News Analysis India

Tag: West Bengal

  • West Bengal polls: EC bans entry of politicians in Cooch Behar district for 72 hours

    By Online Desk
    In a major development following the fourth phase of the West Bengal elections which was marred by violence, the Election Commission banned the entry of politicians in Cooch Behar district for the next three days in a bid to prevent another possible law and order flare up.

    The EC has extended the “silence period” from 48 hours to 72 hours

    The move comes after the first major outbreak of political violence during the West Bengal elections where five persons were killed and five candidates were attacked during the fourth phase of the elections to 44 seats, on Saturday. 

    ALSO READ | Bengal poll booth violence: CM Mamata Banerjee questions central forces’ version, orders CID probe

    Four people were killed as central forces opened fire allegedly after coming under attack from locals, who “attempted to snatch their rifles”, in Cooch Behar district earlier today, police said in a report by PTI.

    The EC order which is being implemented with immediate effect stated, “The Election Commission of India further directs that the silence period for phase 5 (i.e.for polls scheduled on April 17) shall be extended to 72 hours and no campaigning shall be permitted during 72 hours before the close of the poll in order to ensure the conduct of free, fair and peaceful elections.”

    The highest turnout of 79.73 per cent was registered in Cooch Behar district, followed by 76.2 per cent polling in Hoogly.

    (With inputs from PTI)

  • Bihar police officer lynched in West Bengal

    Express News Service
    PATNA: An SHO from Bihar’s Kishanganj was lynched at a Bengal village early on Saturday morning.

    Bihar’s Kishanganj Town PS SHO Ashwani Kumar fell prey to the violent attack, when he went to raid a hideout of vehicle thieves on early Saturday morning.

    SP Kishanganj Kumar Ashish said that the SHO was a bright officer. It is said that he had gone to the hideout following a tip off. The SHO was lynched by a mob at Pantapada village of Gowalpokhar police station area of ​​West Bengal. 

    According to Mrityunjay K Singh-president of Bihar Police Association, the SHO was brutally beaten and throttled to death.

    It is saidd that, the body was left abondoned at the spot and later taken to nearby hospital.

  • EC issues second notice, West Bengal CM Mamata Banerjee says don’t care

    By Express News Service
    NEW DELHI/KOLKATA:  West Bengal CM Mamata Banerjee has been asked to explain comments during her election campaign, where she allegedly accused central security forces of working under instructions of Home Minister Amit Shah. She has been asked to reply by 11 am Saturday. This is the second notice to Mamata in the last few of days.

    On Wednesday, EC had issued her a notice over alleged appeal for votes along communal lines, saying it was in violation of the model code and the Representation of the People Act. The EC took strong objection of Mamata’s comments while sending the second notice.

    It said her remarks were “prima facie, completely false, provocative and intemperate statements… (It) attempts to berate and vilify central paramilitary forces during electoral process are causing extreme demoralisation amongst ranks and file of these forces, who have been rendering a yeoman’s service since late 80s elections after elections and have made a commendable contribution, especially in ensuring area domination and causing deterrence for anti-social hooligans by their presence,” the notice read.

    On a campaign trail at Jamalpur in Bardhaman district, Mamata repeated her accusation. “I will continue speaking about CPRF until they stop working for BJP. Once they stop doing that, I will salute them. I do not care about your (EC’s) showcause letters. You are working at the behest of BJP. I wonder why there is no violation when the PM campaigns on polling days.”

    Shah vs Mamata

    Campaigning in Kolkata, Shah hit back at the TMC chief. He said Mamata’s comments against central forces betrayed frustration over her impending defeat.

    “TMC’s frustration is evident from her speeches. I have never seen a chief minister or the president of a political party use the kind of words Mamata Banerjee is using against central forces. Is she trying to create anarchy? She should know that central forces do not function under the home ministry during elections. They function under the Election Commission,” Shah said.

    Mamata was relentless. Speaking at another rally, she claimed that Shah was trying to spark a riot in the state.

    “I have not seen such a gunda, dangabaaz (rioteer) home minister in my life. Shah is more dangerous than a tiger. People fear to talk to him. I will urge Narendra Modi to control Shah first. He is inciting riots here.”

  • Mamata Banerjee alleges Amit Shah trying to incite violence in West Bengal

    By PTI
    JAMALPUR/MEMARI/BARDHAMAN: West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee on Friday alleged Home Minister Amit Shah was trying to incite violence in the state and egging the police to engage in unethical acts.

    Alleging that Shah was behind the attack on the TMC candidate of Mathabhanga seat as the BJP will lose the election, the Trinamool Congress supremo claimed that he will plan to kill her for speaking these in public.

    “I have not seen such a ‘gunda’ (gangster), ‘dangabaaz’ (rioteer) home minister in my entire life. Amit Shah is more dangerous than a tiger. People fear to talk to him.

    I will urge PM Narendra Modi to control Amit Shah first. He is inciting riots here,” Banerjee said while addressing a rally in Memari in Purba Bardhaman district.

    Accusing Shah of pressuring police to “engage in all forms of unethical acts”, she described the ongoing assembly elections in the state, as a bid “to protect the respect of Bengal”.

    Banerjee had earlier accused the central police forces of working at the behest of Shah following which the Election Commission of India (ECI) show-caused her.

    “This election is to stop people from turning Bengal into another Gujarat. This election is to protect the women, mothers and sisters of Bengal, to protect the youths of our land,” she said.

    She charged the Union home minister with planning the attack on Girindra Nath Barman, the TMC nominee for the Mathabhanga seat in North Bengal.

    “Amit Shah has planned this attack. He is trying to incite riot so that law and order here (Bengal) is compromised. They (BJP) are doing this because they are losing the elections.

    “I know that you will plan to kill me because I am speaking all these. You have injured my foot and you will plan to kill me. But I do not care. I will live life like a tigress till the last day of my life,” she said.

    Banerjee suffered a foot injury after a fall while campaigning in her constituency Nandigram on March 10. Since then, she is seeking votes for her party sitting on a wheelchair.

    The TMC supremo has been alleging that her injury was the result of a conspiracy hatched by the BJP.

    However, the Election Commission has concluded that it was an accident and not a planned attack.

    Reacting to the notice served on her by the ECI for her comments over central forces intimidating voters, she said at a rally in Jamalpur that she would continue speaking about CRPF interference till it stops working for the BJP.

    “I do not care anything about your (ECI’s) showcause letters,” the TMC supremo said.

    Claiming that the ECI is working at the behest of the BJP, Banerjee said that the prime minister campaigns on polling days, yet there is no ruling that he has violated the Model Code of Conduct (MCC).

    She said that she is campaigning on election days because the prime minister is doing so.

    “Why are you (PM) having ‘Pariksha pe charcha’ in West Bengal where assembly elections are being held? Is it not a violation of the MCC?” she asked.

    Banerjee also alleged that senior police officers were “purchased” and they are working for the BJP and asking people to vote for the saffron party.

  • 25 per cent candidates in phase-5 of WB polls have declared criminal cases against themselves: ADR

    The West Bengal Election Watch and Association for Democratic Reforms (ADR) have analysed the self-sworn affidavits of all 318 candidates.

  • CPM doubts EC’s neutrality; says TMC, BJP may join hands in case of hung assembly

    By PTI
    KOLKATA: The CPI(M)’s West Bengal secretary Surya Kanta Mishra on Thursday questioned the Election Commission’s impartiality and claimed that the Trinamool Congress and the BJP may join hands if both the parties fall short of requisite numbers to form the government.

    Mishra alleged at a press conference that despite the Sanjukta Morcha of the Left parties, Congress and the Indian Secular Front (ISF) lodging several complaints of electoral malpractices with the EC, none of them was addressed as the poll panel is only interested in “pleasing the TMC and the BJP”.

    When asked whether there are chances of the Sanjukta Morcha joining hands with the TMC in case of a hung assembly, the senior CPI(M) leader termed it a “hypothetical question”.

    “The Sanjukta Morcha is fighting to form the government in the state.

    Rather, you might find the TMC and BJP joining hands to form the government in case of a hung assembly,” Mishra said.

    In the assembly election in the state, the saffron party is trying to dethrone the TMC while the Mamata Banerjee-led party is seeking to return to power for the third time in a row.

    Three of the eight phases of polling have been completed.

    “That is why we appeal to people to ensure that that the two parties cannot form the government even after joining hands,” Mishra said.

    He also alleged that there are serious questions over the EC’s neutrality this time.

    “We have lodged several complaints, but none of those is being addressed. Several incidents have taken place, but no action has been taken. It seems they (EC) are only working towards pleasing the TMC and the BJP,” he told the Meet the Press programme organised by the Press Club Kolkata.

    TMC supremo Mamata Banerjee has also been accusing the poll panel of working in favour of the BJP.

  • EC notice to West Bengal CM Mamata Banerjee for allegedly violating model code

    By PTI
    NEW DELHI: The Election Commission issued a notice to West Bengal Chief Minister and Trinamool Congress leader Mamata Banerjee on Wednesday for her alleged appeal to Muslim voters while campaigning in Hooghly to not allow their votes get split among different political parties.

    She has been asked to respond to the notice within the next 48 hours.

    The notice said the poll panel had received a complaint from a BJP delegation alleging that on April 3, Banerjee appealed to the Muslim voters not to let their votes get split among different political parties during the election rally at Tarakeshwar in Hooghly.

    “Kanyashree, Kanyashree, there are scholarships up to the university. There is Shishashree for Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes. For general category there is Swami Vivekananda Scholarship. There is Aikyashree for my brothers and sisters belonging to the minority community and I have given it to 2 crores and 35 lakh beneficiaries.

    I am requesting my minority brothers and sisters with folded hands don’t divide the minority votes after listening to the devil (shaitaan) person who had taken money from the BJP.

    “He passes many communal statements and initiates clashes between the Hindu and the Muslims. He is one of the apostles of the BJP, a comrade. The comrades of CPI-M and BJP are roaming around with the money given by the BJP to divide the minority votes.

    Please don’t allow them to do so. Keep in mind that if the BJP comes into the government then you will be in severe danger.

    “I also will tell my Hindu brothers and sister not to make division amongst yourselves as Hindu and Muslim after listening to the BJP,” the notice quoted Banerjee as saying.

    The EC said it found her speech violating the provisions of the Representation of the People Act and the model code.

  • Two bomb blasts within 48 hours at West Bengal’s Galsi

    By PTI
    GALSI: A bomb exploded at an under-construction building at Galsi in West Bengal’s Purba Bardhaman district on Tuesday, the second in 48 hours in the area, police said.

    The explosion on Tuesday took place near a ‘Sishu Siksha Kendra’ at Raipur village but none was injured in the incident, the police said.

    The CID bomb squad went to the spot but no other bomb was found in the blast site where usually local children play, the police said.

    The police after preliminary investigation suspect that a bomb was kept inside a plastic container and it exploded due to the hot conditions.

    On Sunday night a bomb had exploded in a house at Aatpara here and the house owner was arrested, the police said.

    A bomb had exploded at Aatpara ‘Sishu Siksha Kendra’ a few months ago in which its door and roof were damaged.

  • Parties like Indian Secular Front more dangerous than cobra: Mamata Banerjee

    By PTI
    CHUNCHURA/BHANGAR: West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee on Monday attacked the Indian Secular Front (ISF), floated by an influential Muslim cleric and part of the alliance of the CPI(M) and the Congress, alleging that parties like it are “more dangerous than a cobra”.

    Referring to the BJP’s allegation that she indulged in the politics of minority appeasement, Banerjee claimed that Hindus and Muslims are living well in the state since she is there.

    The Trinamool Congress supremo also asserted that she would win the ongoing state polls despite suffering an injury and eventually aim for power in Delhi.

    Launching a scathing attack on ISF leader Abbas Siddiqui without naming him, she said, “A traitor has emerged from Furfura Sharif who has taken money from the BJP. You must remember that you can’t win in Bengal through treachery.”

    The CPI(M)-headed Left Front and the Congress have joined hands with the newly-formed ISF floated by Siddiqui, an influential Muslim cleric of Furfura Sharif in Hooghly district of West Bengal.

    Speaking at a rally at Bhangar in South 24 Parganas district which has a considerable minority population, Banerjee asked people not to vote for the ISF candidate there, claiming that every vote for him will mean gain for the BJP.

    “Some say I appease the Muslims. I tell them that both Hindus and Muslims are living well since I am there. It would not have been the case had I not been there,” she said.

    Claiming that the CPI(M) and the Congress are friends of the BJP, the TMC supremo said that another party has surfaced to eat into the minority vote share of her party.

    “Has he suddenly become the leader of minorities with the BJP’s money? He is making communal statements,” she said referring to Abbas.

    It is because of such parties that the RJD-led Mahagathbandhan lost in Bihar and the Samajwadi Party (SP) lost elections in Uttar Pradesh, Banerjee claimed.

    “They are more dangerous than a cobra,” she said.

    Training her guns at Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Home Minister Amit Shah who are crisscrossing the state canvassing for the party, Banerjee said that West Bengal will be ruled by its own people and not by anyone from Gujarat.

    “I will win Bengal with one leg and Delhi thereafter with two legs,” Banerjee who is seeking a third term in office, said describing herself as a Royal Bengal Tiger.

    She said that she suffered injuries, which were allegedly inflicted on her by BJP supporters in Nandigram on March 10, to prevent her from campaigning for the West Bengal assembly polls.

    However, after going through the report of poll observers, the EC had concluded that the Nandigram incident was an accident and not a planned attack.

    Criticising the Central government over Saturday’s Naxal attack in Chhattisgarh in which 22 security personnel were killed, the Trinamool Congress boss accused the BJP of not governing the country properly and concentrating on West Bengal elections.

    Lambasting the BJP for bringing leaders to Bengal from all over the country, who “are camping in the state to win the elections”, Banerjee said at a public meeting in Chunchura that the saffron party is fielding its sitting MPs for the assembly polls since it has a dearth of suitable candidates.

    The BJP has nominated its Lok Sabha MP Locket Chatterjee and Rajya Sabha member Swapan Dasgupta for the assembly polls.

    Banerjee, who has been accused by the prime minister of showering abuses on him on different occasions in the run up to the elections, said that she does not care about Modi calling her “Didi..o…didi” in a tone which some TMC women leaders have termed as sarcastic.

    “He does this every day, I don’t care,” Banerjee said.

    Wondering why the assembly election is being held in the state in eight phases, she said, “It could have been done in 3 or 4 phases.

    Was it not prudent to hold the elections in fewer phases and wrap it up early in view of the COVID-19 situation?” Banerjee also claimed that the coronavirus situation is not grim in the state till now.

    The country recorded an all-time high of 1,03,558 coronavirus infections in a day pushing the nationwide COVID- 19 tally to 1,25,89,067, according to the Union Health Ministry data updated on Monday.

    In West Bengal, 1,957 more people had tested positive for the infection on Sunday.

    Claiming that fingers are raised only against TMC leaders in connection with the Saradha chit fund scam and Narada tapes scandal, Banerjee said that those involved in it but are now in the BJP are not being touched.

    Banerjee asserted that she will not leave an inch of land to the BJP as long as she lives.

    She claimed that BJP is involved in spreading false propaganda that it will win the West Bengal elections.

    “The BJP is a party of thieves,” she said.

  • Breaking cycle of violence, corruption key to Bengal’s economic revival: BJP’s Dinesh Trivedi

    By PTI
    KOLKATA: The culture of violence and corruption is holding West Bengal back despite the state having a formidable army of skilled labour, trained engineers and professionals, and vast natural resources, former Union Minister Dinesh Trivedi, who recently switched over to the BJP, said.

    He said job creation, infrastructure building and harnessing Bengal’s standing as a knowledge hub to build industry, will be among the focus areas for the BJP, if it comes to power in the state.

    The 71-year-old former minister said the party expects investment in infrastructure to create jobs and the pull needed to attract the industry.

    Development of highways, railways, ports and airports will all create the jobs, he said. “Bengal is a knowledge hub, yet we have failed to cash in on that to transform the state industrially and create jobs. There is scope to build a parallel Silicon Valley here given the number of software engineers the state trains every year,” he said in an interview with PTI.

    The Left Front government which preceded TMC had set up an IT hub in Salt Lake, but it is considered a paler version of Bangalore, the IT and start-up capital of the country. Software techies from Bengal’s engineering colleges and universities continue to throng IT hubs elsewhere in the country and abroad, he said.

    Trivedi, as the railway minister, had planned to set up an engine manufacturing and coach building hub in Bengal, before his tenure was cut short and he was asked to resign by TMC supremo Mamata Banerjee in March 2012.

    “Bengal which was an industrialised state long before many others, slipped as successive governments failed to deliver it from a cycle of violence, corruption and ‘tolabaji (extortion),” said Trivedi who started his political career with the Congress, became a Rajya Sabha MP of the Janata Dal in 1990, before switching over to the TMC in 1998.

    The BJP’s manifesto called ‘Sankalp Patra’, too, had lamented that Bengal’s share in India’s industrial production had fallen from 30 per cent to 3.5 per cent.

    “This has happened despite the best brains and resources because of this endless cycle (of violence and corruption). When Mamata Banerjee came to power, replacing the Left, we spoke of ‘Bodol’ (change). The only change was in the party which ruled Bengal, not in the governance style.

    “She simply copied the CPIM)’s model of interfering at every stage of our social, political, and economic life down to the village level. The few jobs that were there were bought and sold. Government benefits depended on political patronage,” Trivedi, an alumnus of Kolkata’s St Xavier’s College and Texas University, said. He said dance bars and liquor vends increased in numbers but not industry.

    The state now earns a significant slice of its revenues from liquor sales and lottery business, he claimed. As jobs got scarce, the coal mafia became a major employer, employing thousands in unsafe and exploitative environment in illegal coal mines, something which needs to be stopped and legal mining operations expanded, he noted.

    “We feel there is a need to bring about a paradigm shift and that can only happen once this cycle is broken,” said Trivedi.