The Enforcement Directorate (ED) has approached the Calcutta High Court, seeking a CBI investigation into the role of West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee, senior police officials and others for allegedly obstructing its raids in Kolkata against political consultancy firm I-PAC and its director in connection with an alleged coal scam.
The Enforcement Directorate conducted searches at the office of political consultancy firm I-PAC and the home of its director Pratik Jain in Kolkata as part of a money laundering probe into an alleged multi-crore rupee coal pilferage scam.
The BJP has criticized West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee following Supreme Court observations regarding obstructions during ED raids at I-PAC premises, alleging abuse of power and shielding of those accused of corruption.
West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee on Thursday dramatically turned up at the residence of Indian Political Action Committee (I-PAC) chief Pratik Jain amid an ongoing Enforcement Directorate raid, alleging that the central agency was attempting to seize the Trinamool Congress's internal documents, hard disks and sensitive data linked to its election strategy.
The Supreme Court has expressed serious concern over the Enforcement Directorate's allegations of obstruction by the West Bengal government and Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee during raids related to a coal-pilferage scam. The court intends to examine the matter and has also taken note of the commotion at the Calcutta High Court during hearings related to the case.
Despite his influence, Pratik Jain avoids the spotlight. Credit is routinely passed on to colleagues. He maintains no visible faction within the TMC, no personal coterie.
In a post on the microblogging platform X, Elon Musk shared his photograph along with former US President Donald Trump.
The BJP may win more seats in the February 5 assembly election, but not enough to trump AAP, notes Ramesh Menon.
Vice President Kamala Harris' White House bid gets a boost from legendary Indian music composer A R Rahman, who has come out in support of her 'vision for an equitable world', and recording some of his popular songs like 'Jai Ho' to inspire Indian American voters.
He lived in the Pittsburgh suburb of Bethel Park, about 56 km south of the Trump rally site where law enforcement officials said he fired at Trump, the presumptive presidential candidate of the Republican Party.
Indian Americans are likely to vote in the United States presidential elections based on what the candidates have done for them and not on the basis of their heritage or race, a newly formed body representing Asian communities has said, claiming that Republican candidate Donald Trump has a better track record than his Democratic rival, Vice President Kamala Harris.
'There are 725,000 Indians here without proper papers. They are subject to deportation immediately under this (Trump's immigration plan). Immediately!' 'They want to prevent new immigration, get the people who are already here out of here, and only allow population increases in the white population.'
'If Trump wins the election, there's not going to be much turmoil.' 'But if he loses, he will not accept the results.' 'And if it is close, which I think it's going to be, he's going to contest it.' 'But at the end of the day, the truth will prevail.'
Nearly half of the MPs elected in the 2019 general elections in India were first-timers.
'Just think about it. She's a prosecutor, he's a convicted felon. I love that juxtaposition.' 'She's a woman, and she's black and South Asian. He's a white guy who grew up with enormous [wealth].' 'She grew up in a very average, lower middle class/middle class kind of setting with a single mother.'
'I hope that Macho Man agrees to debate her, because I think she will do spectacularly well in the debate.'
The two major parties offer the United States choices that are basically unacceptable and the bench strength, such as it is, is not entirely capable of winning popular acclaim, notes Shreekant Sambrani.
There have been speculations since some time about a rift between the TMC and Prashant Kishor's I-PAC.
TRS leader K T Rama Rao confirmed that Kishor's Indian Political Action Committee (I-PAC) is working for TRS officially.
Kishor had handled the Congress poll campaign in the 2017 Punjab assembly elections. The Congress in 2017 had stormed to power by bagging 77 seats in the 117-member assembly.
While Tripura unit of TMC described it as an "attack on democracy" and said they were confined to their hotel by the police, Manik Das, Superintendent of Police, West Tripura, claimed members of the 22-member I-Pac team are being questioned in a Agartala city-based hotel, as part of a routine check-up.
Congress president Sonia Gandhi also decided to convene a 'Chintan Shivir', a brainstorming session from May 13-15 in Udaipur.
The JD-U, may be the BJP's partner for now. But it is a party at all only because of Nitish Kumar. The day Nitish Kumar exits, the JD-U will split into hundreds of pieces. Obviously, Prashant Kishor is setting himself up as the vessel that will collect all the pieces and put them together in some sort of political instrument, explains Aditi Phadnis.
'The resolution is the first time that any state, nation or investigative body has declared that the Indian government was responsible for the 1984 genocide of Sikhs.'
Since when have elections become rocket science that you need to hire highly-priced specialists?And even if in the age of social media every party needs to present its best face, is Prashant Kishor the only one with such expertise, especially when his record is mixed with more losses than election wins to his credit? asks Virendra Kapoor.
Measure each word you utter in public, advises Virendra Kapoor.
Indian-American Neera Tanden, who has been nominated as the director of the Office of Management and Budget by US president-elect Joe Biden, on Tuesday shared the inspiring story of her mother who immigrated to the US from India.
Reacting to the statement, the Congress in Goa accused the TMC of entering the poll fray in the state in order to 'divide secular votes and give mileage to the ruling BJP', and also alleged that Kishor's remarks exposed Mamata Banerjee-led party's agenda.
Hindu groups in the United States have sought an apology from Senator Kamala Harris's niece for tweeting an 'offensive' image, which depicted the Democratic vice presidential nominee as goddess Durga.
Speaking at the Conservative Political Action Committee in Orlando, Florida on Sunday, the 74-year-old leader, who left the White House on January 20, stopped short of announcing to run for the president in 2024, although he gave enough indications that he is moving in that direction.
For quite some time, there was speculation that actor-politician Kamal Haasan-led Makkal Needhi Maiam and the DMK would sign up with the strategist for the 2021 assembly polls.
Harris remembered her late mother Shyamala Gopalan, a cancer researcher and civil rights activist from India, saying she has always carried that lesson from her mother with her throughout her career from serving as the first woman District Attorney of San Francisco, to the first woman Attorney General of California, and the first woman of colour to represent California in the United States Senate.
The strategist is expected to visit Punjab for 2-3 days in mid-February for an early assessment.
'Indian-Americans for Trump 2016' -- which was registered as a political action committee on January 21 with the federal election commission -- aims at garnering support of Indian-Americans to have Donald J Trump become the next president of the United States.
The influential pro-Pakistan lobby has launched a concerted campaign urging US President Barack Obama to visit Pakistan during his trip to India November 6-9.
The poll strategist was the main force behind Kumar's campaign strategy in Bihar.
The Indian American Leadership Initiative, founded by political activist Varun Nikore a decade ago to promote Indian-American participation in the mainstream political process and to support the community's candidates at the local, state and national levels, formally launched its political action committee on Capitol Hill in September-end.
Recognising that peaceful protests are a hallmark of a thriving democracy, the United States has said that it encourages dialogue between the protesting farmers and the Indian government to resolve their differences.
If the BJP wins Bengal, would Kishor's indiscretions have played a significant role in that victory? Victory for the TMC would be another badge of honour in his CV, but defeat would raise an unsavoury question: Which party was Kishor actually working for? asks Payal Singh Mohanka.
© 2026 Rediff.com - Investor Information - Advertise with us - Disclaimer - Privacy Policy - Sitemap - Feedback - About us - Terms of use - Grievances