Mamata Banerjee promised to revoke the Citizenship (Amendment) Act and halt the National Register of Citizens
General Elections 2024 news updates: Catch all the news updates on the announcements related to Lok Sabha polls here
General Elections 2024 news updates: Catch all the news updates of the announcements related to Lok Sabha polls here
In the aftermath of the Ram temple inauguration at Ayodhya, the upcoming Ram Navami celebrations in West Bengal on April 17 are poised to become a political battleground, with the saffron camp organising large-scale events across the state to showcase "Hindu unity" before the Lok Sabha polls. With the first phase of elections scheduled on April 19 and the second on April 26, Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee has alleged that the BJP intends to stoke communal tensions. With the BJP-RSS making deep inroads in West Bengal over the years, the Ram Navami festival, previously celebrated in limited pockets of the state, has expanded in scale and prominence over the past decade. Following the inauguration of the Ram Mandir in Ayodhya earlier this year, the Vishva Hindu Parishad (VHP) has planned an extensive Ram Mahotsav programme from April 9 to April 23, culminating on Hanuman Jayanti. In recent years, Ram Navami rallies in the state have escalated into major political issues due to communa
Trinamool Congress national general secretary Abhishek Banerjee on Saturday alleged that Prime Minister Narendra Modi has no knowledge about the culture and eating habits of the people of the country. He said this while addressing an election rally in CoochBehar in support of TMC candidate Jagadish Chandra Barma Basunia. "The PM said those who eat fish during this holy month are not devout Hindus. He said they are Mughals. My question to the PM, does he know that in our culture Durga Puja, Kali Puja rituals are not complete without 'maach' (fish), without 'mangshho' (meat) in many Hindu households? What his minister Nisith Pramanik will say about this?" the Diamond Harbour MP, said. "We practice religion at home but at the time of voting should we ask votes in the name of dharma (religion) or karma (deeds)," Banerjee said. At an election meeting in Udhampur on Friday, Modi made a veiled attack on Congress leader Rahul Gandhi and RJD's Tejashwi Yadav, accusing the opposition leaders
Alleging that Prime Minister Narendra Modi's guarantees are "false", West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee on Saturday claimed that the BJP will not even win 200 seats in the upcoming Lok Sabha elections. Speaking at an election rally here, the Trinamool Congress supremo accused the BJP of destroying the country's Constitution drafted by B R Ambedkar. "The BJP will not even win 200 seats. What have they done for north Bengal? Do not fall prey to PM Narendra Modi's 'guarantees'. These are nothing but electoral jumla (false)," Banerjee said at the TMC's programme. The BJP-led NDA is aiming at crossing the 400 Lok Sabha seat mark in the upcoming elections. "You (BJP) have destroyed the country's Constitution drafted by Babasaheb Ambedkar," she alleged.
West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee on Thursday said she will not allow implementation of the CAA, NRC and the Uniform Civil Code in the state. Addressing a gathering here on the occasion of Eid-ul-Fitr, she claimed that some people will try to "engineer riots" during elections and urged those who participated in the programme "not to fall prey to the plot". Eid-ul-Fitr marks the culmination of the fasting month of Ramzan. "We will not accept the Citizenship (Amendment) Act, National Register of Citizens and Uniform Civil Code. If we will live unitedly, nobody will be able to cause harm to us," Banerjee said while addressing the gathering at the Red Road. She asserted that her party TMC's fight is against the BJP. "We will decide about the INDIA bloc later. But in Bengal, please see that no vote goes to any other party," the TMC supremo said. She also slammed the BJP government at the Centre for "using the central probe agencies against the opposition parties". TMC nation
The court said that it will oversee the probe by the central agency, which is also handling the inquiry into the January 5 attack on Enforcement Directorate officials
West Bengal's ruling party says BJP leader met with NIA officer Dhan Ram Singh at his home on March 26 and had an envelope of cash with him
The leaders are alleging that the probe agencies are targeting Opposition leaders ahead of the Lok Sabha elections
Alleging an "unholy alliance" between National Investigation Agency (NIA) and BJP, Trinamool Congress on Sunday said the Election Commission remains "conspicuously silent" to the issue. TMC national general secretary Abhishek Banerjee said in a post on X handle, "Experience the unfolding alliance between the @NIA_India and @BJP4Bengal, orchestrating conspiracies against Trinamool leaders and the Model Code of Conduct. "While this collusion persists, the ECI stands by, conspicuously silent, neglecting its duty to ensure fair play," Banerjee said. His post was preceded by a press meet by TMC where senior party leader Kunal Ghosh alleged that a senior state BJP leader from Paschim Bardhaman district, who had earlier been with TMC, had met an NIA SP at his apartment in New Town area of the city on March 26 evening and handed over a list of TMC leaders to be arrested by NIA ahead of the Lok Sabha elections from different parts of the state. "I dare this leader to either refute my ...
Wife of arrested TMC leader Monobrata Jana has filed an FIR against NIA officials alleging that they tried to outrage her modesty after forcibly entering her residence in Bhupatinagar in the pretext of conducting a probe, a police officer said on Sunday. The National Investigation Agency on Saturday arrested two key conspirators - Balai Charan Maity and Manobrata Jana - in a 2022 blast case in West Bengal's Purba Medinpur district in which three persons were killed. Jana's wife Moni Jana lodged her complaint with Bhupatinagar police station alleging that NIA officers also vandalised properties in her residence during their raid on Saturday morning, he said. "We have registered an FIR after receiving a complaint from a woman alleging assault by NIA officers. We are looking into the complaint," the police officer told PTI. IPC Section 354 (for assaulting any woman, with an intention to outrage her modesty) was attached to the complaint, the police officer added. A team of the NIA wa
Minorities in West Bengal, constituting nearly thirty per cent of the electorate, are likely to vote for the TMC to halt BJP's advance, despite the presence of a secular alternative in the form of Left-Congress alliance, community leaders said. According to minority leaders, Muslims in West Bengal, pivotal in several Lok Sabha seats, are inclined towards the Mamata Banerjee-led party, which they see as a credible force, unlike the Left-Congress alliance. This inclination is particularly evident in districts such as Murshidabad, Malda, and Uttar Dinajpur, where minorities form the majority. With the Indian Secular Front (ISF) opting to go solo, efforts to woo minorities might become more challenging for the Left Congress, especially with the saffron party capitalising on various polarising issues such as the Ram Mandir and Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA). West Bengal boasts the second-highest number of Muslim electorate in the country after Kashmir and Assam. Even though there may
Saha also slammed the opposition CPIM for 'shedding tears for democracy'
Out of the total of 417 candidates announced so far, 116 are turncoats, claims report while saying majority defections happened after PM Modi came to power
State government fully responsible for safety of citizens, says Calcutta High Court Chief Justice
A newspaper investigation has revealed that with Opposition leaders switching to the ruling party, cases by central agencies have either halted or gone away completely
Lok Sabha elections 2024 latest news: Catch all the latest updates on the announcements related to General Elections here
West Bengal Education minister Bratya Basu has alleged that the Centre has not released the third instalment of the Sarva Shiksha Mission (SSM) for the state. Basu claimed in a social media post on Friday that the Centre is yet to send the amount as West Bengal has not signed MoU with the Centre on PM SHRI (Pradhan Mantri School for Rising India) scheme. "Ministry of Finance and Internal Finance Division of Ministry of Education has cleared the release of the third instalment for West Bengal for the SSM. Still, the fund has not been released to our state. The unstated reason is that we have not signed the MoU with GoI on PM SHRI. It is completely unethical and illegal to link the release of funds of one scheme with a separate scheme," the senior TMC leader said in a post on X. Basu also wondered why should a scheme be named PM SHRI when the state is bearing 40 per cent of the share. This is nothing but petty politics, he alleged. Basu told reporters on Saturday "I haven't seen suc
The Election Commission on Thursday issued notification for the second phase of polling in three parliamentary constituencies of West Bengal on April 26. Voting will take place in the Darjeeling, Raiganj and Balurghat Lok Sabha constituencies in the second phase. "The notification for the three Lok Sabha constituencies going for polls in the second phase has been issued today," an EC official told PTI. The notable candidates in the second phase are BJP's West Bengal president and sitting MP from Balurghat, Sukanta Majumdar, who is pitted against TMC's Biplab Mitra. In the Darjeeling constituency, the TMC has nominated Gopal Lama against BJP MP Raju Bista. BJP's Kurseong MLA Bishnu Prasad Sharma, however, has announced that he would contest as an independent candidate against the party's official nominee from the Darjeeling seat. Sharma had earlier told PTI that he would remain within the BJP while contesting as an independent, and the party can take any disciplinary action it des