Page 51 - Mamata Banerjee

Bengal CM Mamata meets BJP's Suvendu over tea at her Assembly chamber

In a first since last year's state elections, West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee on Friday held a "courtesy meeting" with Leader of the Opposition Suvendu Adhikari at her chamber in the state Assembly, raising eyebrows in political circles. Later, during a discussion on 'Constitution Day' in the House, the CM said that she had at one point adored him like a brother. Adhikari and Banerjee had been at loggerheads since the end of 2020 when he switched over to the BJP from the TMC and defeated the TMC supremo in Nandigram in the Assembly polls. The meeting came close on the heels of Adhikari complaining that his name was not included in the invitation letter for the 'Constitution Day' programme in the Assembly. The BJP leader had also said that he would "boycott" the programme. The Nandigram MLA was seen entering Banerjee's chamber accompanied by BJP leaders Manoj Tigga and Agnimitra Paul, shortly after the assembly session broke for recess in the afternoon. "I called Suvend

Ensure your name on voter list to avoid detention under garb of NRC: Mamata

West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee on Wednesday asked people of the state to ensure that their names are on the electoral roll to avoid getting sent to detention camps under the garb of enforcing NRC. She was addressing a programme organised by the state government to distribute land pattas' (documents) to marginalised families from all districts. Ensure your name is there on the voter list, or else, you will be sent to detention camps in the name of NRC. It's a shame, shame and shame, Banerjee said. Referring to incidents of "forcible takeover of land by the railway and airport authorities", Banerjee said, No eviction will be allowed in Bengal without proper compensation and rehabilitation. At the public function, she asked people to start protests if your land is forcibly taken and the state will be with you. She accused the Centre of not releasing funds for 100-day work. Without naming the BJP, she said the central government is running on the party's instruction. Ba

Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury seeks Guv intervention against WB govt power misuse

The Leader of Opposition in the Lok Sabha, Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury Wednesday wrote a letter to the West Bengal Governor seeking his intervention with regard to the misuse of power by the administration

Mamata Banerjee voices anguish over violence on Meghalaya-Assam border

West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee on Wednesday expressed anguish over the violence at a disputed Assam-Meghalaya border location that killed six people a day before and prayed for peace there. Six people, including a forest guard, were killed in the violence in the early hours of Tuesday after a truck allegedly laden with illegally felled timber was intercepted by forest personnel from Assam. "I am gravely anguished by the tragic instance of firing at Mukroh, Meghalaya, that claimed lives of 6 people. I express my heartfelt condolences to the families who lost their loved ones in this conflict. I earnestly pray that peace and calm prevails for the greater good," Banerjee said on Twitter. Notably, Trinamool Congress national general secretary Abhishek Banerjee on Tuesday alleged that the incident showed the 'ineptitude' of the Meghalaya government. Expressing shock over the incident, the TMC MP tweeted, "I am shocked and deeply saddened by the extremely unfortunate firing .

Former bureaucrat Dr CV Ananda Bose takes oath as West Bengal Governor

Former bureaucrat Dr CV Ananda Bose took oath as the Governor of West Bengal in Kolkata

CV Ananda Bose to take oath as new governor of West Bengal on Wednesday

CV Ananda Bose will take oath as the new governor of West Bengal on Wednesday, an official said. Bose, who was named the new governor on November 17, will take oath at the Raj Bhavan, he said. Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee and other dignitaries, including assembly Speaker Biman Bandyopadhyay and Leader of Opposition Suvendhu Adhikary, will be present at the programme, the official said on Tuesday. The governor is administered the oath by the chief justice of the high court. Bose, a retired Kerala cadre IAS officer of the 1977 batch, will replace La Ganesan as the governor. He served as an administrator of the National Museum in Kolkata before superannuating in 2011.

Mamata Banerjee to attend PM-convened meeting in New Delhi on Dec 5

The chief minister might use the opportunity of her visit to New Delhi to have a separate meeting with the Prime Minister on the occasion

Mamata writes to PM, requests to formulate plan to control Ganga erosion

West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee has written to Prime Minister Narendra Modi, expressing concern over the continuous erosion of the Ganga River bank in Malda, Murshidabad and Nadia districts. She requested the PM to advise the ministry concerned to conduct a detailed study, involving all stakeholders, and formulate an integrated plan to control the situation. Banerjee said the interventions would have high-cost implications, and also urged the prime minister to ensure that suitable budgetary provisions are made for the same under the Flood Management and Border Areas Programme (FMBAP). While noting that he had written a similar letter in February this year but nothing had moved forward, the chief minister said anti-erosion efforts had been attempted piecemeal with no holistic approach being taken. "There is a need for permanent restoration works instead of such palliative activities. I would therefore request you to kindly advise the concerned ministry (Jal Shakti Ministr

Amit Mitra asks FM Sitharaman to urgently call GST Council meeting

Points out that under the regulations governing the all-powerful body, a meeting should be held every quarter

Central agencies quick to act against Opposition, but not BJP: Mamata

West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee on Wednesday alleged that the central agencies are prompt in taking action against Opposition leaders but refrain from doing so when those from the BJP are involved in corruption. Her comments were in an apparent reference to BJP national vice president Dilip Ghosh, whose flat deed was recovered from the residence of Prasanna Roy, one of the SSC scam accused. "Partha Chatterjee was arrested after documents in his name were found in the residence of Arpita Mukherjee. That was right. Law will take its course. "But why is the BJP leader, whose flat deed was seized from the residence of one of the accused, not arrested? It seems the central agencies are swift in taking action against Opposition leaders but they are not so prompt when it comes to BJP leaders," she said while leaving for Kolkata after her two-day visit to Jhargram. A copy of the deed of a flat owned by Ghosh was found during a CBI raid on Roy's residence. The BJP, leader, howev

Centre doing nothing to control price rise of essential commodities: Mamata

West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee on Monday accused the Centre of not doing enough to check the price rise of essential commodities and alleged that the union government is only interested in intimidating the opposition parties by using Central agencies. While chairing a meeting at the state secretariat - Nabanna - with the task force responsible for regulating the prices of commodities in the market, Banerjee said the Centre is not releasing the due funds of the state. "The Centre is doing nothing to check the price rise of essentials. It is only interested in using agencies against the opposition parties. They are summoning senior officials of the state to the Centre and using threats and intimidation tactics. Steps must be taken to tackle the price rise of essentials, or else what the common people will eat," she said at the meeting. Banerjee alleged that the Centre is not releasing the state due of GST tax. "We had agreed on the implementation of the GST. But now the .

Some people are conspiring against Bengal, trying to defame us: Mamata

West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee Monday said a conspiracy is being hatched against the state and the ruling TMC is being defamed as a part of the exercise. She slammed BJP leaders for engaging in "anti-Bengal act" for urging the Centre to block funds for various welfare funds for the state. Amid the arrests of senior party leaders in graft cases, the TMC supremo said those who have committed mistakes should be given a chance to rectify these. "A conspiracy is being hatched against the state. A malicious campaign has been unleashed against the government and the TMC as a part of it. Those who don't like Bengal keep maligning us (TMC) and hatching conspiracies," she said at a programme for students organized by the state government on Children's Day. The entire system cannot be maligned if "one or two people" have committed any mistake, she said. "If you work, you tend to make mistakes. Don't we get hurt while walking on the road? We need to rectify our errors. If someone

Mamata advises school students to use their brains to identify fake news

She made the remarks at a function here to distribute tabs to class 12 students, which was also attended by the state Education Minister Bratya Basu

Some people conspiring against Bengal, trying to defame us: Mamata Banerjee

West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee on Monday said a conspiracy is being hatched against the state, and the ruling TMC is being defamed as a part of the exercise. Amid the arrests of senior party leaders in graft cases, the TMC supremo said those who have committed mistakes should be given a chance to rectify these. "A conspiracy is being hatched against the state. A malicious campaign has been unleashed against the government and the TMC as a part of it," she said at a programme here. "If a person has committed any mistake, one should be given a chance to rectify those mistakes. If someone got involved in any wrongdoing, the law will take its own course. But a media trial is going on," Banerjee said.

BJP using CAA, NRC with eye on Gujarat assembly polls: Mamata Banerjee

West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee on Wednesday alleged that the BJP was "using" Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA) and National Register of Citizens (NRC) with an eye on the upcoming Gujarat assembly elections. The Trinamool Congress (TMC) supremo asserted that she will never allow the implementation of CAA or NRC in West Bengal. She accused the saffron camp of trying to "bring in its supporters from other states and make them voters of West Bengal, while snatching the rights of the permanent residents of the eastern state". Iterating that the BJP won't return to power after the 2024 Lok Sabha elections, Banerjee said that the country's political situation was changing fast, and it is very different from that of 2019. "Whenever any election approaches, the BJP speaks of implementing CAA and NRC. With upcoming Gujarat assembly polls later this year, and Lok Sabha elections just a year-and-a-half away, it has again started to flare up the CAA issue. "Will the BJP decide who is

BJP 'using' CAA with eye on upcoming Gujarat elections: Mamata Banerjee

West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee on Wednesday alleged that the BJP was "using" Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA) and National Register of Citizens (NRC) with an eye on the upcoming Gujarat assembly elections. The Trinamool Congress (TMC) supremo asserted that she will never allow the implementation of CAA in West Bengal. Banerjee also accused the saffron camp of trying to fan separatism in West Bengal by raking up statehood demands, and iterated she will never allow the division of the state. "Whenever any election approaches, the BJP speaks of implementing CAA and NRC. With upcoming Gujarat assembly polls later this year, and Lok Sabha elections just a year-and-half away, it has again started to flare up the CAA issue. "Will the BJP decide who is a citizen and who is not? Matuas are very much citizens of this country," Banerjee said, while addressing party workers in Krishnanagar. The politically powerful Matua community has its origin in East Bengal or present-day ...

West Bengal CM Mamata Banerjee joins social media platform Koo

West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee has joined social media platform Koo, a statement said on Monday. Banerjee, who has 7 million followers on Twitter and 4.9 million followers on Facebook, joined Koo on November 1. "Her handle is @Mamtaofficial on Koo. In her first Koo, Mamata Banerjee announced the milestone of 50 lakh rural households having access to clean potable water through tap connections. She congratulated everyone involved in achieving this," the statement issued by Koo said. Koo co-founder Aprameya Radhakrishna said the TMC and other leaders of the party have also joined the platform. "Millions of Bengali users across the world and many Indians across the country would want to get updates from Mamata Ji directly," he said.

Over 50 lakh rural homes in West Bengal now get tap water: Mamata

More than 50 lakh households in rural West Bengal now get drinking water through piped connections, Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee said on Saturday. Congratulating those involved in the project, Banerjee said her government is dedicated to serving the people and ensuring their welfare. "I'm delighted to announce that more than 50 lakh rural households in Bengal now have access to clean potable water through tap water connections," she tweeted. The West Bengal government has provided over 23.37 lakh tap water connections in this fiscal, officials said.

Mamata urges PM Modi to exempt customs duty on 'Gobindobhog' rice export

Pure Gobindobhog rice is grown in a few districts of West Bengal and it has been awarded Geographic identification on October 24, 2017

Won't allow BJP to implement CAA, says Mamata; it will be done: Minister

West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee on Wednesday slammed the Centre for the possible implementation of the Citizenship (Amendment) Act, claiming that the BJP was raking the issue ahead of the Gujarat assembly election. Hours later, Union Minister of State for Home Nisith Pramanik asserted that the CAA will be gradually implemented across the country. The Centre had on Monday decided to grant Indian citizenship to minorities mostly from Pakistan, who have migrated to India, and are currently living in two districts of Gujarat, under the Citizenship Act, 1955, and not the Citizenship Amendment Act, 2019 (CAA). "Stop all these politics. They (BJP) are doing it because there are elections in Gujarat. We will not let them implement it. To us, all are citizens (of India). We are against this," Banerjee told reporters at the Kolkata airport before leaving for Chennai. She has travelled to the southern Indian city to attend a family gathering of West Bengal Governor La Ganesan. "I