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West Bengal
Chief Minister Suvendu Adhikari on Friday said the functioning of his government to bring a "transformative" change in West Bengal was guided by a four-point agenda, including an uncompromising stand on national security and nationalism. Addressing an event in Siliguri, which was attended by Union Home Minister Amit Shah, he said that soon after assuming charge, his administration cleared the long-pending Census process and expedited land transfer to the BSF along West Bengal's border with Bangladesh. He also stressed the need for close coordination between the state and central security agencies to tackle revenue leakage and illegal cross-border activities. The BJP government's functioning is driven by an uncompromising stand on national security and nationalism, welfare, Centre-state coordination, and ensuring that all schemes reach their intended beneficiaries, the chief minister told the gathering. "There will be no compromise on national security and nationalism under our ...
Nine people, including a four-year-old child, were killed and six injured when a fire swept through a five-storey building housing several hotels in central Kolkata on Wednesday, with several Bangladeshis among the dead, prompting the government to order a statewide fire-safety audit. Officials of the state government and the Bangladesh Deputy High Commission initially said five of the deceased were Bangladeshis, including a woman and a child. However, sources at the Bangladesh mission later said the number of Bangladeshis killed in the blaze had risen to seven, adding that an official statement would be issued on Thursday morning. The blaze at Shikha Inn on Mirza Ghalib Street, near the New Market area, came barely 48 hours after another hotel fire in Tarapith killed nine people, putting the safety standards of the state's hospitality sector under renewed scrutiny. Fire and Emergency Services Minister Kaushik Chowdhury said the fire brigade received the call at 2.07 am and began .
The West Bengal government is likely to come out with separate policies for land and industry to attract investments in the state, a minister said on Wednesday. The proposed industry policy will incorporate measures to boost exports, he said. "Export policy will be a part of the industry policy, but the land policy will be separate," state Industry Minister Tapas Roy told PTI on the sidelines of the BigMint India Ferrous Week 2026 conference. Roy heads a group of ministers (GoM) examining these policies. The proposed separation of the land policy from the industrial one marks a shift from the perception that industrial land issues would be addressed as part of the upcoming industry policy. Land availability has been one of the key issues discussed by the state government and industry stakeholders as Bengal seeks to attract fresh investments and expand its industrial base. The government has been examining alternative approaches to making land easily available for industry, includ
Three months into its second stint in opposition after 15 years in power, the TMC faces a question that could determine the shape of West Bengal politics for years to come: can Mamata Banerjee rebuild a party no longer united behind her, or will its electoral defeat permanently fracture Bengal's principal opposition formation. Three competing centres now shape the crisis -- the Mamata Banerjee camp, the Ritabrata Banerjee-led rebel faction and 20 Lok Sabha MPs who have moved to the NCPI and extended support to the NDA. The battle has reached the Election Commission, with rival factions staking claims to the organisation, while the parliamentary rupture has sharply reduced TMC's Lok Sabha presence. For Mamata, the immediate challenge is not to recreate the TMC but to build a party capable of functioning without government and political protection that came with 15 years in office. The crisis has moved beyond defections to a battle over the TMC's organisation, elected representatives
At least seven people were killed and several others critically injured in a fire at a hotel in West Bengal's Birbhum district early on Monday, police said. The fire erupted around 5 am on the ground floor of the four-storey hotel in the temple town of Tarapith, when most of the guests were asleep, they said. Fire tenders were rushed to the spot, and they brought the blaze under control. The injured were taken to the Rampurhat Government Medical College and Hospital. Sources in the hospital initially said that five people had died in the blaze. However, police later revised the toll to seven. Hotel officials claimed the fire was caused by a short circuit.
Former deputy speaker of West Bengal Assembly, Ashis Banerjee, was found hanging at a TMC party office in Birbhum district on Sunday morning, police sources said. A purported suicide note was also recovered from the party office located near his residence in Hattala Para in Rampurhat, they said. Police reached the spot and sent the body for post-mortem examination. The exact circumstances leading to his death are yet to be ascertained, and police are examining the contents of the purported suicide note, the sources said. Banerjee, a veteran TMC leader, had represented Rampurhat in the state Assembly continuously from 2001 till 2026. He had served as the deputy speaker of the Assembly and held ministerial portfolios, including school education and agriculture, in the Mamata Banerjee government. He contested the 2026 Assembly elections from Rampurhat on a TMC ticket but lost to BJP's Dhruva Saha by more than 24,000 votes. After his electoral defeat, Banerjee was not seen to be ...
West Bengal will implement the Ayushman Bharat health insurance scheme from August 16, with around 1.5 crore families, comprising nearly six crore people, expected to be covered, West Bengal health minister Sharadwat Mukherjee said on Friday, while promising a major overhaul of the state's healthcare system. Stating that the day will be observed as 'Ayushman Diwas', Mukherjee said the launch would mark a "new chapter" for the state, alleging that people had been deprived of several central welfare schemes, including Ayushman Bharat, over the past 15 years. The minister was referring to the public policies followed by the erstwhile Mamata Banerjee administration in the state. Mukherjee said the launch of the scheme would bring the people of Bengal under the same health-security framework as the rest of the country. He further clarified that those who do not meet the Centre's eligibility criteria for Ayushman Bharat would be covered by a state government's 'Mukhyamantri Swasthya ...
West Bengal Industries Minister Tapas Roy on Friday said the state's proposed industrial incentive scheme will be linked to employment generation rather than investment, with a new industrial policy expected to be unveiled later this month. Addressing the business conclave 'Uttaran 2026: Bangla, Building the Next Growth', Roy said industries would be eligible for incentives based on the number of jobs they create. "We are thinking of linking incentives to employment generation rather than investment," he said. The minister said the new industrial policy is expected to be announced on August 15. The state government has earmarked Rs 5,000 crore in the 2026-27 budget to revive industrial incentives after the earlier incentive scheme was discontinued by the TMC government. The new industrial policy is expected to lay down the framework for the incentive programme and include measures to improve ease of doing business through a strengthened single-window clearance system, GIS-enabled
West Bengal Chief Minister Suvendu Adhikari said the state had, for the first time, invoked its newly enacted anti-goonda law against those accused of orchestrating violence during Friday's NEET protest, warning they would face punishment "their next three generations will remember". Making a statement in the Assembly here on Saturday, Adhikari said around 70 people identified from the Dharmatala rally were "not students" and had no connection with the agitation over the alleged NEET paper leak. Condemning the attacks on journalists during the protest, he said the West Bengal Public Safety and Control of Anti-social Activities Act, 2026 -- popularly known as the Goonda Act -- had been invoked to ensure exemplary punishment for those responsible. "I censure the attack on our journalist friends on behalf of the entire House. An attack on journalists is unacceptable. We will take such action under the Goonda Act that these goons and even their next three generations will remember it. .