Report Wire

Tag: Mamata Banerjee

  • ‘Submit Report On Sandeshkhali Violence’: West Bengal Governor Orders Mamata Govt |

    Kolkata: Sandeshkhali, a village in West Bengal, has become the latest flashpoint of political tension as Governor CV Anand Bose has now demanded a report on Friday’s violence from the Mamata Banerjee-led government. The Raj Bhavan’s directive, coupled with calls for action against the perpetrators, underlined the simmering discontent and accusations swirling around the incident.

    At the heart of the unrest lies a land dispute allegedly involving Trinamool Congress (TMC) leader Shivprasad Hazra. Angered by claims of forced land acquisition, villagers, including women leading marches, torched Hazra’s poultry farm. They were demanding the arrest of TMC leader Shahjahan Sheikh, accused of orchestrating a land ration allotment scam.

    The heavy police presence deployed to quell the protests proved insufficient to contain the villagers’ fury. The fiery act raised questions about the effectiveness of law enforcement and fueled public outrage. “Investigations are underway to determine the cause behind the disturbances in Sandeshkhali over the past three days. All complaints received in the last two days are being thoroughly examined. It is not appropriate to make any statements at the moment, as the matter is under investigation. Adequate police forces are deployed in the area, and the situation is currently under control,” said ADG Law and Order for West Bengal, Manoj Verma.

    While investigations are underway, the blame game has already begun. TMC MP Kakoli Ghosh, pointed fingers at the opposition, claiming CPI(M) and BJP instigated the violence. Two arrests have been made, and Ghosh alleged the unrest is a ploy to divert attention from Mamata Banerjee’s upcoming announcement for MGNREGA workers.

    However, BJP leader Suvendu Adhikari painted a different picture. He called the incident a repercussion of the state government’s actions, highlighting concerns about alleged suppression of democracy and silencing of dissent. Adhikari claimed the violence reflects the pent-up anger of the people simmering for years. “We do not support taking the law into one’s hands. What has been happening in the last 12 years there, it seems that democracy is over there. The right to vote and the right to voice one’s opinions is over. Whatever is happening is a Normal turn of events. People were angry for a long time and that has come out,” Adhikari said.

    Amidst these opposing narratives, the truth remains under investigation. The Governor’s demand for a report indicates a seriousness to understand the root cause and ensure accountability. However, the political mudslinging threatens to overshadow the voices of the villagers and their grievances.

    Key questions linger: Was the land acquisition legitimate? Did authorities adequately address the villagers’ concerns? Was the violence pre-meditated, or a spontaneous outburst of frustration? Only a transparent and impartial investigation can provide answers and pave the way for a peaceful resolution.

  • BJP MLAs stage protest in Bengal Assembly on CAG report, allege “misappropriation” of MGNREGA funds

    Kolkata: The BJP MLAs on Tuesday tried to move an adjournment and demanded discussion on CAG report in the West Bengal assembly, which was turned down by the Speaker Biman Bandopadhyay on Tuesday. Following the refusal, BJP MLAs staged a protest on the CAG report and alleged “misappropriation” of MGNREGA funds.

    “We were not even allowed to read our adjournment motion. We were not allowed to even discuss the CAG report in the assembly. The CAG report is not about advance adjustment as said by West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee but also finds mention of multiple fraud accounts which have been discovered,” Leader of Opposition (LoP) Suvendu Adhikari told mediapersons.

    Meanwhile, West Bengal unit of BJP has decided to meet Governor CV Ananda Bose on CAG report issue on March 9 and urge him to send recommendations to CAG for filing FIR against state government on the issue.Trinamool Supremo Mamata Banerjee has written a letter to Prime Minister Narendra Modi recently on the CAG report issue and nonsubmission of utilization letter, which was raised by BJP state President Sukanta Majumdar. The BJP on January 31 cited a CAG report to allege that “mother of all scams” to the tune of about Rs 2 lakh crore had taken place in the Trinamool Congressruled West Bengal.

    The Speaker turned down the demand stating that the issue has no justification to discuss in the House, following which BJP MLAs protested inside the House.

    Antigovernment slogans were shouted by the BJP MLAs Leader of the Opposition Suvendu Adhikari, Chief Whip Manoj Tigga and Siligurij legislator Shankar Ghosh among others. They were carrying placards and protested outside the South gate of the assembly.“CAG reports has brought out details of many fake accounts, fund diversion issues, central government guidelines violation, misappropriation of funds. It shows corruption and theft of Trinamool Congress government,” Adhikari said. State Finance Minister (MoS) Chandrima Bhattacharya said, “There is no scope of discussion on CAG in the assembly. The report is from 2003 to 2021. The central government did not receive Utilization Certificates (UC) but have released funds. How were the funds released? How come the Center announced that Bengal was the topmost performer in MGNREGA? And now the funds have been blocked.”

    After hearing that Mamata Banerjee will pay 21 lakh workers under MGNREGA, BJP has lost their minds and made all these allegations,” Bhattacharya said.

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  • Mamata Banerjee to skip meeting on simultaneous polls in Delhi

    West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee Monday said she would skip the meeting of the ‘one nation one election’ committee in New Delhi on Tuesday, citing engagements related to the upcoming state budget. The TMC supremo said she has communicated to the committee chief, former President Ramnath Kovind, about her inability to attend the meeting. “I have canceled my New Delhi trip… The state budget will be presented in the assembly on February 8, and there are only two days to go. In this situation, I had to call off the visit,” Banerjee told reporters at the state secretariat. “I have already spoken to Kovind ji about this,” she said. The chief minister said TMC MPs Sudip Bandyopadhyay and Kalyan Banerjee will be present at the meeting in the national capital.

    The committee is mandated to examine and make recommendations for holding simultaneous elections to the Lok Sabha, state assemblies, municipalities and panchayats keeping in view the existing constitutional framework.

    Banerjee had last month written to the panel members, expressing her disagreement with the concept of simultaneous polls, contending that it would be against the basic structure of “constitutional arrangements”.

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  • Ram Mandir consecration: Here’s how Opposition celebrated the event in their own style

    On January 22, 2024, the Ayodhya Ram Mandir Pran Prathistha ceremony took place, which was a momentous occasion. While the event was being celebrated, opposition leaders commemorated it in their own way. Karnataka CM Siddaramaiah inaugurated the newly constructed Ram Temple in Mahadevapura assembly, and Bengal CM Mamata Banerjee conducted an allfaith harmony rally in Kolkata.

  • INDI Alliance Faces Trouble: Mamata Signals Contesting All Seats In Bengal For Lok Sabha Polls |

    New Delhi: Troubles for the INDI alliance continue to mount as the Lok Sabha Elections draw near. The alliance has yet to reach a consensus on seat-sharing for the parties in several states, with less than three months remaining until the polls.

    Earlier, the Uddhav Thackeray-led Shiv Sena in Maharashtra showed reluctance in sharing seats with the Congress. Now, West Bengal CM Mamata Banerjee has indicated that her party, Trinamool Congress, will contest the election on all 42 Lok Sabha seats in the state independently.

    On Friday, Mamata Banerjee said that if “due importance” is not given, her party is prepared to contest the election on all 42 Lok Sabha seats in the state independently. Banerjee expressed her stance during a closed-door organizational meeting of the party’s Murshidabad district unit.

    During the meeting, she emphasized the imperative for TMC’s triumph on all three Lok Sabha seats in the district and urged party leaders to be prepared for the electoral battle. In the 2019 elections, the Congress only managed to retain the Baharampur seat, where its five-time MP and state party president Adhir Ranjan Choudhary stood.

    Meanwhile, TMC sources revealed that Mamata Banerjee clearly stated that TMC is a crucial partner in the alliance. However, in Bengal, if RSP, CPI, CPI(M) are given more importance, excluding us, then the party will carve its own path. Preparations should be made to contest and win all 42 seats. The CPI(M)-led Left Front, Congress, and TMC collectively constitute the opposition alliance ‘India.’ However, in West Bengal, CPI(M) and Congress have formed an alliance against TMC and BJP.

    Conversely, tensions within the ‘India’ alliance have surfaced over seat allocation for the upcoming Lok Sabha elections in West Bengal, particularly between pivotal allies Congress and TMC. The Congress deemed TMC’s proposal of two seats, determined by the 2019 Lok Sabha election results, insufficient, intensifying the discord between the two parties. Banerjee’s remarks followed closely after Chaudhary, a vocal critic of TMC, asserted that Congress would not “beg” for seats from the Trinamool Congress.