The CPI-M leader was the chief minister of the state from 2000 to 2011.
On the eve of Durga Puja in October 2008, industrialist Ratan Tata announced that Tata Motors would withdraw from the nearly completed Nano car plant in Singur, attributing the decision to Mamata Banerjee's anti-land acquisition movement, which he claimed had derailed what was meant to be a "groundbreaking project" -- the world's cheapest car.
He was reviled by critics in his party as a neo-liberal in disguise but till the end, he retained his belief in secularism and the humanity of Communism.
Banerjee in a letter to Chief Minister Buddhadeb Bhattacharjee, a copy of which was made available to the press on Tuesday, said, "In the interest of the people and to keep the door open for getting their demands fulfilled, I am sending my colleague and leader of Opposition Partha Chatterjee to you on the demand of return of land of 'unwilling farmers' at Singur."
Former West Bengal Chief Minister Buddhadeb Bhattacharjee, who tested positive for COVID-19 last week, was admitted to a hospital in Kolkata on Tuesday after his health condition deteriorated, officials said.
Amidst the flurry of political activities in Delhi over selection of the Presidential nominee, Union Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee, whose name has been reported to be Congress' first choice as candidate, on Thursday telephoned former West Bengal chief minister Buddhadeb Bhattacharjee.
'I know nothing about this award. No one has told me anything about it. If they have decided to offer Padma Bhushan to me, I refuse to accept it,' he said in a statement.
Former West Bengal chief minister Buddhadeb Bhattacharjee has questioned his successor Mamata Banerjee's honesty, prompting an angry rebuttal Wednesday from Trinamool Congress which demanded an apology from the Communist Party of India-Marxist veteran.
The people of Singur feel they have lost their representative in the government who would plead the issue of fast-tracking the process of returning their land, which seems to be a distant reality, with the battle being fought in the courts.
In the wake of senior Communist Party of India Marxist leader and former chief minister Buddhadeb Bhattacharjee questioning the honesty of Mamata Banerjee, her party Trinamool Congress on Monday sought to know the details of the patronage extended to his daughter in running an activity related to forests and environment.
A day after Communist Party of India-Marxist member of legislative assembly Sushanta Ghosh was apprehended by the Criminal Investigation Department in a murder case, the West Bengal Assembly on Friday witnessed uproarious scenes on the issue with the ruling bench demanding the arrest of former Chief Minister Buddhadeb Bhattacharjee.
Reaching out to arch rival Communist Party of India - Marxist, the Trinamool Congress on Thursday invited outgoing West Bengal Chief Minister Buddhadeb Bhattacharjee to attend the swearing-in ceremony of the new government, to be headed by Mamata Banerjee.Deputy leader of the Trinamool Congress legislature party Partha Chatterjee met Bhattacharjee at his Palm Avenue residence in Kolkata and invited him for the ceremony.Chatterjee invited both Bhattacharjee and his wife Meera.
West Bengal Chief Minister Buddhadeb Bhattacharjee on Saturday censured veteran Communist Party of India-Marxist leader Anil Basu for using expletives against Trinamool Congress chief Mamata Banerjee at an election meeting, while the Trinamool Congress demanded his arrest.
Keeping pace with the high-pitch campaign by main opposition Trinamool Congress, Chief Minister Buddhadeb Bhattacharjee on Saturday organised his first roadshow from his Jadavpur constituency and said the ruling Left Front would return to power for the eighth term.
With Mamata Banerjee's 'padayatras' drawing thousands, the ruling Communist Party of India-Marxist not to be outdone has also planned a similar roadshow on coming Saturday by Chief Minister Buddhadeb Bhattacharjee in his Jadavpur constituency in southern Kolkata.
West Bengal Chief Minister Buddhadeb Bhattacharjee on Thursday described as 'absurd and baseless' Railway Minister Mamata Banerjee's claim that central security forces for anti-Maoist operations were being misused by the Communist Party of India-Marxist.
Communist Party of India-Marxist General Secretary Prakash Karat on Monday presided over the crucial party's politburo meeting in New Delhi to review the party's dismal performance in West Bengal and a close miss in Kerala polls.
An electorate of 1.44 crore is expected to vote on Wednesday in the crucial third phase of the West Bengal assembly polls spread over three districts of Kolkata and North and South 24 Parganas district to decide the fate of 479 candidates including Chief Minister Buddhadeb Bhattacharjee.
West Bengal Chief Minister Buddhadeb Bhattacharjee on Sunday said he was surprised by Prime Minister Manmohan Singh's statement about the state government's "overall failure".
Dismissing West Bengal Chief Minister Buddhadeb Bhattacharjee's criticism of Duronto Express, Railway Minister Mamata Banerjee said the importance and success of the train cannot be diminished.
Amidst tight security, West Bengal Chief Minister Buddhadeb Bhattacharjee on Tuesday filed his nomination from Jadavpur constituency in South 24-Parganas district, which will go to polls on April 27 in the third phase of assembly elections.
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The West Bengal government ordered an inquiry into the killing of All India Gorkha League president Madan Tamang in Darjeeling on Friday.
Kicking off a virtual campaign for the assembly polls due in three months, Bhattacharjee alleged that 'foreign forces' along with the Congress, Trinamool Congress and Maoists had ganged up against his government.
The Trinamool Congress attacked West Bengal Chief Minister Buddhadeb Bhattacharjee on Tuesday for asking P Chidambaram to 'mind' his language following the Union home minister's 'buck stops with you' remark.
Adopting a more aggressive posture on the letter controversy, West Bengal Chief Minister Buddhadeb Bhattacharjee on Sunday questioned how Home Minister P Chidambaram used "Trinamool Congress' language" in his missive but remained silent on the party's link with the Maoists.
Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee on Monday put the onus on West Bengal Chief Minister Buddhadeb Bhattacharjee to give a reply to Home Minister P Chidambaram's letter which asked the government to disarm CPI-M cadres in the state. "The home minister has written to the state government. He has fulfilled his responsibility. Now the state government should fulfil its responsibility and reply by acknowledging receipt of the letter," he said.
India's third largest service provider Wipro Technologies, is set to begin construction on Rajarhat campus, the second in the city, 'as quickly as possible', said state information technology minister, Debesh Das.
The Trinamool Congress will file a defamation suit against the Communist Party of India-Marxist and West Bengal Chief Minister Buddhadeb Bhattacharjee for equating the party with the Maoists.
A eight-member central team, headed by Joint Secretary in Union Agriculture Ministry E K Majhi, will visit drought-hit districts of West Bengal on Wednesday.
The West Bengal government has not given up industrialisation of the state, including finalising an alternate project for Singur, Chief Minister Buddhadeb Bhattacharjee said.
Industry was the most obvious casualty of the Left's excesses. Now what lies ahead for the state?
The Communist Party of India-Marxist on Monday ruled out any change in leadership following the poll debacle in West Bengal and Kerala as top leaders met in New Delhi to analyse what went wrong for the party in the assembly elections.
All the five former Indian Police Service officers fielded by the Trinamool Congress won comfortably, while TC nominee and former chief secretary Manish Gupta humbled Chief Minister Buddhadeb Bhattacharjee, his one time boss.
The group, led by West Bengal Chief Minister Buddhadeb Bhattacharjee and state secretary Biman Bose, feels the "timing of the withdrawal" in July 2008 was "wrong". The group will seek a review of this decision in the forthcoming extended Central Committee meeting of the party in Vijayawada in August and also question other decisions of the party that are alleged to have led to the debacle in the 2009 Lok Sabha polls.
West Bengal Chief Minister Buddhadeb Bhattacharjee, once the poster boy of development for the Communist Party of India-Marxist, has come under fire in the party's latest 'rectification' campaign.
The West Bengal government on Thursday lodged a fresh complaint with the Centre against Trinamool Congress, accusing it of having a 'nexus' with Maoists.In a letter to Home Minister P Chidambaram, Chief Minister Buddhadeb Bhattacharjee cited the arrest of two persons from a Trinamool Congress-run camp in Midnapore who allegedly had Maoist links. "The chief minister sent a letter to the Union home minister on the arrest of 2 persons on Monday with Maoist links," said sources.
In the backdrop of their "letter war" over the political killings in West Bengal, Chief Minister Buddhadeb Bhattacharjee on Wednesday met Union Home Minister P Chidambaram and discussed with him the prevailing situation in the poll-bound state.
The West Bengal chief minister did not have anything new to offer to Singur and its people, except that the site would be used for an industrial project.
Charging Home Minister P Chidambaram with adopting a 'partisan approach', the Communist Party of India - Marxist on Monday said the purpose of his letter to the West Bengal government on the alleged role of armed CPI-M cadres was meant to 'serve the political interests of Trinamool Congress'. The party also sought an explanation from him, saying the media was briefed about his letter to Chief Minister Buddhadeb Bhattacharjee even before it reached the state government.
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