Page 84 - West Bengal

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

Unrest and re-polling in West Bengal Panchayat Elections: Details here

The three-tier panchayat elections in 20 out of 30 districts witnessed widespread violence, looting of ballots papers and rigging

Repolling underway in 700 booths; BJP, TMC in war of words over violence

No major incident was reported as fresh polling was underway in nearly 700 booths in 19 districts of West Bengal where voting for the panchayat elections was declared void, officials said. The repolling was ordered in 696 booths by the State Election Commission (SEC) on Sunday evening amid allegations of tampering with ballot boxes and the violence that left 15 people dead, they said. The repolling started at 7 am amid tight security with four central forces personnel deployed in each booth, besides state police. Till 1 pm, 30.54 per cent voter turnout was recorded. Voting started late in a few booths as ballot boxes did not reach on time, officials said. These booths will be given extra time to complete the polling, they said. "No major untoward incidents were reported from the districts where repolling is underway. A couple of stray incidents happened and those were managed by the police," an SEC official said. In Malda, locals blocked a booth in Dogachi in Raniganj panchayat i

Voting rigged in booths, to move HC with evidence: Suvendu Adhikari

As repolling is in progress in nearly 700 booths for panchayat elections on Monday, the BJP accused the State Election Commission (SEC) of not giving importance to the thousands of booths where voting should have been conducted again. Leader of the Opposition Suvendu Adhikari said he is collecting evidence of alleged malpractice in several thousands of booths during the polling on Saturday and, armed with these, will move the Calcutta High Court. "We had submitted a list of 6,000 booths to the SEC recommending repoll. Actually, false voting had taken place in 18,000 booths at the behest of the Trinamool Congress. We are collecting more evidence... video footage and everything," Adhikari told reporters. The West Bengal SEC has announced that repolling will be held in 696 booths across the state, where voting for the rural elections was declared void following reports of vote-tampering and violence. "Our list has apparently been overlooked by SEC Rajiva Sinha and we are not surprised

Happenings in West Bengal under CM Banerjee frightening: Digvijaya Singh

Against the backdrop of violence in Panchayat polls in West Bengal, senior Congress leader Digvijaya Singh on Monday said the happenings under the watch of Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee are frightening and unpardonable. What is happening in Panchayat Polls in Bengal is frightening. I have been an admirer of Mamata of her grit and determination but what is happening is unpardonable. We know you bravely faced a similar situation in the CPM rule but what is happening now is not good for our Democracy, Digvijaya Singh tweeted on Monday morning. Notably, comments of Singh, a Rajya Sabha member, came amid efforts by the Opposition to form a united bloc to take on BJP in the next Lok Sabha elections. On June 23, Opposition parties, including Congress and Mamata Banerjee-led Trinamool Congress, met in Patna. That meeting was attended by Banerjee, AICC president Mallikarjun Kharge and Rahul Gandhi among others. Polling was held on Saturday in West Bengal in more than 61,000 booths for the

Cong moves HC over panchayat poll violence, seeks compensation for victims

The Calcutta High Court on Monday allowed senior Congress leader Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury to file a petition seeking compensation to victims of panchayat poll violence in West Bengal and an investigation into it by an independent agency. Submitting personally before the bench presided by Chief Justice TS Sivagnanam, Chowdhury, the state Congress president, alleged that entire West Bengal was ravaged by unprecedented violence during the elections held on July 8. Claiming that most of the deceased belonged to the poor, vulnerable and underprivileged sections of society, he prayed before the court that the next of kin of the deceased and the injured be given monetary compensation. He also sought an investigation into the incidents of violence, including killings and use of firearms and crude bombs, by an independent agency. The bench, also comprising Justice Hiranmay Bhattacharyya, granted leave to him to file the petition. Chowdhury prayed for granting some pecuniary benefit so that t

Derek O'Brien, Saket Gokhale among 6 candidates named by TMC for RS polls

The Trinamool Congress on Monday announced its candidates for the six Rajya Sabha seats in West Bengal that will go to polls later this month. Among these candidates were Derek O'Brien, Sukhendu Sekhar Ray and Dola Sen. O'Brien, an MP since 2011, is the TMC's leader in Rajya Sabha, while Ray who was first sent to the Upper House of Parliament in 2012 is the deputy chief whip, and Sen, a senior leader and trade unionist, became an MP in 2017. The newcomers on the list were Bangla Sanskriti Mancha president Samirul Islam, TMC's Alipurduar district president Prakash Chik Baraik, and RTI activist and TMC spokesperson Saket Gokhale. Besides O'Brien, Ray and Sen, the tenures of Congress MP Pradip Bhattacharya, TMC's Assam leader Sushmita Dev and its Darjeeling leader Shanta Chhetri's ended, following which these six seats fell vacant. A seventh Rajya Sabha seat from West Bengal is also vacant after former Goa chief minister Luizinho Faleiro resigned as a TMC MP in April. A bypoll will be

West Bengal voters happy with re-poll under heavy security arangements

"Today, it feels like an election day. We can see the central forces today", said Anamika Mandal, who came to cast her vote at Tikiapara Primary High School in the Murshidabad district

Repolling begins in 19 districts of WB where elections were declared void

Repolling began at 7 am on Monday in 696 booths across 19 districts of West Bengal where voting for the panchayat elections was declared void amid allegations of tampering with ballot boxes and the violence that left 15 people dead, officials said. The repolling will be held till 5 pm amid tight security with four central forces personnel deployed in each of those booths, besides state police, they said. Among the districts where repolling was being held, violence-hit Murshidabad has the highest number of booths at 175, followed by Malda with 109, they added. Repolling was also being held at 89 booths in Nadia, followed by Cooch Behar (53), North 24 Parganas (46), Uttar Dinajpur (42), South 24 Parganas (36), Purba Medinipur (31) and Hooghly (29), officials said. No repolling was ordered in Darjeeling, Jhargram and Kalimpong districts, they said. The decision for repolling in these 696 booths was announced by the State Election Commission (SEC) on Sunday evening after reviewing rep

WB governor arrives in Delhi, likely to meet Home Minister Amit Shah

Governor Bose is likely to call on Union Home Minister Amit Shah over the widespread violence during the panchayat polls in West Bengal

Bengal SEC orders repolling on July 10 in booths where voting declared void

The West Bengal State Election Commission announced that repolling will be held on Monday in all booths where voting for the rural elections has been declared void. The SEC, which held a meeting on Sunday evening, went through reports of vote-tampering and violence which affected polling in many places, and passed the order, an official said. Among districts where repolling was announced, Murshidabad has the highest number of booths at 175, followed by Malda with 112. Violence-hit Nadia will see repolling in 89 booths, while North and South 24 Parganas districts will witness repolling in 46 and 36 booths respectively.

MHA directed Central forces to arrive late in Bengal: Adhir Chowdhury

West Bengal Pradesh Congress Committee president Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury on Sunday alleged the Union Home Ministry had directed the Central forces to delay their coming to the state to help ruling Trinamool Congress loot votes during the panchayat poll. He also alleged that the BJP in New Delhi and the TMC had reached an understanding and "in exchange for this favour" TMC chief Mamata Banerjee would "play spoilsport" in the fight of a united opposition against the saffron party in 2024 Lok Sabha elections. "The Central forces were late in coming to Bengal under the instructions of the Union Home Minister and the BJP in New Delhi. They have an understanding with the TMC in Bengal and that is the reason the central forces were late in coming. They gave TMC the opportunity to loot votes, that is because, in the future, Didi (Mamata Banerjee) will be a 'gaddar' (traitor ) to break the proposed opposition front," Chowdhury said. Chowdhury was speaking to reporters after paying a visit to

WB Panchayat Polls: BJP MP alleges ballot rigging, demands re-polling

He further alleged that ballot boxes are still missing, adding that TMC is attempting to capture the panchayats like they captured the government

West Bengal guv flies to Delhi to submit report on poll violence to Shah

West Bengal Governor C V Ananda Bose on Sunday flew to New Delhi, where he is likely to meet Union Home Minister Amit Shah and submit a report on the violence that took place during the panchayat elections in the state, an official said. At least 15 people were killed in violence during polling in the state on Saturday. Bose is likely to meet Shah on Monday morning, the official told PTI. The state governor had visited various places, mostly in North 24 Parganas district, and taken stock of the situation on Saturday during the polling. He had met family members of an injured person and had also visited a hospital, where the person was undergoing treatment.

West Bengal Governor Ananda Bose to visit Delhi, likely to meet Amit Shah

Meanwhile, West Bengal State Election Commission on Sunday said the Police have confirmed 10 deaths in poll-related violence across the state

Protests over West Bengal panchayat polls irregularities turn violent

Protests were held in different parts of West Bengal on Sunday against the violence that rocked the panchayat elections and over allegations of irregularities. The toll in the violence rose to 15 after a person was found dead in South 24 Parganas, and two others succumbed to their injuries, officials said. BJP supporters staged a demonstration outside the State Election Commission office in Kolkata. Security was beefed up in the area as the protestors shouted slogans against the SEC over the alleged "inability" of the poll panel to conduct the elections peacefully. In Purba Medinipur district, BJP workers blocked the Haldia-Mecheda state highway at Nandakumar alleging that ballot boxes were being tampered with at the counting centre at Srikrishnapur High School. "We received information around 3 am that the ballot boxes were being changed. We are demanding repolling at all the booths in the area under the protection of central forces, besides counting of votes at the booths itself,

Police confirmed 10 deaths in panchayat poll-related violence: Bengal SEC

He added that while political violence and clashes during elections were nothing new in Bengal, the scale of violence seen during the polling for the panchayats on Saturday was 'unprecedented'

BJP holds protest outside SEC office against Bengal rural poll violence

BJP supporters on Sunday staged a demonstration in front of the office of West Bengal State Election Commission here, protesting against the panchayat poll violence that left 15 people dead. Security was beefed up around the SEC office in the city as BJP workers shouted slogans against the alleged "inability" of the commission to conduct the elections peacefully. A delegation of the BJP's state unit went inside the office to meet State Election Commissioner Rajiva Sinha, a party leader said. A total of 73,887 seats in the state's three-tier panchayat system went to the polls on Saturday, with 2.06 lakh candidates in the fray. A voter turnout of 66.28 per cent was recorded provisionally, officials said. The toll in the violence during the rural polls rose to 15 after a person was found dead in South 24 Parganas, and two others succumbed to their injuries, they said. The BJP, which blamed the state election commissioner for the poll-related deaths, shot off a letter to Union Home ..

BJP alleges central forces 'deliberately' not deployed in panchayat polls

The opposition BJP in West Bengal on Sunday alleged that the central forces were not deployed "deliberately" during the panchayat elections, inviting a sharp retort from the ruling TMC which said there was no guarantee that violence would not have happened if the forces were deployed. BJP national vice president Dilip Ghosh said if the central forces were deployed in sensitive places, there would not have been so much violence, and people could have exercised their franchise freely and without fear. "The central forces were not deployed in sensitive areas deliberately," he said. Ghosh alleged that instead of deploying the forces in the polling booths, they were made to patrol highways or were kept at police stations. "Even where they were deployed, that was done only after the violence and looting of votes," he claimed. "They were ordered to be deployed in all booths by the Calcutta High Court, but that was not done," he said. TMC said there was no guarantee that violence would n

BJP's Amit Malviya alleges 'Ballot Box' change by TMC in Bengal's Malda

The three-tier panchayat elections in 20 districts were marked by widespread violence, looting of ballots papers and rigging