At least three people were killed and several others injured in a blast near the venue of senior Trinamool Congress leader Abhishek Banerjee's rally in West Bengal's Purba Medinipur district, police said on Saturday.
Violence rocked parts of West Bengal over the filing of nominations for the July 8 panchayat poll as activists of the ruling Trinamool Congress and opposition parties clashed prompting the police to use force to disperse the mob.
The ED had arrested Chatterjee, who is also the Trinamool Congress secretary-general, on July 23 in connection with its investigation into alleged irregularities in the recruitment drives by the School Service Commission.
Prorogation is discontinuing a session of Parliament or a legislative assembly without dissolving it.
Saha, an MLA from the Burwan constituency, was being questioned by the CBI since April 14 in connection with the case as searches went on at his house in connection with the illegal recruitments in state sponsored and aided schools, they said.
Rescue officials confirmed casualties in the incident, claiming to have already recovered 5 bodies from the heap of debris where the cracker manufacturing unit once stood.
Security forces were maintaining a strict vigil across West Bengal in view of Hanuman Jayanti celebrations on Thursday, officials said.
The University Grants Commission (UGC) in Delhi reprimanded Jadavpur University for submitting a "generic" report about the incident.
The repolling started at 7 am amid tight security with four central forces personnel deployed in each booth, besides state police. Till 11 am, 10.9 per cent voter turnout was recorded.
Of the four assistant sub-inspectors, three are from Kaliaganj Police Station and one is from Raiganj Police Station.
CV Ananda Bose on Wednesday took oath as the new governor of West Bengal.
In the question paper, issued in an exercise book of a Bengali-medium school for Madhyamik aspirants, the paper setter has asked them to identify several places on the map (Pakistan-occupied Kashmir (referred to as 'Azad Kashmir' in Pakistan), the place where Gandhiji had first undertaken the Satyagraha movement, and the Chittagong battleground.
West Bengal Congress spokesperson Kaustav Bagchi was granted bail by a court in Kolkata on Saturday evening, hours after being arrested for his alleged comments against Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee.
Asked further if anybody was conspiring against him, he said: "You will get to know when the time comes."
Before appearing before the CBI this morning, Abhishek Banerjee wrote a letter to the CBI informing them he is moving the Supreme Court challenging the High Court order which allows investigative agencies CBI and ED to question him.
State Election Commissioner Rajiva Sinha on Thursday said that the village council elections will be held on a single day, with the deadline for filing nominations set for June 15. The votes will be counted on July 11.
While the saffron camp questioned the administrative capabilities of the Mamata Banerjee-led state government, the Trinamool Congress claimed that BJP leaders "behaved like good boys" this time.
The impact of the explosion "was so massive" that the factory, which was being run from a residential building, collapsed, the police said.
A Durga idol in Kolkata in which the 'Mahishasur' was replaced by a crudely-crafted Mahatma Gandhi lookalike created a controversy on the birth anniversary of the father of the nation.
TMC MP Abhishek Banerjee had addressed a public meeting in Kolkata on March 29.
"There should be an impartial investigation into the incident as there was a complete lapse on the part of the administration to ensure proper security arrangements. "Around 7,000 people were reportedly present at the venue of the programme where the seating capacity was around 3,000 people. He was mobbed there, which means security arrangements were not in place for a VIP," BJP state spokesperson Samik Bhattacharya said.
Violence had rocked West Bengal's rural polls on Saturday, leaving 15 people dead while ballot boxes were vandalised, ballot papers torched, and bombs thrown at rivals in several places.
Bengal's Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee on Monday appealed for peace and asked "Hindu brothers" to ensure that minorities are protected, as prohibitory orders remained in force after post-Ram Navami violence in two towns of the densely populate Hooghly district.
There have been rumours of infighting within the BJP's state unit.
Banerjee, who was speaking to reporters at West Bengal's state secretariat, said that her party's name will remain the All India Trinamool Congress.
The CBI had interrogated Rujira in February last year ahead of the West Bengal assembly elections.
The CBI source alleged that the body of the accused was found in the washroom of the office which the agency has set up in a guest house in Rampurhat.
Union Home Minister Amit Shah on Friday appealed to the people to ensure the Bharatiya Janata Party's victory in 35 seats out of the 42 in West Bengal in the next Lok Sabha polls, saying that the Trinamool Congress government would not survive beyond 2025 if the target is achieved.
Sujata Mondal Khan, wife of Bharatiya Janata Party MP Saumitra Khan, switched over to the Trinamool Congress from the saffron camp on Monday, claiming that she did not get her due recognition even after taking several risks to get her husband elected during 2019 Lok Sabha elections.
The allegations drew sharp reactions from the ruling TMC, which condemned the "vulture politics" of the saffron camp, further requesting it not to politicize the death.
West Bengal's industry minister Partha Chatterjee, arrested in the SSC scam, should be removed immediately from his post and expelled from the Trinamool Congress, the party's state general secretary Kunal Ghosh demanded on Thursday.
After the video clip of his comments went viral, Giri apologised for making such a remark.
The ruling Trinamool Congress slammed Ghosh for his comments and asked him to direct his attention to BJP-ruled Uttar Pradesh, where the 'rule of law has ceased to exist'.
As the countdown begins for the Durga Puja festival, a section of Trinamool Congress supporters have put up a hoarding in Kolkata bearing various photographs of West Bengal chief minister Mamata Banerjee with a caption in Bengali -- 'Modishahsurmardini', punning with 'Mahisasuramardini' (demon slayer).
Long before the by-election was announced, a person with the name Prashant Kishor was included in the list of the electorate in Bhabanipur during the addition process in January-April, according to the Election Commission website.
'We don't know when the BJP tried to induct Sourav Ganguly into the party. Sourav Ganguly is a cricketing legend. Some people are now shedding crocodile tears about the changes in BCCI. Did they have any role when he took over as BCCI president? The TMC should stop politicising every issue.'
Amid the ongoing debate over the Trinamool Congress seeking removal of Solicitor General of India Tushar Mehta over his alleged meeting with West Bengal Bharatiya Janata Party leader Suvendu Adhikari, TMC state general secretary Kunal Ghosh on Tuesday dropped unannounced at Mehta's residence, but was denied entry.
The Bharatiya Janata Party on Tuesday accused Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee, who is Trinamool Congress's Bhabanipur bypoll candidate, of violating the model code of conduct (MCC) by participating in a programme where the West Bengal government announced a grant of Rs 50,000 to each Durga puja organising committee ahead of the state's biggest festival.
Sourav Ganguly is set to be replaced as BCCI president by 1983 World Cup winning-team member Roger Binny.
Amid demands for expulsion of arrested West Bengal minister Partha Chatterjee by Trinamool Congress leaders, the party convened a meeting on Thursday evening.
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