Page 4 - Mamata Banerjee

Kolkata rains: 7 dead, over 30 flights cancelled amid heavy downpour

As rain-battered Kolkata struggle with widespread flooding and electrocution, CM Mamata Banerjee slammed poor dredging of the Farakka barrage and lapses by a private power utility for the crisis

GST 2.0: BJP leaders celebrate, opposition alleges 'undue credit'

Congress accused that the 'limited' reform comes eight years too late; Vaishnaw pointed to the significantly higher tax rates under the UPA government

Centre claiming undue credit for GST cuts, initiated by state: Mamata

West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee on Sunday claimed that the Centre was taking undue credit for lowering GST rates, though the move was initiated by the state. Her statement came after Prime Minister Narendra Modi, in an address to the nation, said a GST savings festival will begin from the first day of Navratri' on Monday, which, coupled with the income tax exemption, will be a "double bonanza" for most people. Without naming the Prime Minister, Bannerjee said, We are losing Rs 20,000 crore as revenue, but we are happy about the lowering of GST. But why are you (Modi) claiming credit for it? We had sought a lowered GST. It was our suggestion at the GST Council meeting with the Union Finance Minister (Nirmala Sitharaman.

Mamata condemns Nepal violence, mourns Ex-PM's wife, urges restraint

West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee on Wednesday expressed deep concern over turmoil in neighbouring Nepal, and strongly condemned the killing of a former prime minister's wife, who was allegedly burnt alive. Banerjee said West Bengal has always stood for humanity and compassion and urged people not to allow violence and political opportunism to destroy lives. "Let our neighbouring country remain well. West Bengal gives birth to humanity and compassion. Burning a living person and celebrating it is not humanity. "People may have grievances against one another, but it should not result in cruelty and atrocities," Banerjee told reporters at Uttarkanya, the branch state secretariat in north Bengal. Nepal was rocked by a severe political crisis on Tuesday after Prime Minister K P Sharma Oli resigned in the face of massive protests for a second day. Demonstrators stormed several government buildings and set Parliament and residences of high-profile leaders ablaze, a day after 19

Mamata shifts stay to monitor Nepal situation amid network issues

West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee, who is on a three-day administrative tour of north Bengal, shifted her place of stay from the Kanyashree bungalow to Uttarkanya due to mobile connectivity issues, a senior official said on Wednesday. "It is reported that there were network issues at the Kanyashree bungalow, which made it difficult for her to stay updated on the developments in Nepal. As a result, the CM shifted to Uttarkanya on Tuesday night to monitor the situation more closely," the official told PTI. Later, the Trinamool Congress posted a photo of the party supremo sitting in 'Uttarkanya' and monitoring the situation in the riot-hit neighbouring nation. Uttarkanya is a building in Siliguri which houses the temporary state secretariat for the North Bengal Development Department of West Bengal "The unfolding situation in our neighbouring country, Nepal, is a matter of deep concern. Placing the interests of the state above all else, our compassionate Chief Minister, remai

Bengal govt undertakes cleanup drive to scrap its 22,000 'aged' vehicles

In an initiative aimed at modernising its fleet, the West Bengal government has launched a massive cleanup drive to scrap its nearly 22,000 vehicles that are over 15 years old, a senior official said. The process, which is already underway, seeks to decommission the old vehicles used by various government departments, most notably police and transport, he said. The state government is emphasising replacing these old vehicles with electric ones, he said. "At least 698 vehicles from the police department, 481 from the transport sector, and 710 from various public sector undertakings have been earmarked for decommissioning," the official told PTI. "In addition, departments such as Public Works, Panchayat, and Public Health Engineering (PHE) have collectively listed over 19,000 vehicles for scrapping, bringing the total number close to 22,000," he added. The transport department has begun the identification of these 'aged' vehicles and initiated their removal from service, the officia

Mulling options to appoint tainted teachers to Group C, D posts: CM Mamata

West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee on Thursday said her government was exploring legal options to appoint tainted teachers of the 2016 SSC exam to Group C and D posts. Speaking at a programme to observe Teachers' Day here, she also said the state government has initiated the recruitment process of untainted candidates of the 2016 school teacher recruitment test. "I am consulting legal experts on options of appointing tainted' teachers to Group C and D posts. For those who have been teaching for years now, but have been marked ineligible', I am trying to seek a legal solution... Maybe, they could be recruited in Group C and D posts," Banerjee said. "We look at things not through a political prism, but from a human perspective," she said.

EC actions challenge TMC's grassroots reach, BJP's strength in West Bengal

With the Election Commission planning to add nearly 14,000 new polling booths amid prospective Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of rolls in West Bengal, the BJP faces a shortage of Booth Level Agents (BLAs), exposing a critical organisational gap that could weaken its 2026 poll challenge, while the TMC, with no such issues, exudes confidence. For the Trinamool Congress, the expansion of polling stations from the existing 80,000 to an estimated 94,000, spread across 294 assembly seats, is less a burden than an opportunity to tighten its grip at the grassroots. In contrast, the BJP functionaries acknowledge they are planning to cover only about 70 per cent of booths with BLAs during the SIR exercise, well short of what is needed to ensure an effective presence statewide. In the 2024 Lok Sabha polls, the BJP could deploy polling agents in around 50,000-55,000 of West Bengal's existing 80,681 booths. The target now stands at 65,000-70,000, but insiders admit the party may struggle to ge

'Death knell for democracy': Opposition slams Centre's PM, CM removal bills

The bills propose that ministers who are arrested on charges carrying a prison term of five years or more and remain in custody for 30 consecutive days, will be removed from office on the 31st day

Mamata launches 'Shramshree' scheme: ₹5K aid for returning migrants

Under the Shramshree scheme, each returning worker will receive ₹5,000 per month for a year or until they secure new employment in Bengal

Mamata to skip inauguration of Kolkata metro projects by PM Modi on Aug 22

West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee is likely to skip the inauguration of three Kolkata metro projects by Prime Minister Narendra Modi on August 22, a top state government official said on Monday. Banerjee, during her tenure as the railway minister, had planned these metro projects, he claimed. The decision to skip the inauguration of the metro projects was taken in the backdrop of alleged harassment of migrants from West Bengal in the BJP-ruled states, he said. "There have been charges of linguistic discrimination and the harassment of the Bengalis in several states, with the alleged support of the BJP and the central government. Protests are underway to oppose such discriminatory treatment being meted out to Bengali migrants. In such a situation, the chief minister does not wish to share the stage with officials from the central government," the top bureaucrat told PTI. Railway Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw, in a letter dated August 14, invited Banerjee to the inauguration of

Between home, hostility & hard choices: Illegal immigrants fuel WB's polls

The noise around migrants from West Bengal swelled last month after the state's chief minister, Mamata Banerjee, led a march in Kolkata to protest against what she called the harassment of Bengalis

Making jobs in City of Joy: Is West Bengal ready to up its economic game?

From IT hubs in Kolkata to manufacturing revivals in Uttarpara and mega power projects in Salboni, Bengal is wooing corporate giants to reverse migration and fuel economic growth

Police 'assault' RG Kar victim's mother, lathicharge protesters in Bengal

The victim's mother sustained a head injury and her bangle was also broken during the clash with the state police

Centre refutes Mamata's claim on floods, says water release was regulated

Jal Shakti Minister C R Paatil on Tuesday rejected West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee's allegations of "deliberate flooding" in the state by the Damodar Valley Corporation (DVC), asserting that water releases from the Maithon and Panchet reservoirs were carried out scientifically and in coordination with all stakeholders. Responding to Banerjee's claim that the DVC was "anti-Bengal" and responsible for a "man-made catastrophe," Paatil said, "The decision to release water is taken by the Damodar Valley Reservoir Regulation Committee (DVRRC), chaired by the Central Water Commission (CWC), with representatives from the DVC and the state governments of West Bengal and Jharkhand." He noted that the Damodar basin received 815 mm of rainfall between May and July 2025, a significant surge compared to the previous years. "This resulted in water inflows into the reservoirs during June-July 2025 being 16 times higher than in 2024 and 43 times higher than in 2023," the minister said in

West Bengal's GST revenues rise 12% in July, Tripura leads with 41% surge

Several states posted double-digit growth in GST collections in July 2025, led by Tripura at 41 per cent. However, Mizoram, Jharkhand bucked the trend, reporting declines in revenue during the month

West Bengal records 12% growth in GST collection for July: CM Mamata

West Bengal has registered a 12 per cent year-on-year growth in gross Goods and Services Tax (GST) collections for July 2025, Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee said on Monday, citing provisional figures released by the Centre. In a post on X, Banerjee said the state collected Rs 5,895 crore in GST revenue last month, up from Rs 5,257 crore in July 2024. "Glad to share that West Bengal has reported a robust 12 per cent year-on-year growth in gross Goods and Services Tax (GST) collections for July 2025, recording collection of Rs 5,895 crore, compared to Rs 5,257 crore in the same month last year, according to provisional figures just released by the Government of India," she said. "Cumulative growth rate in our state's GST revenue till the month of July is 7.71 per cent. This marks a steady improvement in business and consumption in West Bengal, which is a sign of good economic health," she added. Banerjee's remarks come at a time when her government has been highlighting economic ...

TMC's Kalyan Banerjee quits as LS chief whip amid row with Mahua Moitra

Senior Trinamool Congress MP Kalyan Banerjee on Monday resigned as the party's chief whip in the Lok Sabha alleging that he was being blamed unfairly for lack of coordination among MPs even as some barely attend Parliament. The move came hours after a virtual meeting of TMC MPs chaired by party supremo and West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee, where she reportedly expressed her displeasure over poor coordination in the party's parliamentary wing. "I have quit as the party's chief whip in Lok Sabha as 'Didi' (Mamata Banerjee) said during the virtual meeting that there is a lack of coordination among party MPs. So the blame is on me. Hence, I have decided to step down," Banerjee told a news channel. The four-time MP from Sreerampur, who is also a senior advocate, said he felt humiliated that the party was not holding those responsible for indiscipline and poor attendance to account, but instead making him the fall guy. "Those whom Mamata Banerjee made MPs don't even come to Lok

ZEE5 Bangla bets on affordable prices to lure viewers, says official

ZEE5 aims to make content both affordable and relatable for Bengali audiencesparticularly in tier two and three citiesby aligning pricing and storytelling with local needs and cultural sensibilities, says Rusa Banerjee, Business Head of the streamer's Bangla arm. The OTT platform is trying to keep pace with changing audience preferences by innovating with different genres and storytelling formats to stay relevant and engaging, Banerjee added. "Storytelling in Bengali is evolving fast and so are we. We are actively experimenting across formats, genres, and narrative styles to stay in step with what audiences want today. "We wish to give audiences, hooked to Bengali contents, a platform that reflects their stories, in their language, at a price that respects their wallet and enables them to pay only for what they want to watch," Banerjee told PTI in an interview. On the programming level, she said the platform is deliberately mixing thrillers, dramas, and cultural themes to broaden a

Direct insult to language in which National Anthem was written: MK Stalin

Stalin said that statements like these were not "inadvertent errors" but exposed the dark mindset of a regime that undermines diversity