Page 16 - West Bengal

PM Modi slams Mamata govt, says Bengal suffering from 'selfish politics'

PM Modi criticised the Trinamool Congress TMC government for showing 'enmity towards poor, Dalits, Adivasis and women'

PM Modi to address rally in Bengal's Alipurduar today, launch gas project

Prime Minister Narendra Modi will visit West Bengal on Thursday to lay the foundation stone for a gas distribution project and address a rally in Alipurduar. This will be his first trip to the state after the success of 'Operation Sindoor' earlier this month and a year ahead of the 2026 assembly elections. During the visit, Modi will lay the foundation stone for an Rs 1,010-crore City Gas Distribution (CGD) project in Alipurduar and Cooch Behar districts and later address a public rally in Alipurduar, BJP leaders said. State BJP president and Union Minister Sukanta Majumdar told PTI that both the government events and the rally would be held in adjoining areas of the north Bengal districts. "The prime minister will first attend the government programme and then address the public meeting. In the evening, he will leave for Patna," Majumdar said. The visit comes amid heightened political activity in Bengal, with the BJP seeking to regroup ahead of the 2026 polls, and the ruling ...

PM Modi to launch development projects worth over ₹70K cr across 4 states

Prime Minister Narendra Modi will visit Sikkim, West Bengal, Bihar, and Uttar Pradesh on May 29 and 30, during which he will inaugurate, dedicate and lay the foundation stone of multiple projects

Protesting teachers to hold meeting today with Bengal edu dept official

A six-member delegation of agitating teachers, who have lost their jobs following a recent Supreme Court order, will meet West Bengal education department officials on Monday to find a solution to the impasse, one of the protesters said. State Education Minister Bratya Basu is unlikely to attend the meeting, officials said. The members of the Deserving Teachers' Rights Forum will meet the officials at Bikash Bhavan, the headquarters of the education department, in Salt Lake area, after the government decided to initiate talks with them, a protester said. Senior education department officials will hold a discussion with the protesting teachers around 1 pm, he said. The protesting teachers have been staging a sit-in for several days near Bikash Bhavan, demanding that they be reinstated in their jobs. They also refused to take part in a fresh recruitment exam as mandated by the top court. "We have been demanding that the deserving teachers be reinstated in their jobs. We are also ...

Dredging problems: West Bengal and the Northeast need a deepwater port

This situation cannot be allowed to continue indefinitely, particularly given that the geopolitical situation has turned adverse

PM Modi likely to visit Bengal on May 29; Amit Shah to follow May 31

Modi to address a meeting in Alipurduar on May 29; Shah expected to hold strategy sessions with BJP leaders as the 2027 Assembly elections approach

ECI releases schedule for bye-polls in Gujarat, Kerala, Punjab, West Bengal

ECI announces bypoll schedule in Gujarat, Kerala, Punjab, and West Bengal; mobile deposit rules and 100-meter canvassing restrictions to ensure smooth polling

Bengal CM Mamata skips NITI Aayog meet in Delhi, TMC silent on her absence

West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee on Saturday skipped the NITI Aayog's Governing Council meeting in New Delhi, sources in the state secretariat said. The reason for Banerjee's absence remains undisclosed, they added. Addressing the meeting, Prime Minister Narendra Modi said that global investors are hugely interested in India and the states should utilise this opportunity to attract investments by removing policy bottlenecks, as he stressed that if the Union government and states work together like Team India, no goal is impossible. It was also the first major interaction between the PM and the CMs following Operation Sindoor. Till Saturday evening, there was no official confirmation on whether the West Bengal government was represented at the meeting. Trinamool Congress (TMC) spokesperson Kunal Ghosh declined to comment on the state's participation. "This is completely a matter of the state government. We will not comment on this. When the CM or the state government fee

EC investigates Bengal BJP chief's wife for holding two voter IDs

The Election Commission (EC) has started an investigation into a complaint alleging that the wife of BJP's West Bengal president and Union Minister Sukanta Majumdar possesses two voter identity cards, a senior official said on Friday. Initial probe found that the minister's wife, Koel Majumdar, holds two voter ID cards with different EPIC numbers one registered in Balurghat and another in Jalpaiguri. While one card was issued under her maiden name, Koel Chowdhury, the second was created after her marriage under the name Koel Majumdar. "This could have been avoided had she submitted Form 18. It is the responsibility of the cardholder to notify the EC of any changes. In this case, the commission was not informed," the official said. He further explained that a new voter card was issued in Balurghat after she submitted Form 6. "Because the EPIC numbers and surnames were different, the error was not immediately detected. We are now verifying the photographs and other personal details

Murshidabad violence: HC panel blames police, names TMC leader in report | West Bengal | Calcutta HC

A Calcutta High Court panel has indicted a local TMC leader and slammed police inaction during the April violence in Murshidabad. This report exposes the scale of destruction, political complicity, an

Mamata urges North Bengal officials to stay alert for cross-border threats

West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee on Wednesday directed administrative and police officials in the northern part of the state to remain vigilant for cross-border threats in the strategically sensitive region. She also asked the officials to stay alert in view of potential flooding due to heavy rain. Chairing a high-level administrative meeting during her ongoing three-day visit to northern West Bengal, she said the region, which shares international borders with Nepal, Bhutan and Bangladesh, is "highly sensitive", and directed the police and administration to intensify patrolling to prevent any infiltration bid, especially of anti-national elements. "Even though the BSF is deployed, state administrative officials must also remain vigilant," she said. She also cautioned officials against the spread of misinformation and fake news, stating that updates should only be disseminated through the government during any crisis. The chief minister also raised concerns over alleged

Murshidabad violence: HC panel blames police, names TMC leader in report

Calcutta High Court panel says TMC leader led targeted attacks on Hindu homes while police failed to act as shops, temples and houses were looted and burned

PM Modi to inaugurate 3 redeveloped railway stations in Bengal on May 22

Prime Minister Narendra Modi will inaugurate three redeveloped railway stations in West Bengal on Thursday under the Centre's Amrit Bharat Station Scheme, officials said. The three stations Panagarh, Kalyani Ghoshpara and Joychandi Pahar are among 103 Amrit Bharat railway stations to be inaugurated by the PM across the country through video conferencing, they said. While Panagarh and Kalyani Ghoshpara are under the jurisdiction of the Eastern Railway, Joychandi Pahar is part of the South Eastern Railway. These existing railway stations have undergone a total revamp with new passenger facilities and aesthetics, the officials said. "With a focus on enhancing passenger amenities, improving accessibility and incorporating sustainable design, these upgrades will not only elevate the travel experience, but also contribute to the economic growth of the region," an SER official said in a statement. A total of 100 railway stations in West Bengal are being developed under the scheme, the

At least 6 killed in car-bus collision in West Bengal's Nadia district

At least six people were killed in a collision between a car and a bus in West Bengal's Nadia district on Tuesday, police said. The accident occurred around 7 am on the Krishnanagar-Karimpur state highway near Kanthalia area after the four-wheeler with six people on board collided head-on with the bus, a senior officer said. All the deceased were occupants of the car, he said. The identity of the deceased is yet to be ascertained, the Krishnanagar Police district officer said. "The private car was going from Krishnagar to Kolkata when the accident occurred. The impact of the collision was such that the private car got mangled," the officer said. Cutters were used to bring out the bodies from the mangled car, he said, adding that an investigation was initiated.

Not opting out of Centre's diplomatic mission, clarifies WB CM Mamata

Reaffirming her party's support for the Union government on matters of external affairs, TMC supremo Mamata Banerjee on Monday said her party was not boycotting the Centre's multi-party diplomatic mission aimed at countering Pakistan-sponsored terrorism and would send its representatives once a formal request is received from the Centre. She stressed that the Centre should not decide which party sends whom as part of the delegation. "We were not contacted about this. Nowadays, they only inform the parliamentary party, not the main outfit. The parliamentary party cannot take policy decisions," the West Bengal Chief Minister said at Kolkata airport before leaving for north Bengal on a three-day official trip. "No request to send a representative's name for the outreach programme came to us. If it had, then of course we could have considered it. We are totally in favour of the country on matters of external affairs. Naming representatives for diplomatic multi-party delegations to count

Jobless teachers' protest outside Bengal education dept HQ enters 4th day

School teachers, who lost their jobs following a recent Supreme Court verdict, continued their protest for the fourth consecutive day on Sunday outside the West Bengal Education Department headquarters in Salt Lake. Around 1,000 protesters, part of the Deserving Teachers Rights Forum, include teachers, who had cleared the 2016 West Bengal School Service Commission (SSC) examination but were among the 25,753 appointments invalidated by the apex court, which termed the recruitment process "vitiated and tainted". They raised slogans demanding reinstatement in their jobs and a meeting with state Education Minister Bratya Basu. A woman teacher with tears rolling down her cheeks was seen checking the answer scripts of students, while several agitators were sweeping the road at the protest site. "We will not leave this spot till Minister Bratya Basu comes here and assures us that we will not have to write the exam again. Our representation and views should be accommodated in the special .

Jobless teachers' protest outside Bengal Education Dept enters third day

School teachers, who lost their jobs following a Supreme Court order last month, continued their demonstration outside the West Bengal Education department headquarters in Salt Lake, for the third day on Saturday. Around 1,000 teachers continued their sit-in outside the Bikash Bhavan throughout Friday night-Saturday morning peacefully as police personnel kept watch from a distance. The teachers, who had cleared the 2016 School Service Commission (SSC) examination but lost their jobs after a Supreme Court order last month, are demanding that the state government take legal steps to reinstate them in their services. The Supreme Court had invalidated the appointment of 25,753 teachers and other staff in state-aided schools and termed the entire selection process "vitiated and tainted". Several protesters claimed that many members of the forum continued a sit-in outside the Bikash Bhavan throughout the night. "We have urged thousands of teachers, civil society members and others to ..

SC directs West Bengal to pay 25% Dearness Allowance to govt employees

Dearness Allowance is extra money given to government employees and pensioners to help them deal with rising prices. It is calculated as a percentage of the basic salary or pension

Teachers resume protest in West Bengal, demanding their lost jobs back

Violent clashes between protesting school teachers and the police turned the area around Bikash Bhavan into a virtual battlefield on Thursday evening

Calcutta High Court extends CAPF deployment in riot-hit Murshidabad

The court's decision follows unrest in the region last month where at least two people were killed in clashes during protests against the Waqf (Amendment) Act