News Analysis India

Tag: Trinamool

  • Trinamool forms 12-member committee for campaign strategy, candidates selection

    By PTI
    KOLKATA: The Trinamool Congress on Friday announced a 12-member election committee that will look into the selection of candidates and plan a campaign for the upcoming assembly polls.

    The panel will be headed by West Bengal Chief Minister and TMC supremo Mamata Banerjee, party’s secretary-general Partha Chatterjee said after its core committee meeting.

    Senior party leaders, MPs and MLAs are other members of the committee, he said.

    Subrata Bakshi, Abhishek Banerjee, Sudip Banerjee, Derek O Brien, Sougata Roy and C M Jatua are members of the election panel.

    Firhad Hakim, Subrata Mukherjee, Partha Chatterjee Chandrima Bhattacharya and Aroop Biswas are also part of the team.

    According to party sources, the TMC leaders had extensively discussed the issues related to the selection of candidates and planned for the campaign.

    “Selection of the candidates will be an important thing this time and inputs from election strategist Prashant Kishor and his team I-PAC will play an important role in it,” a party leader said.

    Elections for the West Bengal assembly will be held in eight phases, up from seven last time, beginning with polling for 30 seats on March 27, Chief Election Commissioner Sunil Arora said while announcing the poll schedule.

  • Eight-phase Bengal polls keeping in mind festivals, deployment of forces: Officials

    Chief Election Commissioner (CEC) Sunil Arora said when the EC assesses the law-and-order situation, it is based on several factors.

  • ‘Are poll dates announced as per suggestions of Modi, Shah?’: Mamata questions eight-phase elections

    By PTI
    KOLKATA: Many Opposition parties including the Trinamool Congress Friday questioned the need for a eight-phase election in West Bengal even as BJP leaders welcomed the Election Commission’s decision and said anti-social elements need to be controlled for peaceful polls.

    The EC announced that voting for five assembly elections will begin on March 27 and continue till April 29, while counting of votes will be done on May 2.

    Elections in West Bengal will be held on March 27, April 1, April 6, April 10, April 17, April 22, April 26 and April 29 while Assam will have three-phase polls on March 27, April 1 and April 6.

    Polling for Kerala, Tamil Nadu and Puducherry assembly elections will take place in a single phase on April 6.

    Chief Election Commissioner Sunil Arora said while announcing the poll schedule said that this time West Bengal will have one more phase compared to seven in 2016.

    Expressing her displeasure, TMC boss and Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee said, “With all due respect to the Election Commission, I want to say that questions are being raised on why elections will be held in so many phases in Bengal while other states will be voting in one phase.

    If EC doesn’t provide justice to the people, where will the people go.”

    She, however, said despite “all these tricks”, she will win the elections.

    “I have information from my sources that the poll dates are similar to the ones BJP wanted.

    Have the dates been announced as per the suggestions of Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Home Minister Amit Shah?” she asked at a press conference in Kolkata.

    BJP national secretary Kailash Vijayvarghia, however, welcomed the eight- phase elections in West Bengal and said that it was imperative to conduct fair polls.

    “Along with the announcement of elections, anti-social elements will also have to be controlled for peaceful elections in West Bengal.

    Also, fair officers should also be appointed in every district of the state so that there is no disturbance in the election,” he said in a tweet.

    CPI(ML) general secretary Dipankar Bhattacharya seemed unable to fathom the “numbers game”.

    “Five-day test match in Chennai becomes a two-day affair in Ahmedabad. One-day election in Tamil Nadu gets stretched over eight phases in West Bengal. Can any of you explain this numbers game?” he asked in a tweet.

    Congress leader and former Maharashtra chief minister Prithviraj Chavan wondered if there were any “nefarious plans”.

    “If voting for Kerala-140, Tamil Nadu-234 and Puducherry-30 (total 404 seats) can be conducted in a single phase, why Assam-126 and West Bengal-294 (total 420 seats) require 7 & 8 phases? Are there any nefarious plans?” he asked.

    BJP MP from Bengal Babul Supriyo welcomed the EC move and said that it was time for change in the state.

    “8 phase election in Bengal. I want change, I want BJP in Bengal,” he said in a tweet.

    Senior Assam minister and BJP leader Himanta Biswa Sarma welcomed the election in his which goes to polls in three phases starting March 27.

    “Assam Assembly Polls are announced and we seek your blessing to form government again. We’re grateful for your faith & cooperation in last 5 years during which Assam witnessed stupendous growth. We promise to continue the same under the leadership of Hon PM Sri @narendramodi,” Sarma tweeted.

  • Political violence has reached ‘new high’ under Mamata government: Rajnath Singh

    By PTI
    BALURGHAT: Senior BJP leader Rajnath Singh on Friday said political violence has reached a “new high” under the TMC dispensation while West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee looks the other way.

    Speaking at a public meeting here in Dakshin Dinajpur district, Singh said, people do not want a government which cannot ensure their security.

    “If the BJP is elected to power in the state polls, political violence will come to an end.”

    “The Trinamool Congress (TMC) had come to power with ‘Maa Mati Manush’ slogan. But what happened later? The slogan has been trampled for all practical purpose.”

    “Political violence has gone up to a new high. Law and order has completely broken down. Shouldn’t the CM look into this?”, Singh, who was known to have cordial relations with Banerjee, said.

    In English, the “Ma, Mati Manush” means “Mother, Motherland and People”.

    It became very popular in the state during the 2009 Lok Sabha polls and 2011 assembly polls.

    Alleging that over 150 people had died and thousands injured in the state in political violence “orchestrated by the TMC”, Singh said, “We do not want such a government which cannot ensure safety of its citizens.”

    Singh claimed that law and order situation has “vastly improved” in Tripura after the BJP came to power dislodging CPI(M).

    Noting that the TMC has “politicised the atmosphere in such a way that it is harming people of Bengal,” Singh said, “as a result many central projects for poor, backwards, tribals are yet to be implemented in the state.

    “Farmers here are not getting the benefit of PM Kisan Samman Nidhi scheme which they will certainly get after the BJP comes to power here. They will have Rs 6,000 in their individual accounts.”

    “We will see to it that people of the state get the benefits of Ayushman Bharat Yojana once we are elected. They will get medical insurance upto Rs 5 lakh.” Singh highlighted that the saffron party “Is not in politics only to grab power.

    It is into politics to work to increase respect for the country.

    Claiming that “a new cut money, extortion culture is now flourishing here which will be wiped out by our party”, the BJP leader alleged that bomb making units have mushroomed all over West Bengal but the TMC is indifferent to it.

    Claiming that BJP believes in giving equal respect to every religion, Singh asked, “But what is Didi’s (Mamata Banerjee) government doing? At times we hear Saraswati Puja is not allowed here and at times the administration disallows Durga puja immersion.

    Is it right?” Blaming the state for dithering in providing land for fencing along border with Bangladesh for years, he said, “Once we come to power, fencing work will be over in a stipulated time which will put a lid on incidents of smuggling, human trafficking and other illegal activities.”

    “The soil of Bengal had given birth to luminaries like Mahaprabhu Sri Chaitanya, Ramakrishna Paramahamsa, Swami Vivekananda. The BJP will once again bring back the glory of Bengal,” he said.

    Alluding to the campaign song “Khela Habe”, meaning ‘game on’, by the Trinamool Congress, Singh said in Bengali, “certainly there will be ‘khela’. But it will be the ‘khela’ (game) for growth, for development and progress.”

    “We believe in the ‘khela’ for peace.”

    Paying tribute to security forces, Singh, who is also the defence minister said, “Our jawans display valour gallantly guarding borders”.

    Referring to Balakot Air Strike, he said, “It was successfully done on this day in 2019 to show that we never compromise on issues of national security. We will never compromise with the security of the nation.”

  • Bengal needs vaccine against cutmoney, ‘tolabaji’; BJP will arrange for it: Nadda

    The TMC government represents corruption and anarchy, he alleged at a party rally here in North 24 Parganas district.

  • Modi’s charges a bag of lies, owes people explanation on fuel price hike, farmers protests: Trinamool

    Modi during his visit to the state during the day sought to punch a hole in TMC #39;s main poll plank of Bengali pride by pointing to the quot;utter neglect quot; to Bengali icons and its culture.

  • Blast possibly accidental, Bengal minister may not be target: CID officer on Murshidabad explosion

    By PTI
    KOLKATA: West Bengal minister Jakir Hossain, who was seriously injured in an explosion last week in Murshidabad district, might not be the target of the perpetrators and the bomb seemed to have gone off accidentally, an officer of the state Criminal Investigation Department (CID) said on Monday.

    The miscreants who could have links to an international terror group possibly brought the explosive kept in a bag from outside the state and were on their way to take it to Kolkata or somewhere else, the top CID official told PTI on condition of anonymity.

    Hossain, Trinamool Congress MLA and the minister of state for labour, was waiting at platform no 2 of Nimtita station to catch a train to Kolkata at around 10 pm on February 17 when the blast occurred injuring him and several other people.

    The West Bengal government has handed over the investigation into the case to the CID.

    The investigators collected torn pieces of a black bag, remains of mobile phone battery and a bike-battery, wires and other items from the site of the explosion.

    The results of the tests conducted on those articles are yet to arrive, the IPS officer said.

    “Going by our initial investigations, it seems that the bomb went off accidentally and not intentionally. Miscreants had kept the explosive inside the bag and probably had plans to travel to Kolkata or some other district. But most likely, the minister was not their target,” he said.

    As security arrangements at Nimtita station were “a bit relaxed” compared to several other stations of West Bengal such as Malda, Jalpaiguri, Siliguri or Burdwan, miscreants might have chosen it to transport the explosive, the CID official said.

    He said that the CCTV footage and mobile video recordings of the spot are being examined.

    The CID is yet to arrest anyone in connection with the blast.

    Meanwhile, Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee on Monday paid a visit to Hossain at the state-run SSKM hospital in Kolkata where he and 13 other people injured in the explosion are undergoing treatment.

    “Jakir is fine now. He had to undergo two surgeries. The doctors here have done a very good job. I will request everyone who is visiting Jakir and others to take precautionary measures and not to go too close to them as COVID-19 infection is increasing again,” she said.

  • Bengal minister accuses Shah of spreading misinformation on fund disbursement

    By PTI
    KOLKATA: West Bengal Finance Minister Amit Mitra on Sunday accused Union Home Minister Amit Shah of providing misinformation about disbursement of funds by the Centre to the state during a political rally and challenged him for a debate.

    He said the state government had received Rs 1.13 lakh crore from the Centre in the last six years, which is “nothing more than one-third of what the Union minister claimed”.

    Shah, in his recent visit to the poll-bound West Bengal, had reportedly said the Centre provided Rs 3.59 lakh crore to the state.

    “He has given wrong, misleading and politically-motivated information. The Centre, as a part of the federal structure, collects taxes from states and shares. We had received only Rs 1.13 lakh crore in the last 6 years (FY14 to FY20),” Mitra told reporters.

    Referring to his estimate, Mitra said the Centre might have collected around Rs 5 lakh crore in these years in the form of direct and indirect taxes from West Bengal and sent only Rs 1.13 lakh crore through central schemes.

    Mitra said the West Bengal government had spent Rs 3.1 lakh crore in these six years in different projects, which are fully sponsored by the state, apart from expenditures like salary, pension and other administrative expenses.

  • Not afraid of anyone, can’t be initimidated with jail: Mamata, nephew Abhishek hit out at Centre

    By PTI
    KOLKATA: Amid rising political temperature in poll-bound West Bengal, Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee said on Sunday that she is not afraid of anyone and cannot be intimidated with jail or anything else.

    She asserted that her mother tongue Bangla has taught her to fight like a tiger and not to be afraid of rats.

    Holding out a challenge without naming any one or political party as the state prepares to go to polls shortly, the Trinamool Congress supremo said that they have not learnt to lose.

    “Don’t try to intimidate us with jail, we have fought against guns and are not afraid of fighting against rats,” she said.

    “As long as there is life in me, I will not be afraid of any intimidation,” the feisty Bengal leader said at a programme here on International Mother Language Day celebrated on February 21.

    A few hours before the programme, the CBI had served notice to her nephew Abhishek Banerjee’s wife and sister-in-law for questioning in connection with a case of alleged coal pilferage.

    Maintaining that she is accepting all challenges on the historic February 21, she said “Let there be challenge in (20)21, let us see whose strength is more; there will be only one game in (20)21 and I will be the goalkeeper in that match and want to see who wins and who loses.

    “We have not learnt to lose and they won’t be able to defeat us,” Banerjee said without naming anyone.

    The ruling TMC and the Bharatiya Janata Party are engaged in a fierce battle for winning the coming assembly elections in the state.

    “My mother tongue Bangla has taught me to fight like a tiger and not to be afraid of rats,” she said, maintaining that she can speak so loudly and with pride because of the sweetness and beauty of the Bengali language.

    Banerjee said that she will give the slogan “Joy Bangla” even if she is sent to jail.

    The BJP has opposed the use of the slogan claiming that it is associated with Bangladesh.

    The TMC supremo and her party have been accusing the BJP of bringing outsiders into Bengal for the coming elections.

    The TMC launched its campaign slogan “Bengal wants its own daughter” Saturday, which the political analysts claimed is an attempt to rake up Bengali sentiments before the elections.

    “I love Bengali language and respect other languages also; why should I say Bangal and not Bangla?” she asked.

    The chief minister said that her government’s proposal to change the name of West Bengal to ‘Bangla’ has been lying with the central government for four years.

    She questioned whether the proposal is not finding favour because there is a Bangladesh.

    “We are a state and that is a country, there is Punjab in Pakistan and there is Punjab in India also,” she said, wondering what problem is there in changing the state’s name to ‘Bangla’.

    Banerjee said the state can also be called “Bangla Pradesh” like Andhra Pradesh or Himachal Pradesh.

    “I have always been seeing deprivation and a step-motherly attitude towards Bengal,” she said.

    Her nephew and party MP Abhishek Banerjee on Sunday asserted that the party will not be cowed by the CBI notice to his wife Rujira, asking her to join the probe in a coal pilferage case.

    The notice had asked Rujira to be present at their Harish Mukherjee Road residence at 3 pm to reply to queries related to the case of theft of coal from the mines of Eastern Coalfields Ltd in West Bengal “If they think they can use these ploys to intimidate us, they are mistaken.

    We are not the ones who would ever be cowed down,” Abhishek, the nephew of West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee, said in a tweet.

    “We have full faith in the law of the land,” he said, attaching a copy of the CBI notice in the tweet.

    Later in the day, the central probe agency also summoned Abhishek Banerjee’s sister-in-law Menaka Gambhir to join the probe.

    Gambhir was served a notice at her south Kolkata residence, to appear on Monday.

  • Bengal cops halt BJP’s Parivartan Yatra in Murshidabad for ‘route breach’

    By PTI
    KOLKATA: The BJP on Monday had to take an alternative route for its ‘Parivartan Yatra’ in West Bengal’s Murshidabad after the police stopped its rath from venturing into some of the district’s “sensitive pockets”, a senior police officer said.

    District BJP leader Gourishankar Ghosh, however, claimed that the party had intimated the administration about the route being taken for the yatra well in advance, and no objection was raised back then.

    The ‘Parivartan Yatra’ on a rath was flagged off by BJP national president J P Nadda from Nabadwip in Nadia district on February 6, as part of the saffron party’s outreach programme ahead of the assembly polls.

    It travelled through Nakasipara before entering Murshidabad on February 7.

    Members of the party, decked in saffron attire, are interacting with common people, and distributing pamphlets highlighting central government schemes and development work, as part of the yatra.

    An AC van, which has been converted into rath, has faces of BJP leaders painted on it.

    According to the senior officer, the rath, which was on its way to Bahrampur, was “told to avoid a particular route, which has a few sensitive pockets.

    The vehicle was stopped as it was passing by Bharat Sevashram Sangha at Beldanga in the district”.

    Ghosh, on his part, said no such request was made to him or the other the members of his party when the administration was approached for permission.

    Echoing him, state BJP leader Kalyan Choubey said, “We held discussions with the police before charting the yatra route.

    However, we were taken by surprise when the police stopped us at Beldanga.

    We sat on the street there for at least three hours.

    ” “Later, as suggested by the police, we decided to take an alternative route via National Highway-34 bypass as we wanted to steer clear of any untoward situation,” he added.

    Over the next few days, four more chariots of the BJP are set to roll out in Bengal, all of which are likely to be unveiled by the party’s top leaders.

    The rallies are expected to crisscross the entire state, touching all 294 constituencies.

    Assembly elections in Bengal are likely to be held in April-May.