Page 89 - West Bengal

All-party meeting over West Bengal panchayat polls scheduled for today

West Bengal's State Election Commission (SEC) will hold a meeting on Tuesday to hear demands and grievances of all political parties on the July 8 panchayat elections and discuss the law and order situation, a senior official of the poll body said. The meeting will be chaired by SEC Rajiva Sinha. "All parties have been invited to the meeting. There will be discussions on the law and order situation. We will also listen to their grievances and suggestions," the official said. The BJP asserted that the all-party meeting would bear no fruit, while the CPI(M) questioned the "purpose" of calling it when there are only two days left for filing nominations. West Bengal has been witnessing a series of clashes and ransacking of party offices. Opposition parties alleged that the ruling Trinamool Congress workers were not allowing their candidates to file nominations. "The all-party meeting is called before the dates of the election are decided. The SEC will have to face tough questions as

West Bengal election panel may extend rural poll nomination date by day

The State Election Commission (SEC) on Monday told the Calcutta High Court that it can extend the last date of filing nominations for panchayat polls in West Bengal by a day to June 16. After hearing petitions of opposition leaders for extension of date for filing nominations and deployment of central forces for the July 8 polls, the court had on June 9 observed that the time given for filing papers is prima facie inadequate. SEC counsel Jayanta Mitra, who submitted a report before the division bench presided by Chief Justice T S Sivagnanam on Monday, said the last date for filing nominations could be extended to June 16, stating that six days were given for the purpose on previous occasions too. The high court had directed the SEC to file a report in the form of an affidavit on the petitions by Congress leader Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury and BJP's Suvendu Adhikari for extension of dates as also for deployment of central forces. Adhikari's counsel S Guru Krishnakumar told the court that

FIRs filed against central forces over protests against Abhishek Banerjee

West Bengal Police filed four FIRs against some central armed force personnel in connection to the protests that Trinamool Congress national general secretary Abhishek Banerjee faced in Thakurnagar

'Corruption has become one major motive in Bengal': Suvendu Adhikari

West Bengal Leader of Opposition Suvendu Adhikari has slammed the nomination filing procedure for the upcoming panchayat polls and said that corruption has become the major motive in Bengal

West Bengal rural polls: Section 144 imposed near nomination centres

The state election commission (SEC) has directed all district magistrates and superintendents of police to impose prohibitory orders under Section 144 of the CRPC in a 1km-radius of all nomination centres of panchayat elections, a senior official said on Monday. The step was taken to ensure that the nomination process passed off safely, he added. The order will be in force till Thursday. We decided to impose prohibitory orders in a 1km radius of nomination centres, the official said, adding that an order to this effect was issued by the SEC on Sunday. The panchayat polls will be held on July 8. The SEC said only two persons could step inside a nomination centre for filing papers, he said. The official said over 10,000 nomination papers had been filed so far for three-tier elections on the first two days across the state with the majority numbers filed by opposition parties.

With 12 of 475 cases filed nationally in 2014-21, WB tolerates dissent more

The latest report of the National Crime Records Bureau (NCRB), giving figures up to 2021, says that only 12 sedition cases have been filed in West Bengal between 2014 and 2021

W Bengal fears 2018 violence repeat as panchayat poll process takes off

As the newly appointed West Bengal State Election Commissioner Rajiva Sinha announced the dates for polls for the three-tier panchayat system and the nomination process started from Friday

Midnapore-Howrah local train derails at Kharagpur, no injuries reported

A wheel of the last bogie of the Midnapore-Howrah local train derailed in West Bengal at Kharagpur yard on Saturday

Violence won't be tolerated in panchayat polls, says WB Guv ahead of polls

West Bengal Governor C V Ananda Bose on Saturday asserted that violence will not be tolerated in the ensuing panchayat elections in the state. His assertion came after State Election Commissioner Rajiva Sinha called on him to explain the commission's stand on demands for extending the date of filing nominations for the three-tier panchayat polls and to explain steps taken to contain incidents of violence. Bose, in a statement, said, "Ever since the announcement of the panchayat elections, political parties have been flooding the governor with requests of intervention to ensure peace and harmony during the election. They came out with a number of suggestions expressing their apprehension about the likelihood of 'muscle raj' in the coming elections in the state." "The governor assured them that the elections will be held in a free and fair manner. He also reiterated that violence will be the first casualty in the ensuing election. He said that the ensuing panchayat election will prove

WB panchayat polls: All-party meeting on Jun 13 to discuss law and order

The State Election Commission on Saturday announced that an all-party meeting will be held on June 13 where the prevailing law and order situation in West Bengal would be discussed, and grievances would be heard regarding the panchayat polls. The meeting will be chaired by State Election Commissioner Rajiva Sinha, an official said. "All political parties have been invited to the meeting scheduled on Tuesday. There will be discussions on the law and order situation in the state. We would also like to hear the grievances and demands of the political parties," he said. BJP state president Sukanta Majumdar said that with June 15 being the last date for filing nominations, this meeting would yield no results. "They should have called the meeting before the date of the elections was announced. With June 15 being the last date for filing nominations, I do not see any ways to implement the suggestions that the opposition parties would provide at the meeting," he told PTI. Senior CPI(M) le

Municipalities' recruitment case: HC expresses ire over slow pace of probe

The Calcutta High Court on Friday expressed ire over the slow pace of investigation by central agencies in the multi-crore municipalities' recruitment case in West Bengal

West Bengal three-tier panchayat polls to be held on July 8: State EC

The three-tier panchayat polls in West Bengal will be held on July 8, State Election Commissioner Rajiva Sinha said on Thursday. The polls for the village councils will be held in a single day and the last day for filing nominations will be June 15. The panchayat polls will be held on July 8. The last date for filing nominations is June 15. The last date of withdrawal of nominations is June 20, Sinha told a press conference here. Sinha, however, evaded a direct reply on whether the elections would be held under the supervision of central forces as demanded by opposition parties. The panchayat election is considered to be an indicator of which way the state will vote in the 2024 Lok Sabha polls.

IMD issues heatwave alert for some states; other states may see excess rain

Heatwave conditions are also expected to prevail over Odisha the sub-Himalayan West Bengal region between June 8 to June 10, over Telangana on June 8,9, and over several parts of UP till June 11

TMC MLA threatens to restrict movement of central agencies in Bengal

"Actually, Trinamool Congress is nothing better than a gutter and anyone getting in the gutter gets acclimatised to its ambience," BJP leader said

Many WB universities decide to introduce exit option after 3 yrs in UG

After the introduction of four-year honours system in the UG level, several varsities in West Bengal have decided to introduce the option for exiting after three years in major disciplines for those students who want to graduate without an honours as per the New Education Policy 2020 guidelines. As per the guidelines of NEP 2020, the UGC in its recommendations referred to an option where a student can either exit three years after pursuing the Bachelor of Honours course in major subjects as a graduate or complete the four year course to qualify as an honours graduate. Those who study further can get an honours degree or an 'honours with research'. State-run Calcutta University Pro-Vice Chancellor Ashis Chatterjee told PTI Wednesday "We have made an exit option for those students who want to opt out after three years in certain BA, BSc courses and for those who want to complete it in four years." To a question, he said "we have passed on the communication to all the affiliate college

Bengal govt accused of diverting funds for paying Odisha train victims

As West Bengal CM Mamata Banerjee is all set to pay compensation cheques to the families of the victims of Odisha triple train tragedy

CBI raids multiple locations in Bengal linked with job scam in civic bodies

The Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) on Wednesday conducted raids at multiple locations in West Bengal in connection with its probe into alleged irregularities in recruitment in civic bodies, an official said. Sleuths of the central agency started search operations this morning in 14 municipalities, including South Dum, Panihati, Kanchrapara, Chinsurah and Dum Dum. The CBI teams also raided the office of the state urban development department in the Salt Lake area, he said. According to the official, allegations of cash-for-jobs had surfaced over appointments of personnel in these civic bodies for which the search operations were taking place.

Kurmis allege conspiracy in Bengal to instigate Santhals against them

The tension between the Kurmi and the state government had been rising for some time, over the continuous protest programmes in demand of the ST status

Train crash: LIC to open helpdesks at Bengal railway stations from Wed

Life Insurance Corporation of India (LIC) will open dedicated helpdesks at some railway stations in West Bengal from Wednesday to offer assistance to family members of those who lost their lives in the Balasore train accident for claim settlement. LIC Zonal Manager (East) Ajay Kumar said dedicated helpdesks at various railway stations, such as Howrah, Shalimar, Kharagpur and Medinipur, will be operational to offer spot assistance in addition to services from branches. "I am waiting for the list of the deceased from the railways so that we can contact their family members and deploy our resources for identification to settle claims. It will be an extended help to the family in this hour of crisis," Kumar told PTI. The life insurer had said it would expedite claim settlements to provide financial relief for the victims of the triple train accident in Odisha's Balasore on June 2. Over 275 people were killed and more than 1,100 passengers were injured in the train crash. More such ..

Odisha train tragedy: 31 from West Bengal are still missing, says Mamata

West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee said 31 passengers from her state, who were travelling in the express trains that met with an accident on June 2 evening in Odisha's Balasore, are missing