Page 83 - West Bengal

Sealed ballot boxes recovered from high school in West Bengal's Gajol

Three sealed and uncounted ballot boxes were recovered from a high school at Gajol in West Bengal's Malda district on Tuesday morning. Sources said the boxes were kept in a classroom which was converted into a counting centre for the recently concluded rural elections. Reacting to the recovery of the ballot boxes, Congress leader Pradip Bhattacharya said it only proves that the panchayat polls have been a farce in the name of democracy. He said the sealed boxes should have been under the supervision of a returning officer, which is ideally the BDO. "I demand strict action against the officer concerned as results have already been declared without counting the votes in those three boxes," Bhattacharya said. Echoing the Congress leader, CPI(M) leader Tanmoy Bhattacharya also said the panchayat polls was a farce. He said it shows the desperation of the ruling Trinamool Congress to wrest power in the rural countryside. The TMC secured a massive victory in the July 8 panchayat ...

N Bengal floods due to Bhutan rivers, centre should have noticed: Minister

The region had received heavy rainfall, resulting in swollen rivers, disrupted roads and huge damage of property recently

In Bengal, it looks like a long haul for BJP in run-up to 2024 LS polls

The Congress had no tie-up with the Left in 2021 while the ISF, an entity appealing distinctly to West Bengal's Muslims, emerged just before the last Assembly polls and made no impact then

Mamata to send high-level disaster management team to North Bengal

West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee on Sunday said that several people have been affected, properties damaged and roads "disrupted" by the recent heavy rainfall in the northern districts of the state. Stating that she has been personally monitoring the situation in those districts, Banerjee said that she will be sending a high-level disaster management team including Irrigation Minister and senior officials there on Monday. She assured all forms of help saying that chief secretary HK Dwivedi would also be monitoring the situation round the clock. "North Bengal districts have received heavy rainfall, rivers have swollen, roads have been disrupted, properties have been damaged, people have been marooned," she tweeted. "DMs and SPs are doing relief and rescue works on war footing with help of NDRF and SDRF. I have been monitoring personally and instructed my CS to supervise the field situation round the clock. No stone will be left unturned," she added. "Sending a high-level .

Mamata to skip oppn dinner on Mon, to take part in discussion on Tue

West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee will not be attending an opposition dinner on July 17 as she has to follow post-surgery protocols, but will be part of the daylong meeting of the parties on July 18, sources in her Trinamool Congress (TMC) said on Saturday. Banerjee underwent a microsurgery on her left knee at the state-run SSKM hospital in Kolkata on Thursday. The TMC chief suffered a ligament injury on her left knee during the emergency landing of her helicopter at the Sevoke Airbase in north Bengal on June 27. "While her doctors have given her the permission to fly and attend the opposition summit, she has been advised rest. So she will skip the dinner, but will attend the daylong meeting on July 18," a source in the TMC said. A dinner for the opposition parties has been planned by Karnataka Chief Minister Siddaramaiah in Bengaluru on July 17. TMC's national general secretary Abhishek Banerjee and Rajya Sabha MP Derek O'Brien will be accompanying the West Bengal chief .

Union Minister Amit Shah likely to visit West Bengal in August: BJP

Union Home Minister Amit Shah is likely to visit West Bengal in August, a month after the violence affected panchayat elections in the state, BJP state president Sukanta Majumdar said on Saturday. Majumdar, who had met Shah in Delhi on Friday, told reporters at the airport here on the arrival from the national capital, that Shah does not want a single death to take place due to political violence in West Bengal. Police sources said 39 people have died in panchayat poll-related violence since the election date was announced on June 8. A majority of those who lost their lives were affiliated with the TMC. Majumdar said, "Amit-ji is expected to visit West Bengal in August. The date will depend on his programmes. He is concerned about the prevailing situation in Bengal. He wants peace to return. He wishes not a single death from any party happens any more." The BJP MP claimed that the casualty figure would have been higher if the central forces were not deployed after the panchayat ...

TMC worker injured in West Bengal panchayat poll violence, dies today

A 61-year-old Trinamool Congress worker, who was injured in a political clash at Bhangar in West Bengal's South 24 Parganas district on the eve of the July 8 panchayat polls, died on Saturday, an official said. The TMC pointed an accusing finger at the Indian Secular Front (ISF) for the murder, but the opposition party rejected the allegation. Seikh Moslem was seriously injured in an attack with rods at Bhangar on July 7 night when he was passing a forested area, hours before the panchayat elections were to start. He succumbed in a private hospital in Kolkata, the official said. TMC MLA from Canning Purba, Saukat Molla, who is entrusted with overseeing party activity in Bhangar, alleged that Moslem was attacked without any provocation by ISF activists who have unleashed a reign of terror in the area. Bhangar is a strong-hold area of the ISF and the party's lone MLA is also from that constituency. ISF legislator Nawsad Siddique denied involvement of his party workers in any violenc

Mamata Banerjee to attend next opposition meet in Bengaluru on July 17-18

According to sources, eight new parties have extended their support to the Opposition parties' efforts to present a united front against the BJP ahead of the 2024 Lok Sabha polls

Amit Shah's remarks on Bengal rural polls distasteful, insensitive: TMC

West Bengal's ruling Trinamool Congress has dubbed Union Home Minister Amit Shah's remarks on violence in the state's panchayat polls as "distasteful and insensitive", and wondered about the role of his ministry in restoring peace in strife-torn Manipur. TMC national spokesperson and Rajya Sabha leader Derek O'Brien said instead of showing compassion to grieving families of those who died in the violence, the BJP leader is gloating over vote percentage. Shah on Friday said even "bloodcurdling violence" could not stop the BJP from putting up a stellar performance in the panchayat elections in West Bengal. "Mr Home Minister@AmitShah, what a distasteful, insensitive statement from you. How much lower can you go? As Home Minister, you have the responsibility to protect people and keep the nation at peace. Instead of showing compassion to grieving families, you are gloating over the politics of (fake) vote percentages. Shame," O'Brien tweeted on Friday. "And if that is not bad enough, e

CM Saha slams TMC for perpetrating violence in Bengal Panchayat polls

Manik Saha highlighted that in the 2023 Assembly elections, Tripura set a remarkable precedent by holding elections without any violence or disruptions

WB teachers' recruitment 'scam': ED attaches assets of expelled TMC workers

Assets worth more than Rs 15 crore of expelled TMC youth wing leaders Kuntal Ghosh and Santanu Banerjee and another person have been attached in connection with a money laundering probe into the alleged West Bengal school teachers' recruitment scam, the ED said on Friday. The attached properties are in the form of bank accounts, shares, mutual funds, residential flats and land, the agency said in a statement. The total value of the provisionally attached assets, seized under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act, is Rs 15.03 crore. They belong to accused persons Ghosh, Banerjee and Ayan Sil who "acted as agents in the illegal collection of money from aspiring candidates for the posts of primary teacher", it alleged. The Enforcement Directorate (ED) had earlier arrested the three and Sil is an alleged associate of Banerjee. Former TMC leader and West Bengal education minister Partha Chatterjee, his alleged associate Arpita Mukherjee, TMC MLA and former president of the West Bengal .

Indian Army rescues 72, including 24 children from village in West Bengal

Heavy rainfall was witnessed all along North Bengal on the nights of July 12 and 13, which led to the Torsa and Kaljani rivers of Alipur Duar district crossing danger levels

WB rural polls: Will visit violence-hit areas, says BJP fact-finding team

A BJP fact-finding team, which arrived in West Bengal on Wednesday, said it will visit areas hit by poll violence and speak to victims to assess the ground situation. The four-member team led by former Union minister Ravi Shankar Prasad said it plans to visit north and south Bengal districts. Violence and killings during rural polls are unacceptable. So many people have been killed; why have so many people had to die in this election? We will visit the violence-hit areas of north and south Bengal. Later, we will submit our report to our national president JP Nadda, Prasad told reporters at the airport. Besides Prasad, the team includes Satyapal Singh, Rajdeep Roy, and Rekha Verma. The violence, which rocked the panchayat polls on Saturday, had claimed at least 15 lives while three more were murdered on counting day on Wednesday. Since elections were announced last month, at least 33 people have lost their lives in poll-related violence, with the ruling party suffering 60 per cent o

TMC sweeps Bengal rural polls, bags over 34,000 gram panchayat seats

The ruling Trinamool Congress on Wednesday looked poised to sweep to a massive victory in violence-scarred rural polls in Bengal as the overnight count of ballots gave it an unassailable lead in results declared till now by the State Election Commission. The ruling TMC has won in 34,359 gram panchayat seats, besides leading in 752 seats, according to the SEC as of 8 am on Wednesday. Its nearest rival BJP has won 9,545 seats and is leading in 180 seats. In all elections are being held for 63,229 gram panchayat seats. The CPI( M) has won 2,885 and is leading in 96 seats. The Congress won 2,498 seats and is leading in 72. The counting though largely peaceful was marred by stray incidents including bombs being hurled in Bhangar, a spot where there had been deaths in the run-up to election, leading to firing by central forces and state police on Tuesday night on an unruly mob which resulted in injuries including on ISF supporters and policemen including an IPS officer. The ruling TMC

WB polls: BJP chief sits on dharna, accuses TMC of fabricating results

Alleging the ruling Trinamool Congress (TMC) of fabricating the results, State BJP Chief Majumdar said that he will be opting for legal action in the matter

TMC set to dominate Bengal rural polls, bags 18,606 gram panchayat seats

TMC looked set to sweep the violence-scarred rural polls keeping intact the mandate it won two years back during the assembly polls by taking a seemingly unassailable lead in results declared till now by the State Election Commission. The ruling TMC has won in 18,606 gram panchayat seats out of the 27,985 seats declared, besides leading in 8,180 seats, according to the SEC as of 7.30 pm on Tuesday. Its nearest rival BJP has won 4,482 seats and is leading in 2,419 seats. In all elections are being held for 63,229 gram panchayat seats. The Left Front has won 1,502 seats, of which the CPI(M) alone has won 1,424. The Left is currently leading in 969 seats. The Congress won 1,073 seats and is leading in 693. Other parties won 476 seats and led in 208 seats, while independents which included TMC rebels won 1,060 seats and led in 466 seats. Candidates tied for 785 seats so far. The ruling TMC won 118 Panchayat samiti seats while leading 782 seats. BJP has drawn a blank till now though it

There will be relentless fight against growing violence in Bengal: WB guv

The decision to hold re-polling followed widespread allegations of ballot box tampering and violence, resulting in losing at least 19 lives

WB Panchayat elections: Counting begins at 696 booths after re-polling

All counting venues will be manned by armed state police personnel and central forces, with prohibitory orders under Section 144 of CrPC being imposed outside the venue to avoid any untoward incidents

Hubris in West Bengal

Party-sponsored violence must

IFB Agro's fish feed plant in 2024, liquor biz face trouble on duty hike

IFB Agro Industries on Monday said its alcohol business is facing challenges due to a sharp hike in liquor prices due to a 30 per cent excise rise by the West Bengal government, while the company's new fish feed manufacturing facility in Odisha will be operational from March 2024. IFB Agro management informed investors in a report that the company's board decided to set up the fish feed plant in Odisha despite neighbouring West Bengal being its major market, due to certain issues faced by it and for a better business environment. The company did not divulge more details on the subject. "The liquor business witnessed a sharp decline in volume in the industry during the year as there has been a sharp increase in prices by 30 per cent (MRP). This abnormal increase in the prices of India Made Foreign Liquor was made effective from January 2023 by the West Bengal Excise Department, which led to a sharp decrease in demand, as the same has been made unaffordable for the people at the bott