Page 12 - All India Trinamool Congress

SC to hear Mahua Moitra's plea on Monday against her expulsion from LS

The Supreme Court is scheduled to hear on Monday a plea moved by Trinamool Congress (TMC) leader Mahua Moitra challenging her expulsion from the Lok Sabha. A bench of justices Sanjiv Khanna and Dipankar Datta will hear the plea, in which the court had earlier refused to grant interim relief to Moitra, who had sought permission to attend the Lok Sabha proceedings till the final adjudication of her plea. The top court had, on January 3, sought the Lok Sabha secretariat's response while observing that one of the issues that arises is with regard to the jurisdiction of courts and power of judicial review in the matter. Solicitor General Tushar Mehta, representing the Lok Sabha secretary general, had urged the court not to venture into the internal matter of discipline of another sovereign organ of the State. He had said Parliament can internally manage disciplinary issues involving its members through its in-house procedures that are not amenable to a judicial review and hence, Moitra'

CBI sleuths search TMC's Shajahan Sheikh's residence in Sandeshkhali

CBI sleuths on Friday searched the residence of suspended TMC leader Shajahan Sheikh in Sandeshkhali in connection with its probe into an attack on an ED team in the area, officials said. The Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) also visited areas near his house in Akunchipara locality of Sarberia to collect evidence in connection with the attack. Sheikh, who has been suspended from the ruling Trinamool Congress, was arrested in a case related to a mob attack on ED officials at Sandeshkhali in North 24 Parganas district of West Bengal on January 5 when the central agency had gone to search his premises in connection with an alleged ration distribution scam. The CBI team was also joined by forensic and ED officials to support the investigation. A large contingent of central forces was deployed in the area for protection of the sleuths of the central agencies, the officials said. The CBI officials opened the seal placed on Sheikh's home by the ED to enter the premises. They are als

TMC critic Abhijit Gangopadhyay joins BJP after quitting as HC judge

Former Calcutta HC judge Abhijit Gangopadhyay is known for his judgement ordering a CBI probe into the alleged West Bengal teacher recruitment scam, in which CM Mamata Banerjee's nephew is a suspect

PM Modi hits out at TMC over Sandeshkhali incident, party retorts

PM accused the West Bengal government of using all its might to save the "oppressor of women", a reference to suspended Trinamool leader and Sandeshkhali strongman Sheikh Shahjahan

TMC urges EC to ensure central agencies do not impede electoral process

The Trinamool Congress on Monday urged the Election Commission to ensure that central agencies must not impede the electoral process. The TMC delegation also appealed to the commission to make sure that "central forces are not pressurised by the BJP". Terming BJP leader Suvendu Adhikari as a "habitual offender", the TMC asked EC members to "keep a close watch" on him. The party demanded that Lok Sabha polls to the 42 parliamentary constituencies in West Bengal be conducted in a single day and not in phases. The party delegation, which met the full bench of EC here, said that the commission should accept 11 voter IDs on the polling day. The EC bench led by Chief Election Commissioner Rajiv Kumar, which is in the state, held meetings with representatives of political parties during the day. The EC team will also hold parleys with district magistrates, superintendents of police and other officials of the state government, an official said. It will also meet Chief Electoral Officer

BJP unable to leverage Sandeshkhali protests

Anti-incumbency against TMC and Mamata Banerjee cannot be discounted. In the end, it all depends on whether she is able to address the deeper structural problems in her party

Sandeshkhali case: Eye on 2024 Lok Sabha elections, BJP sees an opening

TMC firefights the allegations of land grab, forced conversion of land, and sexual exploitation with the arrest of Sheikh Shahjahan

West Bengal highlights: Arrested TMC leader Shahjahan suspended from party

LIVE news updates: Catch the latest updates on TMC leader Shahjahan Sheikh's arrest in Sandeshkhali

Trinamool Congress suspends Sandeshkhali accused Sheikh Shahjahan for 6 yrs

Shahjahan was apprehended after being on the run for 55 days amidst violent protests in the region led by the local women

Sandeshkhali unrest: Shajhahan arrested, sent to 10-day custody by court

Absconding TMC strongman Shajahan Sheikh, the main accused of sexual abuse and land grabbing in Sandeshkhali, was arrested in the early hours of Thursday after being on the run for 55 days that witnessed violent protests led by local women and a fierce political slugfest. Additional Director-General of Police (South Bengal) Supratim Sarkar said Sheikh was arrested from a house in Bamanpukur in Minakhan police station area, around 30 km away from the island of Sandeshkhali on the outskirts of Sunderbans, in North 24 Parganas district. Sheikh was hiding in the house along with a few associates, police said. After the arrest, he was taken to the Basirhat court, which sent him to 10 days in police custody. Sheikh, who has been at the centre of a massive political firestorm, came out of the lock-up around 10.40 am dressed in white kurta-pajama, and walked to the courtroom with policemen behind him. He also made a gesture with his hand at the media contingent waiting there. After the ..

Who is Shajahan Sheikh, arrested TMC leader at centre of Sandeshkhali storm

TMC leader Shahjahan Sheikh was arrested this morning by the West Bengal police from a house in North 24 Parganas's Minakhah on Thursday morning

Criminals calling shots in parts of Bengal, this has to end: Guv Bose

West Bengal Governor C V Ananda Bose on Thursday welcomed the arrest of TMC leader Shajahan Sheikh in Sandeshkhali case and asserted that the time has come to put criminals, who are ruling the roost in parts of Bengal, behind bars. Absconding TMC leader Shajahan Sheikh was arrested on the early hours of Thursday from a house in Minakhan, around 30 km away from the island of Sandeshkhali. "This is the beginning of an end. We have to put an end to the cycle of violence in Bengal. In parts of Bengal, the goons are ruling the roost. This must end and the gangsters should be put behind bars", the governor said at a press conference here. Bose maintained that the Sandeshkhali incident is only the tip of an iceberg, suggesting there is much more to it than what meets the eye.

Bengal police arrested Shajahan after court cleared the decks, says TMC

The ruling Trinamool Congress on Thursday hailed the arrest of absconding party leader Shajahan Sheikh, accused of torturing villagers in trouble-torn Sandeshkhali area, and said it was possible only after the court cleared the decks and accused the opposition of exploiting the earlier "embargo" on his arrest. The BJP dubbed the arrest as scripted and claimed he was in the safe custody of West Bengal Police. Sheikh, accused of alleged sexual atrocities on women and land grabbing in West Bengal's Sandeshkhali, was arrested on Thursday morning, police said. He was arrested from a house at Minakhah in North 24 Parganas district where he was hiding, they said. "Due to a legal tangle, he couldn't be arrested initially. However, after the court clarified that there was no stay on his arrest, the West Bengal Police did its job. The opposition had earlier exploited the embargo on his arrest," TMC spokesperson Kunal Ghosh told PTI. The Calcutta High Court on Wednesday directed that Sheikh

Sandeshkhali incident: TMC leader Shahjahan Sheikh arrested from Bengal

He was arrested from a house in Minakhah in North 24 Parganas district where he was hiding, they said

Sheikh Shahjahan will be arrested very soon: Sagarika Ghose on Sandeshkhali

Sagarika Ghose, while speaking to ANI, said that the government is acting in this matter and will continue to do so

TMC depriving poor of central schemes for sake of politics: FM Sitharaman

The politics of denying these benefits to the people of Bengal is a disservice done to them, the finance minister added

Sandeshkhali unrest: Cal HC says no restraint on arrest of Shajahan Sheikh

The Calcutta High Court on Monday clarified there is no stay on arrest of Trinamool Congress leader Sheikh Shajahan, who has been accused of sexual atrocities and land grab in Sandeshkhali. The court directed that Sheikh, the Enforcement Directorate, the CBI, the state home secretary be impleaded as parties in the suo motu matter initiated on the allegations of sexual atrocities on women and land grab of tribal people. A division bench presided by Chief Justice T S Sivagnanam directed that a public notice be given in newspapers by the high court registry stating that Sheikh has been impleaded in the matter, as he is on the run and not seen in public since a mob attack on ED officials on January 5. On a prayer by court-appointed amicus curiae for a clarification on whether there is a restraining order on police from arresting Sheikh, the division bench said there is no such stay and the police can arrest him. The court said that in a different matter, it had only stayed the ...

What will police do if HC ties their hands?: Abhishek on Sandeshkhali issue

Two Trinamool leaders, Uttam Sardar and Shibu Hazra, who are close to Shahjahan, have already been arrested in the incident

Why aren't women MPs allowed to meet Sandeshkhali victims: BJP leader

Senior BJP leader Vanathi Srinivasan on Saturday wondered if the TMC government in West Bengal is transparent, why are women MPs prevented from meeting victims in Sandeshkhali. The Mahila Morcha national president criticised the state government over allegations of sexual abuse against women in Sandeshkhali in North 24 Parganas district and alleged that "women are not safe at all" under the TMC rule. "Women are not at all safe in West Bengal. If the TMC government is so transparent, why are opposition women MPs prevented from meeting the victims in Sandeshkhali? What are they trying to hide?" she told reporters here. Reacting to allegations that the BJP maintained stoic silence when similar allegations of "atrocities" were levelled in states ruled by the saffron party, she said the party has never shielded anyone involved in such heinous crimes. "The BJP has never shielded anyone whenever such incidents have happened in any state ruled by the party... we have zero tolerance (toward

Sandeshkhali row: ED files fresh case against TMC's Shahjahan Sheikh

Multiple teams of the Enforcement Directorate (ED) conducted searches at locations linked to TMC leader Shahjahan Sheikh