Page 25 - Tmc

Kovind panel gets 21K responses, 81% 'affirm' idea of simultaneous polls

The committee on 'one nation, one election' headed by former president Ram Nath Kovind has received nearly 21,000 suggestions from the public out of which 81 per cent "affirmed" the idea of simultaneous polls, an official statement said on Sunday. The statement further said that suggestions were also invited from 46 political parties. "Till date, suggestions have been received from 17 political parties," it said. Various opposition parties, including the Congress and the TMC, have opposed the idea of holding simultaneous polls. On January 5, the panel had issued a public notice inviting suggestions from citizens for making appropriate changes in the existing legal-administrative framework to enable simultaneous elections in the country. The Kovind-led committee, which was constituted in September last year, held its third meeting on Sunday. "Altogether 20,972 responses were received out of which 81 per cent affirmed the idea of simultaneous election," the committee said after its

Ram temple event: TMC, BJP to test political might as politics heats up

Months before the Lok Sabha polls, the TMC and BJP in West Bengal will evaluate their political prowess on Monday, aligning with the Ram temple consecration in Ayodhya, with Mamata Banerjee slated to lead an "all-faith" rally seeking to project a counter-narrative to BJP's hindutva politics. The much-awaited Ram temple consecration will be held in Ayodhya on Monday, with Prime Minister Narendra Modi attending the rituals, following which the shrine will be opened for the public a day later. The TMC, which has accused the BJP of trying to politicise a religious event by attempting to put up a "gimmick show" ahead of the Lok Sabha polls, has announced to hold a mega all-faith harmony rally in the metropolis led by West Bengal Chief Minister and TMC supremo Mamata Banerjee. The party will also hold similar rallies in every block of the state. The Bengal BJP, which has unsuccessfully demanded that the day be declared a holiday in the state, along with several other Hindu outfits, has .

Knows how to fight and win: Adhir Chowdhury on Congress-TMC seat sharing

"I don't care about anyone. Our leaders have already spoken. I have reached here only by contesting and winning. We know how to contest and win, said," Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury

Mamata to take call on seat sharing, Cong unit cannot do bargaining: TMC

The TMC on Saturday said its supremo Mamata Banerjee will take the final call on seat sharing with the Congress in West Bengal for the Lok Sabha polls this year and asserted that "unjustified bargaining" cannot be done by the state unit of the grand old party. Based on the 2021 assembly poll results in the state, in which the Congress in alliance with the CPI(M)-led Left Front had fared badly, the Trinamool Congress top leadership offered the grand old party two seats, out of 42 Lok Sabha constituencies in West Bengal, in the coming general elections, its spokesperson Kunal Ghosh said. "The Congress state unit cannot do unjustified bargaining on the matter," Ghosh said. Meanwhile, All India Mahila Congress President Alka Lamba said in Siliguri that the party's leadership has been holding parleys with constituents of the INDIA bloc in different states, including in West Bengal, for seat sharing for the Lok Sabha elections. She said the process will be concluded soon. "Parleys are o

TMC slams Bengal BJP chief, demands apology for remarks against Mamata

The TMC on Thursday called for an unconditional apology from West Bengal BJP president Sukanta Majumdar, alleging obscene remarks towards West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee and contending that his comments exemplified the chauvinistic mindset of the saffron camp. The TMC's reaction was triggered by Majumdar's recent use of the term 'Dhanda' about Banerjee during a media interaction. In the course of the exchange, Majumdar made derogatory comments about the chief minister's attire, specifically targeting her "sari.". Majumdar's exact words were, "The Chief Minister claims that she does not take CM's salary and her pension as MP. Then where does money for her iPhone and her designer saris come from? And nowadays, if someone gives something for free, he will not give it without his 'dhanda' (own interest).". On Thursday, the TMC launched a scathing rebuke against the BJP, condemning the lewd and offensive remarks made by Sukanta Majumdar. They demanded an unequivocal apology fr

Directorate of Estates sends team to evict Mahua Moitra from govt bungalow

The Directorate of Estates on Friday sent a team of officials to evict former TMC MP Mahua Moitra from her government accommodation, an official said. Earlier this week, the DoE issued an eviction notice to Moitra, who was expelled from the Lok Sabha last month. "A team has been sent to evict the TMC leader from the government bungalow allotted to her as an MP," an official told PTI. On Thursday, Moitra failed to get any relief from the Delhi High Court which refused to stay the DoE notice and asked her to vacate the government bungalow. Justice Girish Kathpalia said no specific rule has been brought before the court which dealt with the eviction of MPs from government accommodation after they cease to be lawmakers.

Moitra says she's hospitalised, urges HC to direct authorities not to evict

Citing medical reasons, expelled Lok Sabha MP Mahua Moitra on Thursday urged the Delhi High Court to restrain the authorities from evicting her from the government bungalow on cancellation of allotment following her expulsion. The Trinamool Congress leader, who has challenged a notice by the Directorate of Estates (DoE) to vacate the government accommodation, pleaded not to throw her out of the premises for the time being as she is a single woman and is undergoing treatment at a hospital here. Justice Girish Kathpalia, who heard the counsel for Moitra and DoE at length, said he will dictate the order today. Senior advocate Brij Gupta, representing Moitra, submitted she has undergone a surgical procedure and is admitted to a private hospital. Doctors have advised her bed rest, the lawyer said and urged the court to give her some time to vacate the bungalow, preferably four months. Additional Solicitor General (ASG) Chetan Sharma and central government's standing counsel Anurag ...

ED conducts raids at seven places in Kolkata in Bengal school jobs scam

The Enforcement Directorate (ED) on Thursday started conducting raids simultaneously at seven places in and around Kolkata in connection with its probe into the alleged irregularities in recruitment in schools of West Bengal, a senior officer said. Raids are being held at the residences and offices of those who allegedly "acted as middlemen" in the scam, he said. "These middlemen used to collect money and transfer it to various addresses. We are conducting raids at residences and offices used by them," the ED officer told PTI. Accompanied by a huge number of central forces, the ED officers started search operations at New Town and Nayabad on the eastern fringes of Kolkata, he said. Family members of the alleged middlemen are being questioned, he said, adding that ED officers are yet to enter one of the offices of a middleman since it was closed.

Mahua Moitra receives 3rd notice to vacate government residence in Delhi

The TMC leader had approached the Delhi High Court, seeking the quashing of the notice issued by the Directorate of Estate cancelling her government accommodation in the national capital

Lok Sabha polls: Mayawati's BSP opts to contest alone jolt to INDIA bloc

The BSP supremo also categorically denied reports in a section of the media about her retirement from politics and stressed that she will continue to strengthen the party till her last breath

Abhishek Banerjee slams Cong after its rout in Assam hill council polls

In the 30-member North Cachar Hills Autonomous Council, 28 members are elected and two are nominated

Lawlessness, corruption at peak in West Bengal, says Anurag Thakur

Union minister Anurag Thakur on Monday flayed the TMC government in West Bengal, alleging a severe breakdown in law and order and unprecedented levels of corruption in the state. Thakur's remarks come in the wake of the recent controversy surrounding the assault on three Enforcement Directorate (ED) officials during a raid at the residence of a TMC leader, accused in a ration distribution scam. "Law and order in West Bengal has collapsed under Mamata Banerjee's rule. The TMC ensures that public money from the Centre meant for welfare is being siphoned off through its infamous cut money (commission) system. Corruption is at its peak in Bengal; if action is taken against the corrupt, even the ED team is being attacked, stones are pelted at them," Thakur, who is in the city to attend a programme, told reporters at the airport. On January 5, three ED officers were injured and their vehicles vandalised during a raid at the house of TMC leader Shajahan Sheikh in Sandeshkhali in North 24

ED raids residences of Bengal minister, TMC leaders; police dispatched

The Enforcement Directorate (ED) on Friday searched the residences of West Bengal Fire and Emergency Services Minister Sujit Bose, TMC MLA Tapas Roy, and another TMC leader in connection with the alleged irregularities in civic body recruitments. This was the first ED raid since the assault on its officers during a previous search operation at the residence of a TMC leader at Sandeshkhali in North 24 Parganas district in the ration distribution scam last week. In a departure from the previous ED raids, a substantial contingent of central police personnel cordoned off Bose's residence and prevented any gathering of party supporters near it. The central forces were equipped with additional protective gear, including helmets and automatic guns. The central agency's sleuths conducted searches at two residences of Bose in the Lake Town area of North 24 Parganas district, as well as Roy's BB Ganguly Street residence in central Kolkata and Subodh Chakraborty's residence in Birati, North 24

CM Mamata Banerjee asks Centre to change West Bengal's name to 'Bangla'

Trinamool Congress government has been pressing for the renaming of West Bengal since 2011. Paschim Banga, Paschim Bango, Bongo, and Bangla were among some of the suggestions

Civic jobs scam: ED conduct raids at residences of WB minister, TMC leaders

The Enforcement Directorate (ED) on Friday morning conducted raids at the residences of West Bengal Fire and Emergency Services Minister Sujit Bose, TMC MLA Tapas Roy and former North Dumdum Municipality chairman Subodh Chakraborty in connection with its probe into the irregularities in recruitments in civic bodies. Accompanied by central forces, ED officers conducted raids at two residences of Bose in the Lake Town area in North 24 Parganas district early Friday morning, he said. The central agency officers also raided Tapas Roy's BB Ganguly Street residence and Chakraborty's residence in Birati, he said. "We are conducting search operations at the residences of three TMC leaders in connection with the recruitments in civic bodies. We are also talking to the leaders," the officer told PTI.

'TMC not to hold meet with Cong alliance panel for seat-sharing in Bengal'

The Trinamool Congress will not send its representatives for any meeting with the Congress' national alliance committee on seat-sharing for the Lok Sabha elections as it has already conveyed its position to the grand old party, TMC sources said on Thursday. The Congress panel has been holding seat-sharing talks with Indian National Developmental Inclusive Alliance (INDIA) partners from different states. TMC sources said the Congress contacted party leaders for such a meeting and has been conveyed that they are not keen on sending any representative for talks. They said the Trinamool Congress has offered two seats to the Congress -- the ones it won in the 2019 Lok Sabha elections. West Bengal has 42 parliamentary constituencies. The Congress has said the offer is too low and difficult to accept. Any change in the offer can only be made by Trinamool Congress supremo and West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee, they said. The TMC is also looking at fighting from one seat in Meghal

Do not agree with 'One Nation, One Election': CM Mamata to Kovind-led panel

Trinamool Congress chief Mamata Banerjee on Thursday wrote to the high-level committee on "One Nation, One Election" expressing her disagreement with the concept of simultaneous polls to the Lok Sabha and assemblies, and said it would be against the basic structure of India's constitutional arrangements. In a letter to the panel secretary, Banerjee said that in 1952, the first general elections were simultaneously conducted for the central and state levels. "There was such simultaneity for some years. But the coevality has since been ruptured...," she said. "I regret that I cannot agree with the concept of 'One Nation, One Election', as framed by you. We disagree with your formulation and proposal," she wrote. She said there are basic conceptual difficulties in agreeing with the committee, and the concept is not clear. The West Bengal chief minister questioned the meaning of 'One Nation' in the context, and said, "While I understand the meaning of one nation in a ...

Calcutta High Court dismisses PIL petition after attack on ED officers

The HC concluded that the ED had the technical expertise and power to protect its officers and was not 'helpless'

Amid seat-sharing dispute, Mamata asserts TMC to stay with INDIA bloc

TMC supremo Mamata Banerjee on Wednesday asserted that it will remain part of the INDIA bloc in the fight against the BJP, days after fissures appeared in the alliance over seat-sharing disagreement between her party and the Congress in West Bengal. Banerjee conveyed her stance during a closed-door organisational meeting of the TMC's West Midnapore district unit. "Our party supremo clearly stated that the TMC would remain in the INDIA bloc in the fight against the BJP. Although critical of the CPI(M), she did not utter a single word against the Congress," said a senior TMC official present in the meeting, who did not wish to be named. The CPI(M), Congress and the TMC collectively constitute the 28-party strong INDIA bloc. However, in West Bengal, the CPI(M) and Congress have allied against the TMC and BJP. Banerjee's statement follows TMC's Lok Sabha Party leader Sudip Bandopadhyay's recent remark that the party has an "open heart" for the Congress regarding seat-sharing in West ..

ED chief to meet team members in Kolkata today over Sandeshkhali attack

Enforcement Directorate chief Rahul Navin is scheduled to hold a meeting with its officers here on Tuesday over the attack on an ED team during a raid in West Bengal's North 24 Parganas district last week. The ED unit in the state has already submitted a report to its headquarters about the incident in which three officers were injured and several of their vehicles vandalised, as hundreds of supporters of TMC leader Shajahan Sheikh attacked them on January 5 when the team went to conduct the raid. "The head of the ED will chair a meeting regarding the attack. Discussions will also be held on the progress of others investigations, an officer of the probe agency told PTI. Navin, the ED director, arrived in Kolkata on Monday night. The attack took place when the ED team went to Sheikh's house in Sandeshkhali for a raid in connection with alleged irregularities in the state's ration system. The ED has already lodged a complaint at the Nazat police station in connection with the assaul