At least 23 people, including children, were killed as relentless rain triggered one of the worst landslides in a decade in Darjeeling hills and adjoining areas on Sunday, sweeping away homes, cutting off roads, isolating villages, and leaving hundreds of stranded tourists amid widespread devastation, officials said.
The Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) distanced itself from the Indian National Developmental Inclusive Alliance (INDIA) on Friday, saying it is not part of the opposition alliance anymore and questioning the Congress party's role in leading it.
The mother of a 13-year-old girl killed in a bomb explosion in West Bengal alleges that the Chief Minister is preventing a proper police investigation into her daughter's death, claiming the accused are roaming free.
Will Mamata's bhasha andolan campaign sway Bengal's bhadralok before the 2026 election in the TMC's favour?
Heavy rains in Kolkata have disrupted Durga Puja preparations, causing damage to pandals and delaying inaugurations. Organizers are working to restore decorations and ensure the festivities can proceed.
The Election Commission suspended four officers and a casual worker in West Bengal for alleged dereliction of duty and lapses in preparing electoral rolls. The action follows allegations of electoral roll compromise at the behest of the ruling Trinamool Congress.
New lower GST rates kicked in from Monday, resulting in a slashing of prices of as many as 375 items ranging from toothpaste and shampoo to cars and television sets, a move seen as an attempt to boost consumption to cushion an economy facing tariff headwinds. Tax rates of 5, 12, 18, and 28 per cent have been clubbed into two rates of 5 per cent and 18 per cent, resulting in a reduced price of 99 per cent of daily use items.
Heavy overnight rainfall caused widespread flooding in Kolkata, disrupting traffic, public transport, and daily life. Train and Metro services were suspended, and many areas experienced significant waterlogging.
The Congress party has criticized Prime Minister Narendra Modi's handling of GST reforms, calling them inadequate and demanding an apology for the tax imposed on essential items. They argue that the reforms are merely a 'band-aid' solution and that the government should address the states' demand for extended compensation.
'I asked her whether she stood first. 'Yes Baba' was her reply. Her mother was crying in joy.'
West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee claims a Bengali-speaking woman and her child were threatened in Delhi after an alleged assault. She urges Bengali migrant workers in BJP-ruled states to return to Bengal if harassed and questions the absence of central commissions in BJP-ruled states when atrocities occur.
The Trinamool Congress on Friday accused the Bharatiya Janata Party of spreading lies and criminalising poverty over the detention of Bengali-speaking migrant workers in Odisha, while the saffron party charged the Mamata Banerjee dispensation with providing shelters to illegal immigrants.
"An Indian citizen has the right of movement in the entire country. There is no mention of territorial rights anywhere in our Constitution," he said.
No politician should use such language, the Bharatiya Janata Party said on Friday as it chastised West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee for her choice of words targeting Prime Minister Narendra Modi.
Dhankhar, who represented the Kishangarh Assembly constituency as a Congress MLA from 1993 to 1998, received pension as a former legislator until July 2019. It was discontinued after he was appointed the governor of West Bengal.
'The police could not save my daughter or bring her justice, but they didn't think twice about beating up women and elderly persons.'
Hindi Diwas was observed across India with leaders emphasizing Hindi's role as a unifying factor and the need to enrich all Indian languages. Events were held in India and abroad to promote the language.
This was the second time in less than a week when the ex-MP and former state BJP chief was absent from a programme of a top BJP leader, the other being the public meeting of Prime Minister Narendra Modi in Alipurduar in northern West Bengal on May 29.
Uproarious scenes on the concluding day of the special session on Thursday turned the West Bengal Assembly into a cauldron of chaos, as Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee's speech was repeatedly drowned out by slogan-shouting, leading to the suspension of five Bharatiya Janata Party MLAs and the collapse of two legislators during forcible eviction by marshalls.
India on Tuesday called on Bangladesh to reconsider its decision to demolish the ancestral property of noted filmmaker Satyajit Ray and offered help to preserve the iconic building as it symbolises Bangla cultural 'renaissance'.
Parents of the RG Medical College rape victim met CBI Director Praveen Sood to express their dissatisfaction with the agency's probe. They believe more than one person was involved in the rape and murder of their daughter and allege a cover-up. The CBI has challenged the life imprisonment sentence given to the convicted, seeking the death penalty.
A year after the RG Kar rape-murder Swarupa Dutt/Rediff look at the city where it happened, Kolkata -- its study in dichotomy, at once the self-proclaimed cultural capital of India as also a petri dish for a peculiar rage that breeds crimes against women.
A female student of primary school was killed in Kaliganj in West Bengal's Nadia district on Monday after bombs were allegedly hurled from a Trinamool Congress victory celebration rally taken out even before the results of the assembly bypoll were officially announced.
Hasty, ill-conceived steps show how isolated Mamata Banerjee had been from the national political trend. A fascinating excerpt from Sugato Hazra's Losing The Plot: Political Isolation Of West Bengal.
'The chief minister believes the poorest of the poor have the first right on government resources.'
Glimpses from India and around the world that will make you smile and cry.
Bharatiya Janata Party dismissed the allegation and said it was only a paper cutting used in a protest.
In 2022, she launched the 'Khela Hobe Divas' with party leaders organising football matches across West Bengal to promote sports.
The Odisha government is working to secure copyright for the rituals of Lord Jagannath temple in Puri to protect its traditional cultural expressions, following concerns over untimely celebrations by ISKCON and the declaration of a temple in Digha as 'Jagannath Dham'.
The West Bengal government has drafted new rules to enhance the security of working women, especially those on night shifts. The rules include setting up a mandatory complaint committee and installing CCTV cameras at workplaces.
Ajit Pawar, who heads the Nationalist Congress Party, which is in an alliance with pro-Hindutva BJP and the Shiv Sena, noted Chief Ministers Mamata Banerjee (West Bengal), Chandrababu Naidu (Andhra Pradesh) and Nitish Kumar (Bihar) -- all secular politicians -- aligned with the BJP for the sake of development of their respective states.
The Delhi High Court refused to accept TMC MP Saket Gokhale's written apology in a defamation case against former diplomat Lakshmi Murdeshwar Puri, citing discrepancies and directing him to file a fresh one. The case involves allegations of defamatory utterances and financial impropriety.
Opposition parties allege the Modi government is attempting to turn India into a 'dictatorship' with the introduction of three Bills that seek to provide for removal of the prime minister, chief ministers and ministers arrested on serious charges, and vowed to oppose it 'tooth and nail'.
Glimpses from around the world that will make you smile and cry.
'We are totally in favour of the country on matters of external affairs. Naming representatives for diplomatic multi-party delegations to counter Pak-backed terrorism is the choice of parties, not of the Centre'
Azizul Haque, a prominent figure in India's Naxalite movement, has died at the age of 83. His passing marks the end of an era in Bengal's radical Left history.
The convoy of West Bengal's Leader of Opposition, Suvendu Adhikari, was allegedly attacked by TMC workers during a protest in Cooch Behar. Bulletproof glasses of Adhikari's vehicle were smashed. TMC denies involvement, calling it a 'well-scripted drama'.
West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee accused the BJP-led Centre of spreading communal hatred and failing to protect the country's border. She alleged that families affected by recent violence in Murshidabad were being prevented by the saffron camp from meeting her. Banerjee also criticized the National Human Rights Commission (NHRC) for its visit to Murshidabad and questioned its priorities, asking whether NHRC members visited BJP-ruled Uttar Pradesh and ethnic violence-hit Manipur.
Lionel Messi's much-anticipated visit to India has received its final seal of approval with the Argentine superstar set to kick off his three-city tour in Kolkata on December 12.
Trinamool Congress leader and Member of Parliament Mahua Moitra has moved the Supreme Court challenging an order of the Election Commission of India for special intensive revision of electoral rolls in Bihar.
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