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Suvendu Adhikari
The West Bengal government has notified free bus travel for women in all state government-run buses from June 1 as part of a scheme aimed at enhancing women's empowerment and improving access to public transport. According to a notification issued by the state Transport Department on May 21, women commuters will be eligible for free travel in both short-route and long-route state-run buses operating in West Bengal. The Transport department notification said a smart card with QR code, photograph and beneficiary details will be issued to all eligible women upon application through the BDO or SDO offices concerned. It said that the smart card shall be issued to women of the state on the basis of supporting documents like Aadhaar card, elector's photo identity card (EPIC), VB-G RAMG job card, Ayushman Bharat health card, driving license, Pan card, passport, pension document with photograph, identity card of central/state government/psus, identity cards issues by ...
The West Bengal government on Monday sanctioned the prosecution of former R G Kar Medical College and Hospital principal Sandip Ghosh in connection with a case of financial irregularities linked to the institution. An order issued by the Department of Health and Family Welfare stated the governor, being the competent authority, accorded sanction for Ghosh's prosecution under provisions of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS), the Prevention of Corruption Act and the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA). It also stated that the sanction was granted after "fully and carefully examining" the case materials and records, including the FIR and related documents. The case pertains to alleged financial irregularities in procurement and allied matters at the R G Kar Medical College and Hospital during Ghosh's tenure as principal. The Calcutta High Court, through an August 23, 2024, order in connection with a plea, had directed a probe into the matter, after which the FIR registered at Tal
The West Bengal cabinet on Monday approved the 'Annapurna' scheme of Rs 3,000 monthly assistance to women from June 1, and allowed free travel for them in government-run buses. Addressing a press conference after the meeting, state minister Agnimitra Paul said women, who applied for citizenship under the CAA and approached tribunals for inclusion in voter rolls, will also receive 'Annapurna' scheme benefits. "The cabinet gave a nod to the 'Annapurna' scheme of Rs 3,000 monthly assistance to women from June 1. It also approved a proposal to allow free travel for women in government-run buses from June 1," the minister said. The government also approved the constitution of the 7th state pay commission for its employees, and staffers in allied statutory civic bodies, education boards and those working in state-run education institutions, she said. "The Bengal cabinet decided to discontinue government assistance to groups based on religious categorisation from June. The government also
The West Bengal government on Saturday dissolved the Police Welfare Board, Chief Minister Suvendu Adhikari said. The chief minister, after chairing an administrative review meeting at Diamond Harbour in South 24 Parganas district, asserted that attacks on police personnel would not be tolerated under any circumstances and stressed the need for strict enforcement of law and order. "Earlier, there was the law of the rulers; now there is the rule of the law," Adhikari said, underlining his government's stand on policing and administration. "The Police Welfare Board was constituted with a good intention. But eventually, it became a party's frontal organisation. I do not know how that helped in the welfare of the police, but it became a place for getting illegal extension (of employment). There are people who have personally benefited. Today, we are dissolving the Board," Adhikari said. The chief minister also announced that women police personnel would be given priority in postings wit
BJP MLA Rathindra Bose was elected unopposed as the Speaker of the West Bengal assembly on Friday, becoming the first legislator from the northern part of the state to hold the post. His name was proposed in the House by Chief Minister Suvendu Adhikari, following which pro tem Speaker Tapas Roy conducted a voice vote. The pro tem Speaker declared Bose elected as the Speaker of the assembly after all 207 BJP legislators extended their support in his favour. Chief Minister Suvendu Adhikari on Thursday announced Bose, the MLA from Cooch Behar Dakshin, as the BJP's candidate for the Speaker's post in the newly constituted 18th West Bengal assembly, while the opposition TMC decided not to field a nominee. With the BJP enjoying an overwhelming majority of 207 MLAs in the 294-member House after its emphatic victory in the recent assembly polls, Bose's elevation was a mere formality. The TMC's decision to stay away from the contest cleared the path for his election without a fight. Bose
West Bengal Chief Minister Suvendu Adhikari announced on Wednesday that he will retain the Bhabanipur Assembly segment and give up Nandigram. He won both the Bhabanipur and Nandigram seats in the recently-concluded assembly polls and took oath in the state Assembly as an MLA from Bhabanipur on Wednesday. "Someone else will be elected as MLA from Nandigram (in a bypoll). But I will not let the people there feel my absence. "I will fulfil all development promises I made to the people of Nandigram alongside the rest of the state," Adhikari told reporters at the Assembly premises. Referring to the 2009-2016 tenure of Phiroja Bibi as a TMC MLA from Nandigram when Adhikari was a frontline leader of Mamata Banerjee's party, he said, "I had provided all support to Phiroja Bibi, the mother of a martyr in the 2008 Nandigram police firing, although I wasn't officially the MLA from that seat. I will play a similar role this time as well." Adhikari defeated TMC supremo Mamata Banerjee in her .
The CBI took over the probe into the killing of West Bengal Chief Minister Suvendu Adhikari's aide Chandranath Rath, officials said on Tuesday. The agency constituted a seven-member Special Investigation Team (SIT), comprising seasoned officers from multiple states, to probe the killing that rocked the state two days after the BJP won a landslide mandate in the assembly elections. The CBI team is expected to arrive here later in the day, officials said. The central probe agency has also re-registered the FIR earlier lodged by the police, they said, adding that a DIG-rank officer is heading the SIT. "The CBI took over the investigation on Monday night and formed a multi-disciplinary team to ensure a comprehensive and time-bound investigation into the case. All possible angles, including interstate criminal links and conspiracy, are being examined. The CBI SIT will now focus on unravelling the larger conspiracy behind the murder," a senior official said. Rath was shot dead in ...
West Bengal's Chief Electoral Officer (CEO) Manoj Agarwal was appointed the chief secretary of the Suvendu Adhikari-led BJP government in the state, according to an official order issued on Monday. Agarwal, a 1990-batch IAS officer of the West Bengal cadre, helmed the EC-mandated SIR exercise in the state in the run-up to the assembly polls in which around 91 lakh voters were removed from the electoral rolls. Incumbent Chief Secretary Dushyant Nariala was named Principal Resident Commissioner in New Delhi, the order stated. Nariwala, a 1993-batch IAS, was named the chief secretary of West Bengal by the poll body, removing Nandini Chakravorty from the position of the state's top bureaucrat. The BJP came to power for the first time in the state after handing a stunning defeat to the Trinamool Congress. The saffron party secured 207 seats in the 294-member assembly, reducing the TMC to 80 seats.
West Bengal Chief Minister Suvendu Adhikari chaired the first cabinet meeting on Monday and said his government has granted transfer of land to the BSF for erecting a fence along the Bangladesh border and approved immediate implementation of the Census exercise in the state. The meeting, attended by the five ministers sworn in so far, also decided to induct Bengal into multiple central government schemes, including the Ayushman Bharat health coverage programme. The Ayushman Bharat aims to provide cashless hospitalisation coverage of Rs 5,00,000 per family per year to poor and vulnerable families for secondary and tertiary healthcare services. "In the backdrop of steadily changing demography in Bengal's bordering districts, our cabinet has approved the beginning of the process of handing over necessary land to the BSF for setting up border fences. The Chief Secretary and the secretary of the state's land and land revenue department have been asked to complete the process of land ...
West Bengal Chief Minister Suvendu Adhikari on Monday said his government, in its first cabinet meeting, has granted transfer of land to the BSF for erecting a fence along the Bangladesh border. The process of transferring land will start from Monday and will be completed within 45 days, he said. He also announced the implementation of the Centre's flagship Ayushman Bharat health scheme and several other schemes of the Union government in the state. "The West Bengal government gave a nod to the transfer of land to the BSF for fencing the border with Bangladesh. The process starts from today and will be completed within 45 days," Adhikari told reporters. The cabinet also approved a proposal for a five-year extension in the age limit of school job applicants, as promised by Union Home Minister Amit Shah during the poll campaign, he said. "The Bengal cabinet empowers the chief secretary to take steps to initiate central government training for officers under the national and state ..
Three persons were arrested from Uttar Pradesh in connection with the killing of Chandranath Rath, an aide of West Bengal Chief Minister Suvendu Adhikari, police said on Monday. The accused were apprehended by the Special Investigation Team (SIT) constituted to probe the murder that occurred in North 24 Parganas district's Madhyamgram on the night of May 6. Investigators traced digital clues and interstate links in the case, the senior police officer said. The arrested men were identified as Vishal Srivastava, a resident of Pandiyapatti in Bihar's Buxar district, while the two others are from Uttar Pradesh, he said, adding that the investigators suspect that one of them is a sharpshooter. "This is a breakthrough. The investigation indicated that the assailants were from outside West Bengal. Based on technical surveillance, digital tracking and other inputs, members of the SIT were sent to Uttar Pradesh and Bihar," the officer told PTI. At least eight people were involved in the ..
Industry leaders on Saturday congratulated Suvendu Adhikari on being sworn in as West Bengal chief minister, with many expressing hope for a new chapter of growth in the state. RPG Group chairman Sanjiv Goenka, who called it "a historic moment for West Bengal", said the state has "great expectations" from Adhikari. Goenka, who described himself as emotionally connected to West Bengal, said he looked forward to contributing to the state "in every way I can." ITC chairman and managing director Sanjiv Puri also congratulated Adhikari and extended greetings to the newly formed council of ministers. Puri expressed confidence that the state would witness a "new dawn of growth and prosperity" under the new leadership and said Prime Minister Narendra Modi's vision of a 'Viksit Bharat' would serve as a guiding inspiration for the state's progress. "As an Indian conglomerate headquartered in Kolkata for over a century, ITC remains committed to partnering the state in its journey of ...
Chief Minister Suvendu Adhikari and five ministers were sworn in at the Brigade Parade Grounds here on Saturday as West Bengal got its first BJP government, with representatives from the northern and southern regions of the state being inducted into the cabinet, but none from Kolkata. Reflecting West Bengal's diverse ethnic fabric, the cabinet represented communities, including the Matuas and the Santhals. Here's a brief look at the background of the five members of Adhikari's council of ministers who were sworn in: Dilip Ghosh: If the 2026 state elections put giant-killer Suvendu Adhikari at its centrestage, following his historic win over Mamata Banerjee in Bhabanipur, the polls also scripted a remarkable comeback for Ghosh, the former president of the BJP's West Bengal unit, cementing his role in a more measured second innings in state politics. Easily one of the party's most recognisable and combative faces in Bengal, Ghosh played a pivotal role in transforming the saffron part
Newly sworn-in West Bengal Chief Minister Suvendu Adhikari on Saturday drove straight to Jorasanko Thakurbari, the ancestral home of Nobel laureate Rabindranath Tagore, soon after the oath-taking ceremony and paid floral tributes to the poet before formally beginning his official duties. Dressed in a dhoti and saffron panjabi, Adhikari said he wanted to seek the blessings of Kaviguru before starting work as chief minister. "My official work begins after paying tribute to Kaviguru," he said. Invoking Swami Vivekananda, Adhikari cited the words of the monk "Charaiveti, Charaiveti" (keep going)", as he called upon people to work towards building a new Bengal. He wished for a new dawn for Bengal. "Let us rebuild Bengal," he said, adding that this was not the time for blame or criticism. Adhikari also said Prime Minister Narendra Modi had wished for this day and described it as an important occasion for the state.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Saturday congratulated Suvendu Adhikari on taking oath as West Bengal's first BJP chief minister, saying that he was deeply connected to the people and understood their aspirations. Adhikari took the oath at the iconic Brigade Parade Grounds in the presence of Modi, Union Home Minister Amit Shah, the BJP's central leadership and chief ministers of NDA-ruled states. In his message for Adhikari, Modi wished the first BJP chief minister of the state a "fruitful tenure". "Congratulations to Suvendu Adhikari Ji on taking oath as West Bengal's chief minister. He has made a mark as a leader who remained deeply connected to the people and understood their aspirations from close quarters," Modi wrote on X after attending the event. "My best wishes to him for a fruitful tenure ahead," he wrote and posted with the message an image of Goddess Durga and another of him congratulating Adhikari on the stage.
BJP legislature party leader Suvendu Adhikari took oath as the chief minister of West Bengal on Saturday, heading the first BJP government in the state. Governor RN Ravi administered the oath of office and secrecy to Adhikari at a grand ceremony held at the Brigade Parade Grounds here in the presence of Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Union ministers, chief ministers of NDA-ruled states and senior BJP leaders. The BJP secured 207 seats in the 294-member Assembly, ending the Trinamool Congress' 15-year rule in the state.