Page 28 - Tmc

Govt spending Rs 20k cr for central vista, but held back Bengal funds: TMC

The BJP-led government at the Centre was spending Rs 20,000 crore for the central vista project, but held back Rs 7,500 crore due to West Bengal which would have provided work to the poor under MGNREGA, senior TMC leader Abhishek Banerjee claimed on Saturday. Addressing a rally at Falakata in Alipurduar, Banerjee said his party will continue to protest against the alleged discrimination of the people of West Bengal by the Centre. "You may continue to deploy central agencies such as CBI and ED against us, but we will not bow our heads in front of outsiders who are least bothered about the living conditions of the people of Bengal," he said. Banerjee said that over the last three years, the CBI and ED have been sending notices to him regularly. "But, they could not break my resolve to stand up for the poor of Bengal." He alleged that Prime Minister Narendra Modi was boasting about being the guarantor against corruption, but he never took action against BJP leaders indulging in such .

WB panchayat poll : BJP apprehends attempts by TMC to rig election

Pledging to usher in panchayats "purged of thieves" in the coming rural poll in West Bengal in the event of a win by BJP, the party Saturday expressed apprehensions that there will be attempts at largescale rigging and violence by the ruling TMC on the voting day. BJP state president Sukanta Majumdar releasing the BJP's manifesto said the role of the State Election Commission (SEC), which conducts the rural polls, is not above suspicion as it was not found to be vigilant enough to curb incidents of violence in the run up to the July 8 election. BJP, he said, will gift a 'chor mukto panchayat' system (panchayats purged of thieves) which will stop "siphoning off" of cut money in the implementation of central projects like Pradhan Mantri Awas Yojana, the PM's project for farmers and MGNREGS and usher in a transparent administration. "Wherever BJP is strong, our workers will play the role of central forces," he said referring to reports that the SEC will not deploy central paramilitary

You are leading the largest opposition party: Derek O'Brien to PM

The TMC on Saturday called Prime Minister Narendra Modi the leader of the "largest opposition party", which is "opposed" to providing jobs, nurturing democracy, preserving federalism and controlling prices. The party was responding to Modi's attacks on "opposition parties" in his speech in Shahdol in Madhya Pradesh. TMC Rajya Sabha member Derek O'Brien accused the BJP of being opposed to jobs, democracy and federalism. "These are NOT 'opposition parties', Mr Prime Minister! It is YOU who is leading the largest 'opposition party'. Your party is opposed to giving young people jobs. Opposed to nurturing democracy. Opposed to preserving federalism. Opposed to controlling prices," he said in a tweet. Modi in his speech said, "The social media posts of those (opposition parties), who want to come together, are getting viral these days. These opposition parties are only uniting to promote dynastic politics." After the recent meeting of the Opposition parties in Patna, the BJP has ...

Jay Shah ensured Gujarat gets priority for cricket world cup matches: TMC

Trinamool Congress spokesperson Saket Gokhale has alleged that BCCI secretary Jay Shah, the son of Home Minister Amit Shah, has ensured that Gujarat gets priority over other states in choice of venues for the cricket World Cup scheduled to begin from October 5. As the International Cricket Council (ICC) and host BCCI announced the World Cup schedule on Tuesday, some Opposition leaders hinted at political interference in scheduling, raising questions over Ahmedabad getting big-ticket matches while many states miss out. "IPL 2023 opening match: Narendra Modi stadium; IPL 2023 Final: Narendra Modi stadium. Cricket World Cup 2023 opening match: Narendra Modi Stadium. Cricket World Cup 2023 Final: Narendra Modi stadium "Jay Shah -- BCCI Secretary and son of Amit Shah -- ensures Gujarat gets priority always over other states," TMC spokesperson Saket Gokhale said in a tweet on Wednesday. The chosen venues include Hyderabad, Ahmedabad, Dharamsala, Delhi, Chennai, Lucknow, Pune, Bengaluru,

'TMC will organise sit-in in New Delhi to press for demand to clear dues'

Senior Trinamool leader Abhishek Banerjee said the party will organise a sit-in in New Delhi to press for the demand to clear financial dues of the state. Addressing a panchayat election rally in Nadia district on Tuesday, Banerjee, the TMC national general secretary, said the BJP government has stopped giving funds under the MGNREGA scheme which has 11.36 lakh beneficiaries in the state. "The BJP-led Centre has halted funds under Awas Yojana and 100-day work scheme. Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee met Prime Minister Narendra Modi to request him to release the funds. Following this, the TMC MPs met Union Minister Giriraj Singh to request the same, but nothing moved forward," he said. The Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act 2005 (MGNREGA) aims to enhance the livelihood security of households in rural areas by providing at least 100 days of guaranteed wage employment in a financial year. Banerjee said the only way left was to go to Delhi and fight for the rights of

TMC to organise meet in Delhi to press for demand to clear dues: Abhishek

Senior Trinamool leader Abhishek Banerjee on Tuesday said the party will organise a sit-in in New Delhi to press for the demand to clear financial dues of the state. Addressing a panchayat election rally in Nadia district, Banerjee, the TMC national general secretary, said the BJP government has stopped giving funds under the MGNREGA scheme which has 11.36 lakh beneficiaries in the state. "The BJP-led Centre has halted funds under Awas Yojana and 100-day work scheme. Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee met Prime Minister Narendra Modi to request him to release the funds. Following this, the TMC MPs met Union Minister Giriraj Singh to request the same, but nothing moved forward," he said. The Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act 2005 (MGNREGA) aims to enhance the livelihood security of households in rural areas by providing at least 100 days of guaranteed wage employment in a financial year. Banerjee said the only way left was to go to Delhi and fight for the rights of

PM's remarks on opposition reflect panic of BJP following Patna meet: TMC

The Trinamool Congress on Tuesday hit out at Prime Minister Narendra Modi, claiming that his comments on the opposition reflect the panic that has gripped the saffron camp after the non-BJP parties' successful meeting in Patna last week. While addressing a gathering of party workers in Bhopal on Tuesday, Modi attacked opposition parties over corruption, terming their Patna conclave as a mere "photo-op". Last week, leaders of over a dozen parties, some of them from far-off Jammu and Kashmir and Tamil Nadu, and several bitter rivals like the Congress, Aam Aadmi Party, Trinamool Congress, and the Left, attended the conclave hosted by Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar and agreed to build on the momentum at the next meeting proposed in Shimla in July. TMC spokesperson Kunal Ghosh said, "We have heard Prime Minister Narendra Modi talking about the opposition camp. A panic has set in in the BJP camp after the successful opposition meeting in Patna, as it can sense imminent defeat. The PM

Bengal witnessing 'death of democracy' under Mamata Banerjee: Tejasvi Surya

BJP MP Tejasvi Surya on Tuesday accused West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee of organising street violence to secure electoral victories, saying the eastern state is witnessing the "death of democracy" under her leadership. Surya, who is also the chief of BJP Yuva Morcha, alleged that right after the conclusion of Assembly polls in West Bengal, Banerjee went on a spree of targeted violence against the BJP workers. "The high court took cognizance of this unprecedented violence. Even now, we are seeing in panchayat elections...how the West Bengal government is resisting the deployment of central forces,' he told reporters here after the conclusion of a public meeting organised by the youth wing of Jammu and Kashmir BJP. "What is happening in West Bengal is the death of democracy under Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee. Even the Supreme Court and the high court have taken cognizance of it," Surya said. The BJP leader said that she (Banerjee) only knows how to win elections through

TMC complicit in panchayat poll violence in West Bengal: Sitaram Yechury

CPI(M) general secretary Sitaram Yechury on Monday alleged that the Trinamool Congress was complicit in violence in West Bengal and practising double standards by speaking for democracy to oust the BJP and denying the same in the state. The statement comes days after the CPI(M) and Mamata Banerjee-led Trinamool Congress (TMC) took part in a meeting of opposition parties which resolved to fight together against the BJP. Referring to the panchayat polls in West Bengal, Yechury alleged that it has become a norm that elections under the TMC will be marked by large-scale violence and terror. He said 10 people have already lost their lives including a young CPI(M) activist Mansoor Alam. "They can't say they want democracy in India and therefore, oust the BJP, and then in Bengal ... you throttle democracy. That is not acceptable," he said at a press conference at the end of a two-day Polit Bureau meeting in Delhi. "Despite such politics of violence and terror, the people of West Bengal a

Trying Oppn unity but Cong, CPI(M) singing different tunes in WB: Mamata

Days after the mega opposition meeting in Patna, West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee criticised the role of CPI (M) and Congress, saying despite her efforts to form a grand opposition alliance against the BJP at the Centre, their actions as playing second fiddle to the saffron camp in the state are throwing a spanner in the efforts. Drawing the battle lines, opposition parties on Friday resolved to take on the BJP unitedly in the 2024 Lok Sabha elections at a crucial meeting, even as fissures emerged with the AAP asserting that it would be difficult for it to be part of any such gathering in future till the Congress publicly supports it on the ordinance issues. Over 32 leaders, including Banerjee, of more than a dozen political parties, had attended the meeting hosted by Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar in Patna. "We are trying to form a grand alliance (Mahajot) against the BJP at the Centre. But the CPI (M) and Congress are trying to work with the BJP in Bengal. I will brea

BSF trying to scare voters in Bengal's bordering areas: Mamata Banerjee

West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee on Monday accused the BSF of scaring voters in the bordering areas of the state at the "behest of the saffron camp" and asked police to keep a close watch on their activities. Addressing a panchayat election rally in the bordering district, Banerjee said, Law and order is a state subject and the Centre has no role in it. I have information that some BSF officials are visiting the border areas, threatening voters and asking them not to vote. I will ask people not to be scared and fearlessly participate in the elections, she said. While referring to the alleged shooting of villagers by the BSF last year, whom the force claimed as smugglers, Banerjee said, Police will lodge FIRs in such cases and the law will take its own course. Asserting that the TMC will defeat the BJP in the July 8 rural polls, Banerjee said, We will then defeat the BJP at the Centre and bring a development-oriented government in the country. Banerjee said the party had

WB panchayat polls: Mamata to kick-start full-scale campaign on Monday

The election will be held in a single phase on July 8, with vote counting scheduled for July 11

Is govt trying to turn Manipur into Kashmir? asks Trinamool Congress

With Union Home Minister Amit Shah holding an all-party meeting on the Manipur situation on Saturday, the Trinamool Congress demanded an all-party delegation be sent to the violence-hit state within a week as it wondered if the the government was "trying to turn Manipur into Kashmir". In a statement for the all-party meeting, in which the TMC was represented by its Rajya Sabha MP Derek O'Brien, the Mamata Banerjee-led party accused the Centre "ignoring" the needs of the people of Manipur. Derek O'Brien, sources said, is likely to read part of the statement in the meeting. Leaders of different political parties, including the BJP, Congress, TMC, Left parties and others, are taking part in the meeting which is underway. In the statement, the TMC tabulated a timeline of the violence in the state, highlighting the story of a seven-year-old boy who was allegedly burned to death with his mother and aunt while on his way to a hospital with a bullet wound. "This is one story," the TMC said

TMC calls Patna oppn meet 'good beginning' ahead of 2024 Lok Sabha polls

The Trinamool Congress considers Friday's opposition meeting in Bihar's Patna as a "good beginning" ahead of the 2024 general elections and emphasised the significance of anti-BJP parties uniting against "undemocratic and authoritarian policies". Leaders as diverse as Rahul Gandhi, Mamata Banerjee, M K Stalin, Sharad Pawar, Mehbooba Mufti and Hemant Soren and Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal are expected to take part in the meeting convened by Bihar Chief Minister and JD(U) supremo Nitish Kumar, who dumped the BJP last year. Banerjee will be accompanied by TMC national general secretary and her nephew Abhishek Banerjee for the opposition meeting. "A good beginning even before reaching Patna...All parties working to save the Constitution of the country are on the same page on many issues. For now, we have a date, a venue and an agreement that the head of every party will attend the meeting. "Subsequently, the date and venue for the next meeting will be decided in Patna. Beyond .

TMC leaving no stone unturned to create atmosphere of terror: Adhir Ranjan

"People are scared, candidates who have filed nominations had to run away from home out of fear," said Chowdhury

No place for violence in democracy: Baghel on WB Panchayat pre-poll clashes

His remarks came after the final day of filing nominations on June 15 witnessed continued clashes across various parts of the state

WB rural polls: Adhikari seeks probe into TMC's abnormally high nominations

Demanding that the Income Tax department initiate an investigation on this alleged suppression of financial fact, Adhikari also accused Shahjahan Sheikh of murdering several local BJP leaders

Narada sting operation: HC gives CBI 4 months to complete TMC MP probe

Calcutta High Court's single judge-bench of Justice Rajasekhar Mantha on Wednesday gave a deadline to the CBI to complete its probe against Trinamool Congress Lok Sabha member Aparupa Poddar

Practise what you preach: TMC counters PM's remarks on ancestral politics

Soon after the Prime Minister's comments went viral, Abhishek Banerjee came out with a Twitter message where he advised the Prime Minister to "practice" what he "preaches"

Cattle smuggling case: Delhi HC to hear Anubrata's bail plea on July 4

Delhi High Court Friday listed for July 4 TMC strongman Mondal's plea challenging the trial court's order denying him default bail in the case registered by the ED related to multi-cr cattle smuggling