News Analysis India

Tag: Trinamool

  • ‘Open to post-poll alliance with non-BJP parties’: Congress extends olive braches to AAP, Trinamool ahead of Goa results

    By PTI

    PANAJI: With the date for the Goa Assembly poll results nearing, the Congress has said it is open to a post-poll alliance with parties other than the BJP to form the next government, if it does not get a majority on its own.

    Elections to the 40-member Goa Assembly were held on February 14 and the results would be declared on March 10.

    Talking to reporters on Sunday, All India Congress Committee’s Goa desk in-charge Dinesh Gundu Rao said if his party falls short of the majority mark of 21, it is open to seeking the support of outfits like the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP), the Maharashtrawadi Gomantak Party (MGP) and the Trinamool Congress (TMC) to form government.

    The Congress had contested the election in alliance with the Goa Forward Party.

    Besides, the Mamata Banerjee-led TMC had tied-up with the MGP, Goa’s oldest regional outfit, before the polls.

    Rao said after the final result is out, the Congress Legislature Party will waste no time in electing its leader.

    If the Congress gets majority, “we will stake claim to form government the same day”, he said.

    The Congress had won 17 seats in the 2017 state Assembly elections, while the BJP bagged 13.

    But, the saffron party formed government by quickly forging an alliance with some other parties and independents.

    Over the last five years, a number of Congress MLAs quit the party and its strength in the House was reduced to two.

  • ‘SIT probe would yield nothing but rubbish’: Adhir questions Mamata’s silence on Anis Khan’s death

    By PTI

    KOLKATA:  Leader of Congress in Lok Sabha Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury Saturday questioned the silence of West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee in the mysterious death of student activist Anis Khan and said that she has forgotten the Muslims who had reposed faith in her since her party’s win in the state election.

    Chowdhury, who is also the WBPCC president, alleged that the state government is trying to hide the truth behind the incident and stop investigation into it.

    Chowdhury, who met the the student activist’s family members at their house at Amta in Howrah district during the day, claimed that the special investigating team formed by the state government to probe the death “would yield nothing but rubbish”.

    He raked up the death of Rizwanur Rahman, a graphics trainer, who according to the CBI probe was driven to commit suicide in 2007.

    “Didi (Banerjee) had spearheaded the movement following Rizwanur’s death because she had no option then. Now because the elections are over, the Muslims have been dumped by her.”

    Rizwanur was found dead near the rail track in Kolkata in Sptember 2007, a month after his marriage to the daughter of industrialist Ashok Todi.

    The Supreme Court had in March 2011 had asked CBI proceed with the case as suicide.

    The death had rocked the state and Banerjee had spearheaded a movement against the then Left Front government of Buddhadeb Bhattacharjee and demanded the CBI probe into it.

    “Why is the chief minister silent in this case? Why hasn’t she sent any of her ministers to meet Anis’ family members? The people of Bengal want to know the mystery behind his death.

    But it seems that the state government is trying to stop the investigation as the chief minister and the TMC government are trying to hide the truth behind the death.

    We will not let them succeed in that,” Chowdhury told reporters.

    “There will be no investigation done by the SIT. Nobody will believe that a civic police man would kill somebody unless he was ordered”.

    A civic police man was among the four police personnel who had reportedly forced their way into Anis’ house on the night of February 18 and took him to its second floor.

    His body was later found by his family members from outside the building.

    Chowdhury alleged that Anis’s family members are being given death threats to force them withdraw their demand for a CBI probe.

    He said that Congress will move the National Human Rights Commission in the case.

    “We will continue with our protests and if needed help Anis’ family to meet President Ram Nath Kovind and take the case to the National Commission for Minorities”.

    Chowdhury also was critical about the state government’s Deucha Pachami coal project and questioned its “commercial viability”.

    “Nobody is willing to invest here. This is a concealed coalfield and several hundred metres have to be dug to get coal. Nobody knows whether this will be a viable project or not,” he said.

    The the state government is yet to publish any notification with regard to the project though it has already planned to evacuate around 21,000 people from the area, he said.

    The state government is investing about Rs 35,000 crore in this project which is spread across 3.

    04 lakh acres and Banerjee has announced jobs for one member of each family that donates land, besides increasing the compensation package.

  • UP elections: Mamata shown black flags in BJP stronghold Varanasi

    Express News Service

    GORAKHPUR: West Bengal CM Mamata Banerjee, who landed in Varanasi on Wednesday to campaign in support of Samajwadi Party, was shown black flags while on her way to Dashashwamedh ghat from airport.

    As soon as Mamata proceeded to Dashashwamedh ghat, she was faced protests at several places when BJP supporters showed her black flags first in Chetganj locality and then at Godowliya.

    In Chetganj, on seeing the black flags by a crowd shouting Jai Shree Ram, the west bengal CM lost her cool, stopped the car and came out on the road.

    Pushing the protestors, Mamta dared the BJP workers to come forward with black flags. 

    “You all are losing the elections. These are not black flags but your fear of losing elections,” she shouted on the mike.

    The west bengal CM also shouted the slogan : “Jai UP, Jai Hind.”

    Subsequently, as she proceeded further, she was shown black flags at Gowdowliya. However, the district police pushed the protestors aside.

    On getting the information about protests, SP workers gathered at Godowliya crossing in retaliation. Both the groups of protestors came face to face to be sent away by the cops.

    Then Mamata Banerjee reached Dashashwamedh ghat and paid obeisance at Ganga Mandir. She also watched the famous Ganga Arti while sitting on the stairs of the ghat.

    Mamata is expected to address a couple of rallies along with SP chief Akhilesh Yadav in and around Varanasi which will vote in final phase on March 7.

    Mamata is scheduled to stay in Varanasi for the next two days.

    However, in the wake of protests against the west bengal CM, the district administration has beefed up the security.

  • Civic poll violence should have been avoided, sends out wrong message: Trinamool MP

    Cases of violence and malpractices marred the elections to 107 municipalities across West Bengal on Sunday.

  • Goa Trinamool chief claims Prashant Kishor’s I-PAC abandoned party candidates after polls

    By PTI

    PANAJI: Goa Trinamool Congress (TMC) chief Kiran Kandolkar has claimed that their political consultant I-PAC abandoned the party candidates after the state Assembly polls held last week.

    Talking to reporters here on Monday, Kandolkar also said he was not quitting as TMC’s Goa unit chief, but was upset with I-PAC head Prashant Kishor and his team.

    There have been speculations since some time about a rift between the TMC and I-PAC (Indian Political Action Committee), which had helped the Mamata Banerjee-led party during the West Bengal Assembly polls.

    The TMC contested the Goa Assembly elections in alliance with the Maharashtrawadi Gomantak Party (MGP).

    Polling was held on February 14 and the counting of votes will be done on March 10.

    Kandolkar had contested the election from Aldona Assembly seat, while his wife Kavita contested from Thivim on TMC’s ticket.

    He claimed that most of the TMC candidates in Goa felt they were abandoned by the I-PAC after the polls.

    “All candidates fielded by the TMC have some or the other issues with the I-PAC. When the candidates told me about their issues with Prashant Kishor and his I-PAC team, I discussed the matter with my party workers, who advised me to quit as the TMC Goa president,” he said.

    “I am not quitting as TMC Goa head, but I am upset with Prashant Kishor and the I-PAC team,” he said.

    A meeting of all party candidates has been called on Tuesday to discuss the polling in their respective Assembly constituencies, he added.

  • Senior leader Partha Chatterjee appointed Trinamool national vice president

    By PTI

    KOLKATA: Senior TMC leader Partha Chatterjee on Saturday was appointed as the national vice president of the party, taking the total number of members holding the post in the camp to four.

    The development came a day after Abhishek Banerjee was brought back as TMC’s national general secretary by party supremo and West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee, who constituted her new team of office bearers, majorly packing it with old-timers loyal to her.

    Chatterjee, who is the Bengal industry minister, will also continue to serve as the state secretary-general of the party, a post he has held for more than two decades.

    “Partha Chatterjee has been appointed as the national vice president. He will discharge his responsibilities as the state secretary-general,too,” a senior TMC leader said.

    The TMC boss had on Friday reappointed Yashwant Sinha as its national vice-president.

    Two other senior leaders — Subrata Bakshi and Chandrima Bhattacharya, were also given the vice-president’s post.

    Abhishek’s return as TMC national general secretary, the de-facto number two in the party, has sent out a message that Mamata Banerjee has reposed her faith in her nephew as her heir apparent, amid a growing rift between the old guard and next-generation leaders.

  • BJP, Trinamool workers scuffle after trading barbs during Suvendu Adhikari’s rally

    By PTI

    KOLKATA: Workers of the Trinamool Congress and the BJP engaged in a scuffle in West Bengal’s Purba Medinipur district on Friday, after accusing each other of making abusive comments.

    The incident occurred when Leader of the Opposition in the state assembly, Suvendu Adhikari of the BJP, was campaigning for party candidates in the Contai Municipality election to be held on February 27.

    TMC candidate in ward number 13 Suprakash Giri alleged that Adhikari and those accompanying him made abusive comments against party supremo Mamata Banerjee while passing by the TMC election office near a supermarket triggering protest by those present there.

    Adhikari’s brother Soumendu, on the other hand, claimed that it was the TMC workers to made objectionable remarks against the Nandigram MLA.

    A scuffle ensued and the central security personnel accompanying Adhikari shielded him.

    Giri alleged that Adhikari’s security personnel, instigated by the MLA, went inside the TMC office and beat him up injuring him.

    Accompanied by TMC workers, Giri launched a sit-in before the local police station protesting against alleged excesses by the security personnel of Adhikari.

    Earlier in the day, while campaigning in ward number 6, Adhikari was greeted with the popular ‘Khela Hobe’ (there will be a game) slogan by ruling party activists.

    BJP workers accompanying Adhikari then chanted ‘Jai Shri Ram’.

    “Some jihadis are trying to heckle me in Kanthi. But the majority of the people of Contai are on my side,” Adhikari said.

  • Civic polls: Trinamool on course for big win in four municipal corporations in Bengal

    By PTI

    KOLKATA; The Trinamool Congress on Monday was ahead in all the four municipal corporations in West Bengal where polls were held on February 12, as per data available on the State Election Commission’s website.

    In Bidhannagar, the TMC won 24 of the 41 seats and was ahead in 10, while the Congress won in one ward, according to the SEC website at 11 am.

    The ruling party clinched 10 of the 47 seats in Siliguri and was leading in three wards, and both the BJP and the CPI(M) have won two seats each.

    #WATCH | TMC workers celebrate in North 24 Parganas as the party sweeps the Bidhannagar Municipal Corporation election. #WestBengalCivicPolls pic.twitter.com/aZxFkd6PFB
    — ANI (@ANI) February 14, 2022
    In Chandannagar, the TMC bagged 12 out of 32 seats and was ahead in nine, while the CPI(M) won in one ward.

    The TMC pocketed 28 of 106 seats in Asansol and was leading in seven wards, the data showed, adding, the BJP emerged triumphant in three wards and the CPI(M) in two.

    Meanwhile, Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee thanked people for her party’s “thumping win” in the civic polls, calling it a victory of the masses.

  • SC grants anticipatory bail to Mamata’s poll agent Supiyan in murder case

    By PTI

    NEW DELHI: The Supreme Court on Wednesday granted anticipatory bail to Trinamool Congress (TMC) leader S K Supiyan, who was the election agent of Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee in Nandigram during last year’s assembly elections, in a murder case.

    A bench of Justices L Nageswara Rao and Abhay S Oka, however, imposed several conditions while granting the relief to Supiyan.

    The apex court noted that the incident is of May 3, 2021 and though two charge sheets have been filed on 5th October 2021 and 9th January 2022, Supiyan has not been named as an accused therein.

    It also took note of the fact that the appellant was not named in both the charge sheets filed thereafter.

    “Considering the peculiar facts of the case, we are of the view that the appellant deserves to be granted pre-arrest bail. However, the appellant will have to fully cooperate with the respondent-CBI for investigation and will have to remain present for investigation as and when called upon by the investigating officer,” the bench said.

    It added: “We make it clear that the pre-arrest bail granted to the appellant is liable to be cancelled if it is found that the appellant is not cooperating for the investigation. We further make it clear that we have not made any adjudication on the merits of the controversy.”

    The top court on February 4 had reserved its order when the CBI had said that Supiyan has been running away from the investigation in the murder case of a BJP worker being probed by it.

    The CBI took over the investigation of the case on August 30, 2021.

    The CBI is probing the death of BJP worker Debabrata Maity, who was allegedly attacked in Nandigram.

    The high court had directed the probe agency to investigate post-poll violence cases in the state.

  • ‘What compulsion do you have?’: Smriti slams Akhilesh for seeking Mamata’s support

    By PTI

    NOIDA: BJP leader Smriti Irani on Monday hit out at Akhilesh Yadav, wondering why the Samajwadi Party president was seeking support of Trinamool Congress supremo and West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee who had “insulted” the people of Uttar Pradesh.

    While addressing a poll programme in Gautam Buddh Nagar’s Jewar, the Union Minister claimed Yadav’s reach out to Banerjee was an indication that he is “not getting people’s support on his own strength”.

    Irani claimed Yadav was seeking support from Banerjee despite her insulting the traditions, culture and food habits of the people of Uttar Pradesh.

    “I want to ask Akhilesh ji, what has happened now that you want support of those who had forgotten the glorious past of this state and openly insult the residents of the state. What compulsion do you have?” she said.

    “But Akhilesh ji is definitely giving indications that he is not getting public support on his own strength,” she added.

    Irani was addressing a gathering in support of BJP’s Jewar MLA Dhirendra Singh, who is once again in the fray from the seat for assembly polls.

    The Lok Sabha MP from Amethi said it was her good luck that she has been elected to parliament from Uttar Pradesh, which has been not only known as the land that has defined ‘sanskar, sanskriti’ but is also the land which is redefining development in India’s politics.

    Quoting the remarks of MLA Singh, she said the BJP has accomplished in five years in Jewar what could not be done even in 70 years.

    “It’s not easy that an international-level airport gets built in an assembly area or a medical device park for manufacturing modern equipment,” she said, talking of the big ticket projects Jewar has got since the BJP came to power in Uttar Pradesh in 2017.

    Polls in Gautam Buddh Nagar in western Uttar Pradesh are scheduled for February 10 during the first phase of elections in the state.

    Results will be declared on March 10.