West Bengal Chief Minister Buddhadeb Bhattacharjee will seek Rs 15,000 crore from the Centre for building a "mini Chinese Wall" along the coastal area of the Sundarbans to protect the area's 4.1 million people from further cyclones and high tides. The area was recently hit by cyclone Aila.
Tata's Nano project sinks back into crisis. While Trinamool chief Mamata Banerjee hinted at reviving her agitation at Singur, the Left Front came down heavily on her demand that ancillary units be shifted across the highway opposite to the project site.
A committee constituted under the aegis of the governor of West Bengal, Gopalkrishna Gandhi, may seek more time to submit its final report on land to be provided to the agitating farmers.
Asked about rumours that the Chief Minister was holding talks with key investors on the Singur controversy, Dhoot said, "The CM calls me every three months to know the progress. The Videocon group was hopeful of land acquisition with its compensation package which includes land price, job assurance and equity in the project.
India recognised the right to strike in its Industrial Disputes Act of 1947, but this law is confined to 'industries'. There was a time when the term was extended by the courts to mean even universities and hospitals, but more recently the Supreme Court held that government employees could not go on strike. The International Labour Organisation has some conventions on the subject.
In a sharp deviation from his party, the Communist Party of India (Marxist) or CPI(M), West Bengal Chief Minister Buddhadeb Bhattacharjee on Tuesday described gheraos, the practice of disrupting work by intimidating managements, as "illegal and immoral" and said he was opposed to bandhs, or full-scale closure of state services.
The West Bengal government has denied before the Supreme Court all allegations regarding the reported excesses committed by the state administration in Nandigram where 14 people were killed in police firing in March last year.
Trinamool Congress on Wednesday called for a 12-hour general strike in West Bengal on March 16 in protest against alleged police atrocities in Nandigram.
He told the state party conference that West Bengal now stood at the crossroads and there was no prior model for industrialisation available to it.
Putting up a brave front after the exit of Tata's Nano project from Singur, West Bengal Chief Minister Budhdhadev Bhattacharya on Sunday said the state government will fight and overcome the obstacles for industrialisation, observing that the state has lost one battle but not the war.
Congress president Sonia Gandhi on Monday criticised the Buddhadeb Bhattacharjee led-government in West Bengal for its handling of the situation in Nandigram, and said that she was concerned over the law and order situation in the area. She said that the Congress officer-bearers in the state had complained of repeated torture and atrocities against the people, adding that in a democracy, there was no place for political violence.
Saying the CPI-M has nuked the farmers in Nandigram and the UPA government, LK Advani says the NDA will raise the Nandigram issue in Parliament.
Sajjan Jindal, vice-chairman and managing director of JSW Steel and one of West Bengal's most valued investors, said that he would have compensated unwilling farmers with double the land 800 acres next door in return for land for the Tata Motors factory at Singur.
In the Sensex pack, Sun Pharma was the biggest gainer, rallying 4.48 per cent, followed by Bajaj Auto, Tata Motors, Coal India, Hero MotoCorp, Maruti and HCL Tech, rising up to 3.01 per cent. While, RIL, PowerGrid, HDFC, L&T, IndusInd Bank, NTPC and Bajaj Finance declined up to 1.50 per cent.
Prominent Left leaders will lead the funeral procession of CPI-M leader Harkishen Singh Surjeet, who passed away on Friday.
'The TMC did not bother telling me, a sitting MLA for 20 years, why I was not being given a ticket.'
In view of the recent attacks on its agri retail stores, the Reliance Industries group company on Tuesday said it will go slow on the roll out of Reliance Fresh outlets in the state.
Germany is keen on investing in specific areas in West Bengal as part of a bid to strengthen Indo-German bilateral ties.
On January 3, Bhattacherjee had strongly advocated capitalism and not socialism as the only way to industrialise the state.
Facing all-round attack over Nandigram, West Bengal Chief Minister Buddhadeb Bhattacharjee sought on Wednesday a 'fresh look' into the Centre's policy on SEZs, which he felt should be restricted to select industries. He also wanted the Centre to fix a ceiling on land for a particular type of SEZ and work out the percentage of land area to be compulsorily utilised for industries within that limit.
Choosing the next Dalai Lama is too profound a tradition to be controlled by the Communists in Beijing.
Seeking to clarify his controversial remarks on the existence of Lord Ram, West Bengal Chief Minister Buddhadeb Bhattacharya on Saturday blamed the media, saying his remarks were "taken out of context".
Standing by his denouncement of the ruling CPI(M)'s capture of Nandigram, West Bengal Governor Gopalkrishna Gandhi on Sunday visited the troubled area on Sunday and said wrong-doers must not be exonerated and pitched for presence of CRPF for some more time.
A foreign visitor to the city agreed, but with a note of caution. "West Bengal as an investment destination remains to be first on the list for the Australian mining companies as this state is rich in minerals," said John McCarthy, Australian High Commissioner to India, in Kolkata to attend a seminar.
"We want the Centre to invoke Article 356 of the Constitution in West Bengal. We want Chief Minister Buddhadeb Bhattacharjee to go. He is an arrogant and stubborn leader. Let a sincere leader come as the chief minister. Please remove him. The United Progressive Alliance government should take action to send message to the poor people that they care," says Maulana Mahmood Madani, All India general secretary, Jamiat-ul-Ulema-e-Hind.
Three Bhopal gas tragedy survivors' organisations have opposed West Bengal government's move to invite Dow Chemicals to the proposed chemical hub in Haldia after the state government failed to acquire land at Nandigram.
Speaking about fleet strength of the Indian Navy, Suthan said that it had a strength of about 150 ships, of which nearly 50 were in Eastern India.
Five senior police officials told the Calcutta High Court that they handed out threats to Rehman, the computer graphics teacher, were baseless.
Supporting West Bengal Chief Minister, Buddhadeb Bhattacharjee's stand, Mittal said, "Let us see for the next 7-10 years what Indian companies deliver and then we can take a call."
The state government's stand on land acquisition for industries and the Nandigram police firing on March 14 is understood to have figured at the meeting.
This is the sixth day that Parliament has been disrupted.
Eight more English bloopers, as reported by our readers.
Then chief minister, Buddhadeb Bhattacharjee, had laid the JSW project's foundation stone on November 2,2008, for the 10-million tonne capacity plant.
From Latin America to West Bengal, it is Communism that binds. Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez has sent a cheque for Rs 11.91 lakh to construct a new building of a school in North 24 Parganas district in West Bengal. Chavez, a man of strong words and actions, promised during a visit to West Bengal in 2005.
Work on modernising, expanding and renovating the Netaji Subhas Chandra Bose International Airport will be taken up from January next year, civil aviation secretary Ashok Chawla said on Friday.
The ruling CPI-M in West Bengal on Wednesday night said controversial Bangladeshi writer Taslima Nasreen should "leave the state" if her stay disturbs the peace.
An important political milestone during the year was the return of the Left Front to power with an over two-thirds majority.
A proposed Rs 9,000 crore (Rs 90 billion) greenfield modernisation and expansion programme is expected to give a fresh lease of life to Iisco Steel Plant, a unit of Steel Authority of India.
Bigg Boss announces the task of choosing the first queen of this season. And we hand over the task to you!
