Month: March 2021

The BJP on Saturday fielded former TMC leader Suvendu Adhikari from Nandigram against West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee, setting the stage for a high-profile contest from the seat in the state assembly elections.

BJP general secretary Arun Singh released the first list of party candidates for the assembly polls here.
The Trinamool Congress had on Friday released its list of candidates with Mamata Banerjee announcing that she will contest from Nandigram.

The Chief Minister, who has been representing Bhawanipur, had earlier announced that she will contest from Nandigram.

Adhikari, a former minister in the Trinamool Congress government, had joined the BJP in December last year.

He had earlier said that BJP will defeat Mamata Banerjee by over 50,000 votes from Nandigram. (ANI)

By Syeda Shabana Parveen

Soon after the ruling Trinamool Congress (TMC) announced candidates for the forthcoming Assembly elections in West Bengal, the wall paintings and flexes are all set to intensify the poll fever in the city.

Be it TMC candidate Aroop Biswas from Tollygunj or Jawed Khan from Kasba, the walls in south Kolkata have been adorned with party’s ‘joda phool’ (double flower) symbol and candidate names.

The flexes across the city are dominated by TMC slogan “Bangla nijer meyekei chaye” (Bengal wants its own daughter) featuring Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee.

Some of the graffiti also has catchy lines, like “Jokhon daki tokhon payi, Arup da ke abar chai” (Whenever we call Arup Biswas is accessible). Arup Biswas is TMC’s candidate from Tollygunj.

Elections also bring employment opportunities for painters and flex makers who give expression to all political parties’ messages, be it Bharatiya Janata Party’s ‘Sonar Bangla’ or TMC’s ‘Khela hobe’.

“In Bengal, Mamata Banerjee is going to make a come back again. We were benefitted from her schemes like Swasthya Sathi, Kanyashree and others. Most importantly, she has been with us whenever we need her,” said Subrata Mukherjee, a local resident from South Kolkata.

Another local resident Ranjit Ghatak said, “Bengal believes in development which we have seen in the past 10 years.”

On Friday, Mamata Banerjee released the list of 291 TMC candidates for the elections and said she will contest from Nandigram instead of Bhawanipore, her current constituency, where she has been the sitting MLA since 2011.

“We are the first political party to announce the candidate list. Today, we are releasing a list of 291 candidates, which includes 50 women, 79 SCs, 17 STs and 42 Muslim candidates. On three seats of north Bengal, we are not putting up our candidates. In three seats — Darjeeling, Kalimpong and Kurseong — Gorkha Janmukti Morcha (GJM) will contest the elections and whoever wins will support us,” she said.

The TMC chief said the party was not able to provide seats to many because they have to bring new candidates forward.

West Bengal Assembly elections will be held in eight phases starting from March 27 with the final round of voting on April 29. The counting of votes in the state will take place on May 2. (ANI)

A rape survivor who was burnt in Goluwala village of Hanumangarh district succumbed to injuries on Friday in Jaipur during treatment.

“The accused was undergoing trial after the woman had filed a complaint. Family members expressed their doubts about him. We are investigating,” Preeti Jain, Superintendent of Police (SP) Hanumangarh told ANI.
The survivor was earlier admitted to a hospital in Sriganganagar but later referred to Bikaner as her condition went serious. Yesterday, she was taken to Jaipur where she died in the night.

The maternal grandmother of the survivor has filed a case against Pradeep Bishnoi at Goluwala police station for burning the victim. The grandmother also said that the survivor had filed a case against Bishnoi for rape and he had been on bail for one and a half years.

According to the deceased’s family, Bishnoi had been threatening and stalking her for the last 15 days.

Bishnoi has been in the custody of Goluwala police for two days and he is being interrogated.

According to police, the CCTV footage shows another person apart from Bishnoi. Meanwhile, the survivor named Bishnoi in her statement to police.

Further investigation is underway. (ANI)

By Joymala Bagchi 

The discussions between the Congress, Left and the Indian Secular Front (ISF) on seat-sharing and alliance ahead of the assembly polls in West Bengal is yet to be concluded, said Congress Leader Pradeep Bhattacharya on Saturday.

After getting 30 seats from the Left, the ISF is asking for more seats from Congress. However, with only 90-92 seats, Congress believes offering more seats will be ‘problematic’.

“It is true that our discussion has not yet concluded. The Left Front and Congress had a discussion and we arrived at a solution. But ISF appeared in the scene and the question of leaving them some seats arose,” Bhattacharya told ANI.

“Though I told them repeatedly not to give them so many seats because it’s a new party and we do not know their organisational strength, the Left offered them 30 seats. Now the problem is that they (ISF) are asking Congress for more seats. We have only 90- 92 seats. How we are going to offer them more?” Bhattacharya added.

The Congress party believes that giving them seats means cutting down on their own, and if they cannot get more seats from the Left front, it will be difficult.

“To resolve this problem, the party president Adhir Ranjan Choudhury should talk to the Left Front chairman directly. We have narrowed down some seats but we don’t have much time left and we have to solve this at the earliest,” Bhattacharya said.

The candidate list of the Sanyukt Morcha consists of the Left front, the Congress party and Furfura Sharif’s Indian Secular Front (ISF). They announced their candidate list for the first two phases on Friday at Alimuddin.

However, crucial seats of Nandigram, Pingla and Egra, Daspur is on hold and yet to be announced.

Chairing the press conference on Friday, Left Front chairman Biman Bose said that there were a few lists where the final decisions are yet to be taken.

The elections for the 294 Assembly seats in West Bengal will begin on March 27. The state is going to witness eight-phase Assembly polls this year.

West Bengal Assembly elections for 294 seats will be held in eight phases starting from March 27 with the final round of voting taking place on April 29.

The state is likely to witness a triangular contest this time with Trinamool Congress, Congress-Left-ISF alliance, and the BJP in the fray.

The counting of votes in the state will take place on May 2. (ANI)

The Samyukt Kisan Morcha on Friday demanded a high-level judicial inquiry into the violence that occurred on Republic Day in the national capital.

“SKM demanded a high-level judicial inquiry into the incident that happened on Jan 26, 2021, where a peaceful Kisan Parade was intentionally disrupted and the route was blocked under a deep-rooted conspiracy hatched by Delhi police at the instance of Central Government,” read a press release by the Morcha.

Today the legal panel of SKM held a press conference at Kisan Bhawan Chandigarh against the repressive measures and violation of human rights at the hands of the Centre and Delhi Police in order to foil the peaceful agitation of farmers against the three farm laws enacted by the Central Government.

They further demanded the immediate release of the farmers lodged in different jails of Delhi and withdrawal of false cases registered against farmer leaders on large scale under very serious and cognizable offences and scrapping of notices being issued to hundreds of farmers in Punjab, Haryana, Rajasthan, Uttar Pradesh, Uttrakhand under the garb of joining investigation with intention to implicate them in false cases.

More than 20 FIRs have been registered against suspected and unidentified persons in which the police is intending to involve innocent persons by issuing notices. Legal penal has called upon the farmers not to be afraid of the notices and repressive measures being taken by police and not to join the investigation and also not to respond to the notices.

They further told that till today 125 farmers out of 151 have been released on bail and others are likely to be released as their bail applications are pending for hearing. The tractors and other vehicles which were illegally retained by the police need to be released as early as possible. The legal panel is also considering initiating legal action against police officers who are responsible for torture and causing injuries to the farmers.

The legal panel and the SKM have called upon the people to come forward against the repression, putting barricades on the roads, obstructing the passages and for the restoration of democratic rights and civil liberties being curtailed by the central government which is posing a great danger to the democratic system of the country.

They further told that tomorrow for repealing the three black laws, legal guarantee on minimum support price (MSP), and shunning the repressive tactics, Kundli-Manesar-Palwal (KMP) expressway will be jammed from 11 am to 4 pm. (ANI)

BJP leader Suvendu Adhikari on Friday dubbed West Bengal chief minister Mamata Banerjee as an “outsider” after she announced her decision to contest from Nandigram in the upcoming Assembly election in the state.

Adhikari, who was a trusted aide of Banerjee had switched from the ruling Trinamool Congress (TMC) to join the BJP late last year, is an MLA from Nandigram.

“Honourable chief minister will contest from Nandigram as per the candidate list. Very good, it is welcomed,” Adhikari said during a rally in Midnapore yesterday.

He also asked the people of Nandigram to raise their voices. “We want the son of Midnapore, not outsiders. We will see you on the battlefield. On 2nd May, you will lose and leave,” he said. Nandigram falls under the East Midnapore district.

The chief minister has often lashed out at the BJP terming it as an “outsider” party in the state.

On Friday, Mamata released the list of 291 TMC candidates for the elections and said she will contest from Nandigram instead of Bhawanipore, her current constituency, where she has been the sitting MLA since 2011.

“We are the first political party to announce the candidate list. Today, we are releasing a list of 291 candidates, which includes 50 women, 79 SCs, 17 STs and 42 Muslim candidates. On three seats of north Bengal, we are not putting up our candidates. In three seats — Darjeeling, Kalimpong and Kurseong — Gorkha Janmukti Morcha (GJM) will contest the elections and whoever wins will support us,” she said.

The TMC chief said the party was not able to provide seats to many because they have to bring new candidates forward.

West Bengal Assembly elections will be held in eight phases starting from March 27 with the final round of voting on April 29. The counting of votes in the state will take place on May 2. (ANI)

The Enforcement Directorate (ED) on Friday summoned former Jammu and Kashmir Chief Minister Mehbooba Mufti in a money laundering case, an ED official told ANI.

As per the official, Mufti has been asked to appear before the investigating agency on March 15.

In December 2020, the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) president alleged that several of her peers and family members were being baselessly investigated by Central agencies, and added that if the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) wanted to fight her they should do so politically.

“The BJP is not fighting me politically. I want to tell the BJP that you have so much power, so many members in parliament, and you form the government. If you want to fight me, do it politically. Not through the National Investigation Agency (NIA), Enforcement Directorate (ED) or the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI). Put your feet on the ground and fight,” she had said while addressing the media here.

She had also alleged that Central agencies were investigating her father’s tomb. “What will you get from these raids? What do I have? If I had anything you wouldn’t be going to my father’s tomb,” she had said. (ANI)

India is keeping a close eye on the current situation of a military coup in Myanmar, said the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) on Friday.

Speaking at a virtual briefing, Anurag Srivastava, MEA spokesperson, reiterated India’s call for peaceful resolve within the country.
“We are keeping a close eye on the situation in Myanmar. We are in talks with our partner countries on this. We have said that the issue must be resolved peacefully,” Srivastava said.

This comes a day after the military fired upon the pro-democracy protesters, thus killing 38 people.

The demonstration against the Myanmar Army, which ousted the democratically elected government of civilian leader Aung San Suu Kyi, has entered its fourth week.

Security forces have begun a violent crackdown on protestors in towns and cities across the country. At least 18 people were killed and more than 30 injured in Myanmar on Sunday, as police and military forces “confronted peaceful demonstrations,” the UN Human Rights Office said.

The reported casualties marked Sunday as the deadliest day since the military seized power on February 1.

Meanwhile, a Myanmar-based human rights group says at least 15 reporters and camera crew have been detained while covering the protests as of Tuesday, reported NHK World.

Despite increasing international pressure to restore the democratically-elected government, the Myanmar junta have ignored the condemnation and has continued to violently suppress the protests against its unlawful takeover of the country. Several ousted lawmakers have even designated the military as a terrorist organisation.

Moreover, Myanmar’s ousted civilian leader Suu Kyi, who was detained following the coup, said that two more charges have been added to those filed against her since the military takeover.

Hundreds of people have been arrested since the coup, according to activists, the latest being a journalist for the Democratic Voice of Burma (DVB), who live-streamed security forces outside his apartment on Monday in the coastal town of Myeik. DVB confirmed the arrest, Bangkok Post reported.

The military coup of February 1 halted Myanmar’s tentative steps towards democracy after nearly 50 years of military rule and has drawn condemnation and sanctions from the United States and other Western countries, amid growing concern among its neighbours.

According to media reports, at least 19 policemen from the Southeast Asian nation crossed over into Mizoram to seek refuge.

Srivastava responded, “As of now, we are ascertaining the facts. We will revert once we have more details on this.” (ANI)

After the owner of the explosives-laden vehicle found outside Reliance group chairman Mukesh Ambani’s residence died by suicide on Friday, BJP leader Devendra Fadnavis demanded a probe by National Investigation Agency (NIA) in the matter.

Addressing media after reports about the suicide of Mansukh Hiran, the owner of the explosives-laden vehicle found outside Antilia surfaced, Fadnavis said, “I had demanded the security for Hiran in the Legislative Assembly today along with the NIA probe in the matter. Now after the suicide of Hiran, the suspicion intensifies. I demand an NIA probe in the matter.”

Earlier today, Maharashtra Police said an unknown male corpse was found in Retibunder Creek on Retibunder road in Mumbra (w). Later the corpse was identified as Mansukh Hiran, a resident of Thane whose vehicle with gelatin sticks was found parked on Carmichael Road near Mukesh Ambani’s residence Antilia.

Police said the prima facia shows Hiran died by suicide.

In the state Assembly earlier today, Fadnavis had raised suspicion in the case and said “there are a number of coincidences in the matter”.

“The owner of the car was at Mumbai’s Crawford market for shopping but his car was stolen. Assistant Police Inspector (API) Sachin Waze who found the car, and the owner of the car Hiren were in talks, he was from thane and this car also came from thane. All this is suspicious so the owner of the car must be given protection,” Fadnavis had said.

A car carrying unassembled explosive materials was found abandoned at Carmichael Road in South Mumbai last week, near the house of Reliance Industries chairman Mukesh Ambani. The bomb squad and police teams are conducting a probe.

According to the Mumbai Police, a Bomb Detection and Disposal Squad (BDDS) examined the vehicle and found gelatin, a substance often used to make explosives.

According to sources, the handwritten “threat letter” in “broken English” was addressed to Mukesh Ambani and his wife Neeta Ambani.

The suspect who parked the car (near Mukesh Ambani’s house yesterday) was seen in CCTV footage but has not been identified as he was wearing a face mask and his head was covered with a hoodie, said Mumbai Police.

Mumbai Police has deployed its personnel outside Ambani’s house after explosive materials were found. (ANI)

As New Delhi has supplied Made in India coronavirus vaccine to countries around the world, Swedish Prime Minister Stefan Lofven has appreciated India’s role as the pharmacy of the world.

During a virtual summit on Friday, Prime Minister Narendra Modi and his Swedish counterpart Lofven agreed to remain committed to the equitable supply of the vaccines against coronavirus.

“Swedish Prime Minister greatly appreciated India’s role as the pharmacy of the world. Prime Minister Modi mentioned that India has provided vaccine to nearly 50 countries all around the world and we are committing to supply to more countries and both sides committed agreed to remain committed for the equitable supply of the vaccine,” Secretary (West) in Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) Vikas Swarup said during a briefing on India-Sweden Summit.

India, a world pharmacy, is at the forefront of the fight against Covid-19.

India has so far supplied 476.26 lakh doses of coronavirus vaccine globally, according to the Ministry of External Affairs.

During the summit, both the leaders expressed gratitude for the frontline and healthcare workers around the world who have displayed indomitable courage during the pandemic.

“Both the prime ministers expressed gratitude for the front line and heathcare workers workers around the world who have displayed indomitable courage. They appreciated the remarkable effort by researchers and entrepreneurs, who have joined hands with governments to meet the challenge by producing vaccine in record time,” Swarup said.

Swedish Prime Minister Lofven announced his country’s decision to join the International Solar alliance, Swarup said, adding that Prime Minister Modi has welcomed the decision. The International Solar Alliance (ISA) is a treaty-based inter-governmental organisation working to create a global market system to tap the benefits of solar power and promote clean energy applications.

“Welcoming the decision, Prime Minister Modi said that Sweden expertise and experience in clean and renewable energy will contribute significantly to the solar alliance and our collective effort to meet the challenge of climate change,” he said.

PM Modi and Lofven held India-Sweden virtual Summit on Friday, which lasted for nearly an hour, said Vikas Swarup. They held a “wide-ranging discussion” during the summit.

“Excellent, productive virtual Sweden-India Summit w. @narendramodi. Launched joint projects on innovation, climate & health cooperation to fight the pandemic & build back stronger, greener & more equal societies. Discussed regional affairs & efforts to strengthen multilateralism,” Sweden Prime Minister tweeted.

During the summit, both leaders underlined that long-standing close relations between India and Sweden are based on the shared values of democracy, rule of law, pluralism, equality, freedom of speech and respect for human rights.

“They reaffirm their strong commitment to work for multilateralism, rules-based international order counterterrorism, peace and security,” Swarup said during a briefing. (ANI)