She also said that a delegation of BJP MPs from West Bengal have met Union Home Minister Amit Shah and demanded a fair investigation into the matter.
Tag: West Bengal
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8 charred bodies recovered from burnt houses in Bengal village, 11 arrested
By PTI
RAMPURHAT/KOLKATA: Eight persons, including two children, died in the early hours of Tuesday after their houses were gutted in a fire at Rampurhat in West Bengal’s Birbhum district, police said.
The incident took place hours after the murder of a Trinamool Congress panchayat leader on Monday, DGP Manoj Malaviya told reporters in Kolkata.
Malaviya said seven charred bodies were recovered from one of the burnt houses, while one injured person died in hospital. Eleven people have been arrested in connection with the incident, he said.
The top police officer said TMC panchayat deputy chief of Barshal village, Bhadu Sheikh, was murdered around 8.30 pm on Monday.
Shortly after the murder, at least eight houses were allegedly set on fire in Bogtui village situated on the outskirts of Rampurhat town, which some claimed was in retaliation to the killing.
West Bengal | Around 10-12 houses were set on fire last night. A total of 10 dead bodies have been recovered, 7 dead bodies were retrieved from a single house: Fire officials on death of several people after a mob allegedly set houses on fire and killed a TMC leader in Birbhum. pic.twitter.com/KOW2ldlCgy
— ANI (@ANI) March 22, 2022
“The situation is now under control and a police picket has been established in the village since last night. We are investigating how the houses caught fire and whether the incident is related to the death of the TMC panchayat leader, which appears to be due to a deep-rooted personal enmity,” he said.Asked about claims by some fire brigade officials that 10 bodies were found, the top police officer clarified while seven of them were recovered after the blaze was brought under control, three injured persons were rescued of whom one died in a hospital.
The SDPO and in-charge of Rampurhat police station have been removed from active policing duty, the DGP said. The state government has set up a special investigation team headed by ADG (CID) Gyanwant Singh, Malaviya said.
The ruling TMC has also sent a three-member MLA team led by minister Firhad Hakim to the spot to take stock of the situation. The incident triggered a war of words among political parties, with the opposition BJP and the CPI(M) alleging the state government was trying to hush up the matter.
“We condemn such an attempt by the TMC government. The lawlessness in Bengal is virtually pushing the state towards President’s Rule,” state BJP leader Manoj Tigga said.
CPI(M) state secretary Mohammed Salim said the “cold-blooded killing” of so many people by “goons of the TMC” is condemnable.
TMC state general secretary Kunal Ghosh rubbished the allegations, claiming the blaze was accidental, and that the administration has already done the needful.
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TMC candidates Shatrughan Sinha, Babul Supriyo file nominations for by-polls in Bengal
By PTI
KOLKATA: Trinamool Congress candidates Shatrughan Sinha and Babul Supriyo on Monday filed their nominations for by-polls to a Lok Sabha and an assembly seat to be held on April 12 in West Bengal.
Sinha has been fielded for by-election to the Asansol Lok Sabha constituency, while Supriyo was nominated for the Ballygunge Assembly seat.
Speaking to reporters after filing his nomination at Alipore Survey Building, Supriyo said, “I am thankful to ‘Didi’ (TMC supremo Mamata Banerjee) for giving me this opportunity to contest from the presitigious Ballygunge constituency. I am really honoured and accept the challenge.”
The bypoll to Asansol was necessitated as Supriyo resigned as the BJP MP after joining the TMC in September last year. The Ballygunge Assembly seat is going for polls as incumbent MLA and state minister Subrata Mukherjee died in November 2021.
Sinha, a former BJP leader, filed his nomination at the office of the district magistrate of Paschim Bardhaman.
The actor-turned-politician had Sunday taken a jibe at the BJP for labelling him as an outsider, wondering what the saffron party makes of Prime Minister Narendra Modi contesting from Varanasi. “If for national figures like the PM, contesting the Lok Sabha polls from anywhere is accepted, then the same holds true for me as well,” he had said.
By-polls to the Asansol Lok Sabha constituency and the Ballygunje assembly seat will be held on April 12, and votes will be counted on April 16.
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Decision to quit BJP prompted by politics of hatred practised in party: Babul Supriyo
By PTI
KOLKATA: TMC candidate for Ballygunge assembly by-poll, Babul Supriyo, who switched over to the Mamata Banerjee-led party from the BJP last September, on Friday said his decision to quit the saffron party was prompted by politics of “hatred and divisiveness” practised by its members.
The former MP had left the BJP shortly after losing his ministerial berth at the Centre.
Often trolled on social media over his decision to switch camps, Supriyo on Friday, tagging Bengal BJP’s official page, tweeted, “My decision to quit was prompted by the politics of hatred, divisiveness (practised in the saffron camp). I could no longer reconcile to such brand of politics.”
Asserting that he would do whatever was needed to protect the heritage, culture and secular values of Bengal, Supriyo said, “People of Asansol know I had never practiced the sectarian and narrow 70:30 or 80:20 politics in Bengal and will never do that.”
The Left had accused the former minister of fuelling communal sentiments following a riot in Asansol area of Paschim Bardhaman district in 2018.
Alleging that he was betrayed by the BJP leadership in Bengal, Supriyo stated, “I would work to uphold the motto of unity in diversity.” He also said that “he could not accept the regular insults made to Bengalis, the refusal to acknowledge the good work of a Bengali”.
Responding to his allegations, BJP national vice-president Dilip Ghosh wondered why he “woke up to the true character of the BJP this late”. “We never saw such a treacherous personality before,” he said.
“If he thinks Bengalis are not getting due recognition, how come he was made a union minister by Shri Narendra Modi in 2014, despite being a new entrant in politics? He was a singer and had no political background. Has he forgotten how he was defeated by the TMC in Tollygunje last year?” Ghosh said.
Echoing him, BJP national secretary Anupam Hazra said it was “ironical that Supriyo did not discover these traits and vices” when he was a minister “We are lucky to have got ridden of such unprincipled unethical person,” Hazra said.
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BJP nominates MLA Agnimitra Paul against Shatrughan Sinha of TMC for Asansol LS by-poll
By PTI
KOLKATA: The BJP on Friday named fashion designer turned MLA Agnimitra Paul as the party candidate for the by-election to the Asansol Lok Sabha constituency to contest against Shatrughan Sinha of the Trinamool Congress.
For the by-poll to Ballygunje assembly seat in Kolkata, the BJP’s women’s wing leader Keya Ghosh, a known face in television panel discussions, has been nominated as the party candidate. She was pitted against former union minister and TMC candidate Babul Supriyo.
The names were announced by the BJP central leadership in Delhi, the party’s West Bengal spokesperson Samik Bhattacharya told PTI. By-polls in both seats will be held on April 12 and votes will be counted on April 16.
Paul had been elected to the state assembly from the Asansol South seat in Paschim Bardhaman district last year on BJP ticket.
TMC supremo Mamata Banerjee nominated actor turned politician Shatrughan Sinha to contest from the industrial city of Asansol having a sizeable Hindi speaking population.
The Left Front fielded senior CPI(M) leader Partha Mukherjee as the candidate for the by-election in the Asansol Lok Sabha seat. It named Saira Shah Halim of the CPI(M) as its candidate for the bypoll in the Ballygunge assembly seat. She is a known face on prime time debate shows on national news channels.
The bypoll to Asansol was necessitated as Supriyo resigned as the BJP MP after joining the TMC in September last year.
The Ballygunge Assembly seat is going to the by-election as incumbent MLA and state minister Subrata Mukherjee died in November 2021. Paul could not be contacted for her comment as she did not reply to calls and text messages.
Keya Ghosh alleged that Supriyo had acted in the most unethical manner by switching loyalties. “Besides fighting against the TMC’s misrule and attack on democracy, my job will be to unmask Supriyo. He will be defeated in the by-poll,” she added.
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Mamata says Bengal was offered controversial Pegasus spyware for Rs 25 crore, 4-5 years ago
By PTI
KOLKATA/AMARAVATI: A day after West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee revealed that the controversial Pegasus spyware was offered to her government, she provided on Thursday more details, stating the state police was approached at least four to five years back with an offer to sell the controversial Israeli spyware for just Rs 25 crore.
The chief minister said she had turned it down when she came to know of it.
Banerjee also alleged that instead of using the spyware for the security of the country, it was used by the central government which she claimed purchased it, for “political” reasons against judges and officials.
However, the Telugu Desam party denied assertions made by her on Wednesday that the then chief minister of Andhra Pradesh, Chandrababu Naidu, had purchased the spyware during his tenure.
“They (NSO, the company which developed Pegasus) had approached everybody to sell their ware. They had approached our police too, four-five years ago and offered to sell it for Rs 25 crore. I had the information, but I said that we did not require it,” Banerjee said at the state secretariat.
“If it was used for the benefit of the country or for security reasons then it was a different matter altogether, but it has been used for political purposes, against judges, officers which is not at all welcomed,” she alleged.
The Bengal chief minister had on Wednesday disclosed in the Assembly that her government was offered Pegasus spyware which she had declined as it had the potential to encroach upon people’s privacy.
During her disclosure in the Assembly, the fiery leader had also claimed that the Andhra government “had it during Chandrababu (Naidu)’s time”.
However, the Telegu Desam party denied the claim and said the Chandrababu Naidu government had made no such purchase.
“We have never purchased any spyware. We never indulged in any illegal phone tapping,” Telugu Desam Party general secretary Nara Lokesh said here on Thursday.
Reacting to Banerjee’s claim that the previous Chandrababu Naidu government purchased the Pegasus Spyware, Lokesh who was the then Minister for Information Technology in his father Chandrababu’s Cabinet, said, “I don’t know whether she has indeed said this, and where and in which context. If she did say this, she is certainly misinformed.”
However, he said the software was offered to the state government. “Yes, Pegasus offered to sell its spyware to the AP government as well but we rejected it,” Lokesh said. Had the government purchased the spyware, there would be a record of it, he pointed out.
An international media consortium had reported last year that over 300 verified Indian mobile phone numbers were on the list of potential targets for surveillance using Pegasus spyware.
A New York Times report earlier this year claiming India bought Pegasus spyware as part of a USD 2 billion defence deal with Israel in 2017 had triggered a major controversy with the Opposition alleging that the government had indulged in illegal snooping that amounted to “treason”.
The Supreme Court is currently hearing a batch of pleas on the allegations of misuse of this spyware in India.
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Despite victory in assembly elections, winning presidential polls won’t be easy for BJP: Mamata
The game is not yet over. Without our support, BJP won't sail through. They don't have even half of the total MLAs in the country, she added.
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TMC councillor shot dead by unidentified miscreants in WB’s Panihati
By ANI
NORTH 24 PARGANAS: A Trinamool Congress (TMC) councillor was shot dead by unidentified miscreants in Panihati Municipality of West Bengal, the police said on Sunday.
Anupam Dutta, the TMC councillor of ward number eight of Panihati Municipality in North 24 Parganas district was shot dead by miscreants on the bike, CP Manoj Kumar Verma, Barrackpore Police Commitionarate said.
Anupam Dutta, TMC councillor of ward 7 of Panihati municipality in North 24 Parganas district was shot dead by 4 bike-borne miscreants: West Bengal Police pic.twitter.com/wz3yvrA2ZY
— ANI (@ANI) March 13, 2022
There were four miscreants on the bike. A bullet has hit the victim’s head, the police said.Dutta was rushed to the hospital in critical condition. The doctor on duty declared him brought dead, the police added.
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NCW writes to Home Minister Amit Shah on alleged atrocities against women in West Bengal
By PTI
NEW DELHI: The National Commission for Women has written to Union Home Minister Amit Shah seeking his intervention in the alleged brutalities and violence committed against women in West Bengal.
The NCW said it has received a joint memorandum from the All India Democratic Women’s Association, National Federation of Indian Women and All India Progressive Women’s Association claiming that women in West Bengal are facing an extremely insecure atmosphere and activists of the ruling TMC have unleashed a reign of terror.
The memorandum, which has a district-wise list of incidents of atrocities against women, sought immediate steps to end the alleged brutalities and violence against them, the NCW said.
It has also been alleged that the state administration and police are either silent spectators or in connivance with the perpetrators.
In some incidents, male police personnel have misbehaved and molested women, according to the memorandum.
The women’s associations have requested the NCW to intervene in the matter.
The Commission said it is extremely concerned with the increasing cases of violence and brutalities against women in the state.
“Chairperson Rekha Sharma has written to the home minister seeking intervention in the matter to ensure the safety and security of the women in the state. A copy of the letter has also been sent to the chief secretary and director general of police, West Bengal,” the NCW said in a statement.
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In a first of sorts, Bengal Guv summons Assembly session at 2 AM acting on typo in state government’s recommendation
By PTI
KOLKATA: In what may be a first of sorts in legislative history, West Bengal Governor Jagdeep Dhankhar on Thursday summoned West Bengal’s legislature for a session well past mid-night at 2 AM on March 7.
Dhankar said he was merely acting on the recommendation of the Mamata Banerjee-led cabinet which he described as “unusual”, though both state government officials as well as the state’s speaker Biman Banerjee said the request for calling the assembly session at 2 AM was a case of a simple “typographical error” where PM became AM.
If the session is indeed called at 2 AM at night, it will mean legislators will have to literally burn the midnight oil as well as Governor Dhankar who would have to give his opening speech at that odd hour.
Independent India’s Parliament held a session where Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nehru made his famous “tryst with destiny” speech at the stroke of mid-night.
Both the Parliament and many state legislative assemblies have stretched their debates and discussions to timings past midnight to address urgent business, but rarely if ever has a house been summoned at such a late hour.
In a tweet, Dhankar said that finding the timing of the session “after midnight somewhat odd,” he had called the state Chief Secretary for urgent consultation before noon Thursday.
However, “there was usual compliance failure,” he complained.
Thereafter, he took the decision to call the house at the odd hour “accepting the cabinet decision,” the Governor said. “Invoking article 174 (1) of Constitution, accepting Cabinet Decision, Assembly has been summoned to meet on March 7, 2022 at 2.00 A.M,” he tweeted.
“Assembly meeting after midnight at 2.00 A.M. is unusual and history of sorts in making, but that is Cabinet Decision,” Dhankar added.
The Governor in his tweet pointed out the proposal in the cabinet memo which he received the state cabinet said, “Now it is proposed that West Bengal Legislative Assembly may be summoned by Hon’ble Governor on 7.03.2022 at 2am.”
Reacting to the decision, BJP’s Suvendu Adhikari, who is also the leader of the opposition in the West Bengal assembly tweeted “Midnight session !!! State Government’s head is disorder.”
The governor had earlier sent back a recommendation by Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee for summoning the Assembly for the Budget Session, saying that as per constitutional provision, it must come from the state Cabinet.