"I came to meet you as your 'didi' not as the chief minister," she said.
Setting aside political rivalry, West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee on Monday called up BJP state president Sukanta Majumdar -- who was diagnosed with Covid-19 a day ago -- to enquire about his health.
As Cyclone Dana barrels toward the coasts of Odisha, threatening to impact nearly half of the state's population, the government is racing against time to execute a massive evacuation plan aimed at relocating about 10 lakh people in several coastal districts to safety. In West Bengal, the cyclone is set to bring heavy rainfall in several southern West Bengal districts, including Kolkata, the India Meteorological Department (IMD) has said.
Although both sides agreed on the prevailing threat culture, they differed on the underlying premises, forces, and situations that promote it.
The owner and manager of Rituraj Hotel in Kolkata have been arrested following a devastating fire that killed 14 people. West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee has ordered surprise checks of all establishments in the city to ensure fire safety compliance, after the tragedy highlighted serious violations at the hotel. The hotel has been sealed and special committees will be formed to monitor and identify establishments flouting fire safety norms.
Infighting within West Bengal's ruling Trinamool Congress (TMC) came to the fore after a video of an alleged verbal spat between party MPs and screenshots of heated exchanges from its official WhatsApp group for parliamentarians went viral. The incident reportedly involved a public altercation at the Election Commission headquarters, followed by a heated exchange on the party's WhatsApp group, leading to accusations of misconduct and leaked screenshots. The controversy has triggered calls for action against the party chief whip, Kalyan Banerjee, who is accused of misbehavior and tarnishing the party's image.
Banerjee stressed she wished for harmony, fraternal ties and cordial relationship to remain between all communities living in Bangladesh and elsewhere.
Congress and Janata Dal-United on Friday strongly objected to the description of revolutionary leaders Khudiram Bose, Jatindranath Mukherjee and Prafulla Chaki as "extremist and terrorist" in school syllabus in West Bengal and urged Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee to drop the chapter.
A two-day special session of the West Bengal assembly was convened by the government on September 2 to table and pass a Bill which would provide for capital punishment to convicted rapists, Parliamentary Affairs minister Sovandeb Chattopadhyay said. The Bill would be tabled for discussion and passage on Tuesday, the second day of the special session, Speaker Biman Banerjee said.
West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee on Wednesday asserted that priority must be given to locals and those knowing the local language during recruitment in state government jobs.
West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee asserted that she had last year inaugurated the second campus of the Chittaranjan National Cancer Institute which Prime Minister Narendra Modi dedicated to the nation on Friday.
Trinamool Congress chief Mamata Banerjee took the oath of office as West Bengal's first woman chief minister on Friday.West Bengal Governor M K Narayanan administered the oath of office to her. Banerjee, who is the eighth chief minister of the state, took her oath in Bengali.The oath-taking ceremony at the Raj Bhavan was taken amid tight security.Apart from Banerjee, 43 other ministers, including seven from the Congress party, were administered the oath of office.
Banerjee expressed skepticism about the BJP's ambitious target of achieving 400 seats in the Lok Sabha elections.
Banerjee, while addressing a convention of party workers and leaders, said her party's cadres have to reach out to the people to counter canards spread against the TMC by opposition parties.
A day after inviting Trinamool Congress supremo Mamata Banerjee to form the new government in West Bengal, Governor M K Narayanan on Tuesday issued an order appointing her as the chief minister. Narayanan had on Monday sent a letter to Banerjee inviting her to form the government following her party's landslide victory in the assembly elections. On Sunday, the Trinamool Congress had formally staked claim to form the government.
Following is the gist of the controversy over sudden transfer of West Bengal Chief Secretary Alapan Bandyopadhyay, who retired on Monday, to Delhi and related rules.
The India Meteorological Department (IMD) has predicted above-normal rainfall across India in June, with most parts of the country likely to experience normal to below-normal maximum temperatures. The IMD also anticipates above-normal minimum temperatures across most of the country, except for some parts of central India and the adjoining south peninsula. The southwest monsoon reached Kerala on May 24, marking its earliest arrival over the Indian mainland since 2009. The monsoon is crucial for India's agriculture-dependent economy, providing vital water for crops and supporting drinking water and hydropower generation.
'The TMC can't go on forever taking advantage of the people's fright of the BJP.'
After big win in Bihar, the BJP is likely to push harder in Tamil Nadu, where the DMK government and the uneasy BJP-AIADMK alliance are preparing for a tense election filled with seat-sharing fights, changing alliances, and the unpredictable entry of Vijay's TVK party, predicts N Sathiya Moorthy.
West Bengal Governor Jagdeep Dhankhar on Tuesday stirred fresh controversy by saying 'ego prevailed over public service' on Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee skipping Prime Minister Narendra Modi's meeting to review post-cyclone damages on May 28.
The Aam Aadmi Party (AAP), led by Arvind Kejriwal, suffered a major setback in the Delhi Assembly elections, losing to the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP). The loss marks a significant blow to Kejriwal's national ambitions and raises questions about the future of the party. The AAP had been in power in Delhi for the past 10 years and had also formed a government in Punjab. Despite the defeat, the party still holds 13 MPs from Punjab and Delhi. The article examines the factors that contributed to the AAP's defeat, including allegations of corruption, poor civic facilities, and the BJP's relentless attacks. It also explores the impact of the loss on Kejriwal's national aspirations and the party's future.
The police condemned the unprovoked, unacceptable attack on an individual's religious identity and added that stern legal action is being initiated.
Trinamool Congress supporters held demonstrations defying lockdown norms in various places, while Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee offered to court arrest on Monday against the arrest of two West Bengal ministers in the Narada case by the CBI.
West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee on Thursday asserted that she did not threaten junior doctors at state-run hospitals, who have been continuing cease-work for 21 days now to protest against the alleged rape and murder of a woman medic. Addressing a rally organised by the Trinamool Congress Chhatra Parishad, Banerjee had on Wednesday urged the agitating junior doctors of Bengal to urgently consider returning to duty and said she doesn't want to lodge first information reports (FIRs) against the striking doctors in consideration of their future careers.
The incident took place around 4 am when hundreds of devotees gathered near the temple to witness Rath Yatra festivities, Puri district collector Siddharth S Swain said.
'CM Banerjee passes a resolution in the Parliament against BJP, but then praises PM Modi'
Fielding a strong joint opposition candidate from Varanasi in the 2024 Lok Sabha elections was among the proposals discussed at the fourth meeting of the Indian National Developmental Inclusive Alliance (INDIA), sources said.
West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee on Monday ordered an immediate ban on the screening of the controversial film The Kerala Story to avoid "any incident of hatred and violence", a senior official said in Kolkata.
Banerjee termed her meeting with PM Modi as "courtesy visit" and said she has raised issues regarding the due financial assistance that the state is yet to receive.
Gandhi alleged that assembly and Lok Sabha polls were being "stolen" across the country and there was a "conspiracy" in Bihar to do the same through the Special Intensive Revision of electoral rolls.
As India inches closer towards the general elections, the Bharatiya Janata Party's prime ministerial candidate Narendra Modi has emerged as the most searched chief minister on search giant Google.
West Bengal CM Mamata Banerjee who was in Mumbai to woo captains of the industry is faced with a unique challenge. With significant Muslim votes backing her, she can't be seen aligning with Narendra Modi but at the same time does not want to partner with the Congress. Renu Mittal reports
The home ministry said the West Bengal government is not cooperating with the central teams visiting the state to assess the ground situation and are specifically restraining them from interacting with health workers and touring the affected areas.
If Meena resigns, it is likely to put pressure on other ministers whose areas also saw poor performance in the general elections.
He further commented on the current state of public discourse, saying a "mob rule" is being created wherein politicians capitalise on certain incidents and assure people of the death penalty for culprits even though only the judiciary has the power to pass legal verdicts.
The Supreme Court expressed serious concern over the Enforcement Directorate summoning advocates for offering legal advice or representing clients during investigations, calling for guidelines on the matter.
Sporadic post-poll violence continued on Tuesday in West Bengal claiming several lives as chief minister Mamata Banerjee asked officials to act decisively and Prime Minister Narendra Modi rang up Governor Jagdeep Dhankhar to express anguish over the law-and-order situation.
Moitra's electoral triumph not only secures her seat in Parliament, but also serves as a defiant retort to attempts to sideline her from the political arena.
