The ruling Trinamool Congress on Thursday hailed the arrest of absconding party leader Shajahan Sheikh, accused of torturing villagers in trouble-torn Sandeshkhali area, and said it was possible only after the court cleared the decks and accused the opposition of exploiting the earlier 'embargo' on his arrest.
They said the Left party is consulting its lawyers to challenge the notice of the tax authorities.
'It's dull because this time the election is spread over such a long period.'
However, the national party count has gone down to six from 14 in over seven decades.
As part of the protest, BJP workers burned tyres, blocked roads, and closed shops in Nandigram, alleging that Trinamool Congress-backed criminals were responsible for the killing of Rathibala Arhi, a saffron party worker in Sonachura village.
Senior police officials said they received a complaint and are looking into it.
If they wish to have any chance next year, the Congress and the alliance must quickly settle all issues, draw up an alternative agenda, and create a cohesive campaign.
The Election Commission of India (ECI) directed the removal of West Bengal DGP Rajeev Kumar and mandated the appointment of Vivek Sahay, once suspended by the poll panel, as the new state police chief, with the TMC accusing the BJP of controlling the constitutional body.
Cricketer Yusuf Pathan will contest from the Baharampur Lok Sabha seat, whereas Kirti Aazd will fight from the Bardhaman-Durgapur constituency.
The recent controversy unfolded after West Bengal Chief Minister and TMC leader Mamata Banerjee had in November advocated the need to give due respect to senior members and rejected the notion that elderly leaders should retire from active politics.
The West Bengal government approached the Supreme Court for a second time on Wednesday seeking urgent listing of its petition challenging a Calcutta high court order for transferring to the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) the probe into the January 5 attack on an Enforcement Directorate (ED) team in Sandeshkhali but failed to elicit prompt relief.
Sandeshkhali Block 2, the epicentre of the violent protests triggered by allegations of land encroachment and sexual misconduct involving local TMC leaders, has contributed the largest share of close to 1,000 complaints.
The Enforcement Directorate (ED) is likely to move the Calcutta high court on Wednesday against the West Bengal government for not handing over suspended Trinamool Congress leader Shajahan Sheikh's custody to the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI), a highly placed source said.
The feisty TMC boss also accused the CPI-M of ruining her party's relationship with the Congress, its ally in the Opposition bloc INDIA at the national level.
Counting of votes for the Lok Sabha elections has begun across states and Union Territories, Chief Election Commissioner Rajiv Kumar told PTI.
Modi, while addressing a rally in Barasat, said whatever happened with women in Sandeshkhali "is a matter of shame".
Modi addressed scientists at the Indian Space Research Organisation command centre in Bengaluru, who were involved in the Chandrayaan-3 mission and lauded them for their efforts.
Struggling to gain political traction on issues of corruption, the West Bengal Bharatiya Janata Party is shifting its focus to emotive topics such as the Ram Temple in Ayodhya and the Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA) in a bid to achieve its target of securing 35 out of the 42 Lok Sabha seats from the state.
There is a view that heavyweight portfolios like home, finance, defence and external affairs besides education and culture, two ministries with strong ideological hues, will be kept by the BJP, while its allies can get anywhere between five to eight cabinet berths.
The bench said it would be difficult for the poll panel to mobilise manpower for uploading the voter turnout data on its website.
Other prominent candidates among the 904 in the fray are Union minister Anurag Thakur, West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee's nephew Abhishek Banerjee, RJD supremo Lalu Prasad's daughter Misa Bharti.
Ahead of this election, the alliance between the BJP and the SKM had broken down. One reason is the fear that like Article 370, Article 371F might also be changed.
Union Home Minister Amit Shah himself sounded more open to such a possibility in a recent interview.
The parties which gave chief ministers and sent scores of MPs to Parliament, drew a blank this time.
The central probe agency's letter was dispatched a day after it had sent a notice to the TMC MP asking him to appear before its sleuths at its Kolkata office for questioning in connection with the school jobs scam following certain allegations of arrested Trinamool Congress youth leader Kuntal Ghosh.
The judgment will impact a sizeable number of people in the state, according to a lawyer involved in the matter.
Lok Sabha constituencies that sprung a surprise in the 2024 polls.
The Left-Congress alliance won 19 out of 19 seats which is significant ahead of the panchayat polls.
The complaint said the video was made with an "intention to insult and defame the Vice-President of India, his caste as well as his background of farmer and as a lawyer".
BJP heavyweights Smriti Irani, Arjun Munda, Ajay Mishra Teni and Kailash Chaudhary were among the 13 Union ministers who tasted defeat in the 2024 Lok Sabha elections, as stunning losses in three Hindi heartland states forced the BJP to rely on allies to form the government.
Trinamool Congress MP Mahua Moitra on Tuesday said she will appear before the Lok Sabha Ethics Committee on November 2 in the cash-for-query case, but asserted that she should be allowed to cross-examine businessman Darshan Hiranandani, from whom she is accused of taking bribes to ask questions in Parliament.
Kharge said conducting polls in seven phases meant that nearly all the development works will be stopped.
'I am happy to join the BJP and will work as a party soldier'
Consensus emerged on the appointment of Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge as the chairperson of the opposition Indian National Developmental Inclusive Alliance (INDIA), while Janata Dal-United chief Nitish Kumar's name was proposed for the convener's post, pending approval of parties absent at the alliance meeting on Saturday, according to sources.
The Delhi high court on Monday said Trinamool Congress leader Mahua Moitra cannot be prevented from defending herself against allegations made by an estranged friend in public domain as long as her statements are not objectively false.
Forty-two of the 102 Lok Sabha seats going to polls in the general election's first phase are constituencies that have three or more candidates facing criminal cases, according to a poll rights body.
Both the Congress and AAP are part of the 16-party United Opposition Forum, Assam, formed to contest the general elections together, but a rift had emerged with members of the forum announcing candidates against each other in various constituencies of the state.
'Whoever is questioning the government on the Adani issue is being harassed'
West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee on Saturday accused NIA officials of attacking villagers in Purba Medinipur district, the BJP hit back at her saying that the attack on the NIA officials is Sandeshkhalli 2.0 orchestrated by the state.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Saturday vowed to thwart alleged attempts to rob Dalits and backward classes of reservations by the Indian National Developmental Inclusive Alliance (INDIA) which he accused of 'enslavement' and performing 'mujra' for Muslim vote bank.
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