ‘Khela hobena, khela shesh hoye geche’ (the game is not on, the game is finished). It’s time for development,” he said.

    “Today the state government is on a wheelchair. The government has lost the ability to stand on its own legs. You cannot fool the people of Bengal by showing them plaster, broken leg or a wheelchair,” Ghosh added further.

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

    (With inputs from PTI, ANI)