When Buddhadeb Bhattacharjee became chief minister after Jyoti Basu stepped down in 2000, the younger generation could not have been happier. 'Change is about to set in' they thought. But the euphoria was short-lived.
According to the statement, "For the past few months, the administration and the police have been out of the area which has been utilised by the armed elements led by the Maoists to entrench themselves. Bunkers have been built and landmines laid."
'Since the rise of the Modi-Shah paradigm, the BJP has followed a simple formula.' 'Sweep the Hindi heartland and the two big Western states, and you can rule India with a majority by just adding some little bits on the platter from here and there,' points out Shekhar Gupta.
'The Congress's arrogance and unrealistic claims have weakened the anti-BJP movement at the national level.'
Elections to the 60-member assembly in Tripura began on Saturday morning with the Left Front, which has been in power since 1978 save for a short spell in 1988, contesting for the first time without ally Forward Bloc, which has quit the coalition.
"It is necessary to put up a show of solidarity and contest the elections jointly in Gujarat and bring down the Narendra Modi government. Hence, the Left parties will give the Centre time till Diwali to announce its decision about the Indo-US nuclear deal, whether it wants to terminate the agreement or face the elections," said a senior Left leader.
The Communist Party of India Marxist Politburo has decided to meet in New Delhi soon to take an 'appropriate decision' if the talks between the Left Front and the United Progressive Alliance fail to end the logjam over the India-United States nuclear agreement.The party central committee, in its meeting in Kolkata last week, had authorised the politburo to take a final decision if the UPA government went ahead with the operationalisation of the nuclear deal.
The Left Front on Sunday took strong exception to United Progressive Chairperson Sonia Gandhi's comments against those opposing the India-United States civilian nuclear agreement and alleged that the Congress was forcing elections on the country. "The Congress is going to an election mode. It is the Congress which will be responsible if the governments falls and an election is imposed on the country," Communist Party of India leader A B Bardhan said.
The Communist Party of India-Marxist on Wednesday accused the UPA government of accepting the "diktats" of the Bush administration of which the nuclear agreement "was a part."
CPM politburo member Hannan Mollah said the party is facing one of the toughest situations following its defeat in Tripura, which has "forced us to rethink in a new way".
Buoyed by the formation of governments in Assam, Manipur and Arunachal Pradesh, the BJP is making a bid to expand its footprints in the region.
The fate of 961 candidates, including Union ministers Giriraj Singh, Subhash Bhamre, S S Ahluwalia and Babul Supriyo of the BJP and former Union ministers Salman Khurshid and Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury of the Congress, will be decided by about 12.79 core voters in the fourth phase.
Putting forward its point of view in the key matter, the Congress has also denied that the 123 agreement will in any way hamper India's right to conduct nuclear tests.
The Congress-led government was caught napping over the Left Front's opposition to the India-United States nuclear agreement, feels B J Panda, a member of the Rajya Sabha.
"The protest by the Left is a reflection of their ideology. It is inappropriate," Nath said in Chhindwara, his Lok Sabha constituency.
The note covers various aspects of the issue, including the Left's fear that the deal will not cover the entire nuclear fuel cycle and deny access to specific technologies.
A book comprising a collection of articles penned by Communist Party of India-Marxist's General Secretary Prakash Karat trashes the deal.
Khardah is no ordinary constituency. It is the electoral battleground of two economists-turned-finance ministers.
West Bengal Fisheries Minister Kironmoy Nanda who belongs to the Socialist Party said that the project would cause damage to fisheries spread across 250 hectare there being run by fishermen cooperatives.
Minister of Science and Technology Kapil Sibal also made it clear that the 123 Agreement to operationalise the deal cannot be renegotiated.
Experts, scientists and economists could be invited to gather their views on the nuclear deal, CPI National Secretary D Raja said in Puducherry on Monday.
CPM general-secretary Prakash Karat had said that the government would have to face serious consequences if it went ahead with the nuclear deal.
So long as no females were allowed to pray there, the strength of emotion kept the issue burning. As more and more women do this, the matter will fade.
Nandigram today is a conglomeration of model villages fenced by its greenery.
The policies that kept the Left Front in power for 30 years are proving major obstacles in the state's bid to industrialise.
"We are seriously discussing that it may not be possible to continue any longer in the Cabinet because of unprecedented police brutalities in Nandigram," senior RSP leader and party member of Parliament Monoj Bhattacherjee told PTI.
The police used lathis and fired teargas shells, one of which landed on the bonnet of the car of TC chief who was inside the hospital then.
The Left Front had a choice in September 2007, either to push for an immediate general election or to permit the United Progressive Alliance to complete its full term without making a fuss. In trying to be too clever by half the Left Front must now both swallow the chillies of humiliation at being outwitted and accept the lash of public anger in an election.
The Left Front on Saturday asked the Centre to officially declare that the India-United States nuclear agreement is 'off' when the UPA-Left committee meets on Monday. Making it clear that they are not going to wait indefinitely, the Left parties said a clear-cut response from the government was essential to "end the controversy on the agreement." what we expect is that they should clearly say that the deal is off or that it has been put on hold," said CPI leader A B Bardhan.
Congress President Sonia Gandhi on Friday clearly stated that she was against early elections and ruled out any confrontation with the Left Front over the India-United States nuclear agreement. "No, we are not in favour of early elections. As the prime minister has said, the deadline is 2009. We are going to do all that we can to see that we implement our programmes till 2009," she said. Gandhi said that the govt will be working towards reaching a consensus with the Left.
The conduct of puniyaham (purification) after the visit of Union Minister Vayalar Ravi's son Ravikrishna on the ground that his mother hailed from a Christian family has triggered a statewide debate on entry of non-Hindus into the temple.
Seeking to expedite the process, the front had also empowered all partners to initiate peace parleys on their own and talk to the Opposition.
CPM leader Sitaram Yechury disagreed with recent opinion poll findings that the Left would receive a drubbing if the country went to polls on the nuclear issue.
The Left will give the government its time frame after meeting with the United Progressive Alliance on September 19.
An important political milestone during the year was the return of the Left Front to power with an over two-thirds majority.
After two adjournments on Tuesday, Shekawat tried to break the impasse by counselling members that they should uphold the tradition of allowing the Leader of the Opposition to make his submission.
"If they have a hidden agenda, the people of this country must know," Sibal said in Kolkata on Saturday.
The roll out of Reliance Retail's fresh food format stores has hit a wall in West Bengal, where a key constituent of the state government is against big businesses entering agriculture and allied fields.
As the prime minister prepares to make a speech about the deal in the Parliament on Monday, what do you think the Left should do?
According to a source, the chief minister told the meeting that compensation, which is a major demand by allies and opposition parties, could be given after following due procedure.
