Mamata Banerjee

I-PAC raids: SC adjourns ED plea against Mamata's 'interference' to Feb 18

The Supreme Court on Tuesday adjourned to February 18 the hearing on a plea moved by the ED alleging obstruction by the West Bengal government, including by Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee, in its search operation at the I-PAC office and the premises of its director in connection with an alleged coal pilferage scam. A bench of Justices Prashant Kumar Mishra and Sandeep Mehta deferred the matter after it was informed that senior advocate Kapil Sibal was unwell. Solicitor General Tushar Mehta agreed to the adjournment. The top court on January 15 said the West Bengal chief minister's alleged "obstruction" in ED's probe is "very serious" and agreed to examine if a state's law-enforcing agencies can interfere with any central agency's probe into any serious offence as it stayed FIRs against the agency's officials who raided political consultancy I-PAC on January 8. The top court, while staying the FIRs filed in West Bengal against ED officials, also directed the state police to protect

Bengal Budget signals poll-year outreach: Why experts are hardly surprised

The Mamata Banerjee-led TMC govt continues to focus on women-centric and welfare schemes, ahead of crucial elections

Mamata seeks rollback of BSF jurisdiction expansion over border fencing

West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee on Thursday said her government had no objection in providing land for border fencing, but insisted that the Centre must first roll back the "arbitrary" decision to expand the BSF's jurisdiction in the state from 15 km to 50 km. Speaking in the assembly, amid allegations the state government was not cooperating in providing land for fencing along the India-Bangladesh border, Banerjee asserted that land had already been allotted to all central organisations and agencies, including the BSF. "Land will not be a problem. You will get land. But, first change the arbitrary rule of increasing BSF's jurisdiction (area) from 15 km to 50 km," she said during discussions on the governor's address. The chief minister also claimed that Home Minister Amit Shah, who recently alleged that the state was not providing land for border fencing, is not furnishing the full data of land given by the West Bengal government.

West Bengal widens social sector schemes ambit ahead of Assembly poll

Vote-on-account boosts Lakshmir Bhandar payouts, expands welfare coverage and raises social sector spending as West Bengal heads into election season

SIR row: SC notice to ECI after Mamata Banerjee's 'save democracy' plea

The Supreme Court issued notices to the Election Commission and the Chief Electoral Officer of West Bengal on CM Mamata Banerjee's plea

Mamata reaches SC ahead of hearing on pleas against SIR of electoral rolls

West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee on Wednesday reached the Supreme Court ahead of a crucial hearing on the petitions challenging the Election Commission's ongoing Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls in the state. The chief minister has also moved an interlocutory application seeking permission to appear and argue in person. Banerjee is personally present in court room one along with her lawyers. A gate pass was issued in the chief minister's name on Tuesday. As per the apex court website, a bench comprising Chief Justice Surya Kant and Justices Joymalya Bagchi and Vipul M Pancholi is scheduled to hear the petitions of Banerjee and three others filed by Mostari Banu and TMC MPs Derek O'Brien and Dola Sen.

Trinamool will support any motion that seeks to remove CEC: Mamata Banerjee

West Bengal CM says Opposition lacks numbers to remove CEC but wants issue on record; alleges bias in special revision of electoral rolls

'Agitated' Mamata Banerjee leaves meeting with CEC in a huff: EC officials

West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee on Monday left the meeting with the Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar here on the SIR matter in a huff without listening to the response of the EC top brass on the issues raised by her, EC officials said. The CEC told the TMC leaders that the "rule of law will prevail" and anybody taking the law into their own hands will be dealt with strictly in accordance with the provisions of law and powers vested in the Election Commission (EC), they said. Their reaction came as Banerjee lashed out at the EC after emerging from the meeting, accusing the poll panel of acting as a "dalal" (middleman) of the BJP. Wearing black shawls as a mark of "protest", Banerjee along with some "SIR-affected" families and party leaders met Chief Election Commissioner Kumar and fellow ECs here, her party said. First TMC leader Abhishek Banerjee spoke, followed by Mamata Banerjee, the officials said, adding that the points raised by them were duly noted down b

Mamata confronts Delhi Police, claims SIR-affected families 'threatened'

Security has been stepped up around Banga Bhawan in New Delhi after West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee confronted police personnel deployed outside the building and alleged harassment of families affected by the SIR of electoral rolls in her state. Addressing reporters, she claimed that people from West Bengal who were staying at Banga Bhawan were being "threatened" and questioned the heavy police deployment. She added, however, that she doesn't blame police, but "those who are on the top". Banerjee, who arrived in Delhi on Sunday, reached the West Bengal government's guest house here, ahead of her scheduled meeting with Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar regarding the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) in the eastern state. She was seen directly confronting the security personnel outside the building, asserting that she was in the national capital for justice to the families that suffered during SIR, and not for an agitation. "People from Bengal are being threatened i

Amit Shah accuses TMC of shielding infiltrators, says party will lose power

Union Home Minister Amit Shah on Saturday launched a blistering attack on the Mamata Banerjee-led TMC government, accusing it of "providing shelter to infiltrators", institutionalising corruption and deliberately obstructing border security measures for electoral gains. Addressing a BJP workers' meeting at Barrackpore in North 24 Parganas, Shah also asserted that the TMC government was "certain to go" in the upcoming assembly elections. He said formation of a BJP government in West Bengal was crucial not just for the state, but for national security as well. "The way infiltration is taking place in West Bengal, it has become a security issue for the entire country. Even after court orders, the TMC government is not giving land to the BSF for border fencing because infiltrators are its vote bank," Shah alleged. He claimed that the administration and police in the state were not stopping illegal migrants, who were being sent across the country using fake documents. Referring to the

Mamata demands SC monitored probe into Ajit Pawar's death in plane crash

West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee on Wednesday demanded a Supreme Court-monitored probe into the death of Ajit Pawar in a place crash, alleging that "all other agencies" have been "completely compromised" Stressing that the truth would not emerge through existing mechanisms, Banerjee said only a probe under the supervision of the Supreme Court would be credible. "We trust only the Supreme Court. All other agencies have been completely compromised," she told reporters here before leaving for Singur. Pawar (66), the deputy chief minister of Maharashtra, and four others were killed after an aircraft carrying them crashed near Baramati in Pune district on Wednesday morning.

Mamata accuses EC of bulldozing Opposition for BJP, harming democracy

Terming the Election Commission's celebration of National Voters' Day as a "tragic farce", West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee on Sunday accused the poll panel of bulldozing the opposition and destroying the foundation of the country's democracy on "behalf of the BJP". Banerjee alleged that the commission was working as "His Master's Voice" and was busy "snatching away" people's voting rights. "On behalf of BJP, their Master, they are busy in bulldozing the opposition and destroying the foundation of Indian democracy, and yet they have the guts to celebrate Voters' Day!!" Banerjee wrote on X. The chief minister has been accusing the EC of holding the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls in West Bengal in undue haste. "Election Commission of India is celebrating National Voters' Day today, and what a tragic farce that is! The Commission -- working as His Master's Voice-- is busy now in snatching away people's voting rights, and they have the temerity to celebra

'Very serious': SC issues notice to Mamata over interference in ED raid

Stays further proceedings in three FIRs registered by the West Bengal Police against ED officials

I-PAC raids: SC stays FIR against ED officials, sends notice to Mamata govt

The Supreme Court directed Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee, DGP Rajeev Kumar and other respondents to file their counter-affidavits within two weeks

I-Pac raids in Kolkata: Incident reflects a shocking pattern, ED tells SC

The Enforcement Directorate told the Supreme Court on Thursday that the West Bengal government's "interference and obstruction", including by Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee, in its probe and search operation at the I-PAC office and its chief's residence reflects a very shocking pattern. Solicitor General Tushar Mehta, appearing for the ED, told a bench of Justices Prashant Kumar Mishra and Vipul Pancholi that in the past also, whenever statutory authorities exercised statutory power, Banerjee barged in and interfered. "It reflects a very shocking pattern," Mehta said while contending that this will only encourage such acts, and the central forces will be demoralised. "The states will feel they can barge in, commit theft, and then sit on a dharna. Let an example be set; officers who were explicitly present there should be suspended," the solicitor general said. The ED's plea in the apex court follows events from January 8, when ED's officials faced obstructions during the probe ...

SIR aimed at voter exclusion, not correction: Mamata writes to CEC

West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee on Saturday wrote to Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar, alleging that the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls has been turned into an exercise to exclude voters rather than correct records. In her letter, Banerjee accused the Election Commission of political bias and high-handedness during the exercise. "The hearing process has become largely mechanical, driven purely by technical data and completely devoid of the application of mind, sensitivity and human touch," she said in the three-page letter. She said the exercise's aim seemed "neither of correction nor of inclusion... but solely of deletion and of exclusion". Banerjee claimed minor spelling or age discrepancies were leading to coercive hearings, harassment and loss of wages for ordinary people. She also highlighted the plight of women who changed surnames after marriage, stating that they were being summoned to prove their identity, which she called a grave

ED raids on I-PAC: Bengal govt files caveat in SC seeking hearing

The West Bengal government has filed a caveat in the Supreme Court seeking that no order should be passed without hearing it in connection with Enforcement Directorate raids against political consultancy firm I-PAC. A caveat is filed by a litigant in the high courts and the Supreme Court to ensure that no adverse order is passed against it without it being heard. The Enforcement Directorate (ED) on Thursday conducted searches on the premises of I-PAC and its director Pratik Jain in Kolkata as part of a money laundering probe into an alleged multi-crore rupee coal pilferage scam. According to the agency, West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee entered the raid sites and took away "key" evidence, including physical documents and electronic devices. Banerjee has accused the central agency of overreach. The ED on Friday approached the Calcutta High Court, seeking a CBI probe against Banerjee, alleging that she, with the aid of the police, took away incriminating documents from the

ED searches at I-PAC office aimed at stealing TMC strategy: Mamata

The Enforcement Directorate (ED) has approached the Calcutta High Court, seeking a CBI investigation into the role of West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee, senior police officials and others for allegedly obstructing its raids in Kolkata against political consultancy firm I-PAC and its director. PTI has reviewed the writ petition of the federal probe agency, where it has also sought "immediate seizure, sealing, forensic preservation, and restoration to lawful custody of the ED" all digital devices, electronic records, storage media, and documents "illegally and forcibly" taken away from the search premises. The high court is expected to hear the petition on Friday. The search was mounted on Thursday at the Salt Lake office of I-PAC and its founder and one of the directors Pratik Gandhi as part of an alleged coal scam-linked money laundering case. Some other locations in the state and Delhi were also raided. The ED had alleged in a press statement on Thursday that Banerjee ...

ED raids on I-PAC office: Mamata Banerjee protests, ED's key allegations & more | TMC

A dramatic face-off unfolds in West Bengal as the Enforcement Directorate moves the Calcutta High Court, accusing Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee

Mehbooba calls Mamata Banerjee 'tigress' amid ED raids in West Bengal

PDP president Mehbooba Mufti on Friday described West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee as a "tigress", saying the TMC chief is "very brave" and will not surrender. Mufti was reacting to the Thursday's ED searches at the office of the political consultancy firm I-PAC and the residence of its director Pratik Jain in Kolkata. The action ignited high drama with the West Bengal chief minister storming at the raid site, alleging that the central agency was trying to seize the TMC's sensitive data ahead of the state polls. Mufti said that while such raids by ED or other investigative agencies has become a normal thing in Jammu and Kashmir, "the whole country is tasting it now". "When Article 370 was revoked, when raids took place and when three CMs were put behind bars, majority of political parties maintained silence. Now, that is being witnessed across the country," she added, referring to the detention of herself, Farooq Abdullah and Omar Abdullah in the wake of the abrogation of .