'The regime -- and particularly the home ministry under Amit Shah -- have sought to suppress and destroy these struggles through intimidation, bullying, threats, through false cases, arrests, custodial torture, the use of draconian laws like the UAPA.'
Sporadic incidents of violence were reported from various places that went to polls on Saturday during the first phase of the West Bengal assembly election, even as the overall poll situation was largely peaceful with 79.79 per cent turnout recorded till the end of voting, an official said.
If the process becomes completely online, there will be no intervention from a state government at any level.
Having emerged as the face of opposition resistance to the Narendra Modi juggernaut after the TMC's triumph in the assembly elections, West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee is locked in an unequal battle as she squares off with "lightweight" rivals in her own lair--Bhabanipur.
'Whatever Modi had promised us on OROP has not been delivered. He lied to us'
The 'erring' policemen would be sent for intensive refresher training as part of the departmental action.
'If the BJP thinks it is going to overnight transform Bengal into Madhya Pradesh, sorry, that's not going to happen because I have faith in our ethos and culture.'
Trains were set afire and blocked, and public vehicles attacked as protests over 'Agnipath' swept across several places in Bihar, Uttar Pradesh, Rajasthan, Haryana, Madhya Pradesh, Delhi and Jammu on Thursday amid partisan political voices in favour and against the new recruitment scheme for the defence forces that has set off a firestorm.
Springing a surprise, Vijayakanth-led Desiya Murpokku Dravida Kazhagam on Wednesday struck an alliance with the four-party People's Welfare Front for the May 16 Assembly elections in Tamil Nadu with the actor-turned-politician being declared as the chief ministerial candidate of the alliance.
Calling herself a "dear sister" of the people, the All India Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam supremo said that her thoughts constantly revolved around them.
The All India Kisan Sabha, backed by the Communist Party of India-Marxist, announced suspension of the 180-km march from Nashik to Mumbai after a three-and-a-half hour meeting of its representatives with state ministers Girish Mahajan and Jaykumar Rawal.
While Karat is opposed to any understanding with the Congress, Yechury is of the view that the situation warrants putting together a national alternative to the BJP, reports Archis Mohan.
The base camps of Pamba and Nilackal witnessed intensified protests as the Lord Ayyappa temple opens for the five-day monthly pooja on Wednesday evening, for the first time after the landmark top court verdict.
He said other parties would be afraid of right-wing backlash in case of settlement on the Kashmir issue.
'Whatever the BJP tries to do, they will not be able to make a big mark in Kerala.'
Kejriwal, who had joined International Yoga Day participants last year along with Lt Governor Anil Baijal and the then Union minister and now Vice President Venkaiah Naidu, was found having high blood sugar following his nine-day, arduous sit-in at the Lieutenant Governor's office.
A day after Trinamool Congress MP Tapas Pal allegedly threatened to kill Communist Party of India-Marxist workers and have their women raped, his wife Nandini Pal on Tuesday apologised for her husband's controversial comment and said there was another part of the story.
Several students organisation, civil society groups and parties cutting across political lines took out rallies in various parts of Kolkata and the state to protest against the violence that rocked JNU.
The work on seat sharing with other allies will begin from Thursday, he told reporters.
Reacting to the charge by Banerjee, the Congress held her responsible for the growth of RSS in the state.
The farmers called off their agitation on Monday after the Bharatiya Janata Party-led government announced it has accepted "almost all" of their demands in writing and assured to implement them in a time-bound manner.
Mollah is worried about the fate of the CPI-M followers in the state, now that the party has been reduced to only one seat in the state.
Sources said that Abdullah has now been detained under the stringent Public Safety Act
'Does a political or social worker ever retire? Is Nitish Kumar himself contesting the assembly elections'
The squatted there, raised slogans against the National Eligibility-cum-Entrance Test and demanded justice for Anitha, a Dalit medical aspirant and anti-NEET court petitioner who committed suicide on Friday.
'We should let the dust settle and see how the political equation unfolds in Assam'
The Congress-NCP will now hold talks with Shiv Sena in Mumbai to "finalise the architecture of alliance".
The Kerala Congress-Mani led by former Kerala finance minister K M Mani on Sunday decided to withdraw its support to the Congress-led United Democratic Front coalition of which it was a part for more than three decades.
The Trinamool Congress would take some more time to extend its reach outside West Bengal, party chief Mamata Banerjee said on Tuesday while claiming it would emerge as the third largest party after the Lok Sabha polls.
"After pulling down the statue, slogans of 'Bharat Mata Ki Jai' were raised,'' Datta told PTI.
Naidu, a former BJP ally, said he will meet non-BJP political leader and convince them about the need to fight collectively against the BJP.
Putting up a stunning show, the Janata Dal-United-led grand alliance was on Sunday well on the road to gaining a thumping majority in the Bihar assembly.
'What did we get out of this agitation? Nothing... Now we feel it was all a mistake. We have no work, and our land has turned infertile. We are living in abject poverty'
Communist Party of India-Marxist politburo member Buddhadeb Bhattacharjee on Sunday admitted to the complicity of his partymen in the killing of nine villagers at Netai in January, 2011 during his tenure as Chief Minister of West Bengal, which had caused a nationwide outcry.
Polling to elect representatives to the 140-member Kerala assembly, 232-member Tamil Nadu assembly and the 30-member Puducherry territorial assembly began at 7 am on Monday.
While the ruling party alleged an "invisible hand" behind the petitions, the opposition accused it of making "false political capital" by "misinterpreting" the apex court order.
Drama heightened on Friday when the army said that Pakistan-based terrorists are planning to target the ongoing Amarnath Yatra followed by the Jammu and Kashmir administration issuing an advisory, asking the yatris and tourists to "curtail" their stay in the Valley and leave immediately.
Over 1.54 crore voters in the eastern states of West Bengal and Assam will exercise their franchise in the 1st phase of polling
However, even 10 days after Modi took the nation by surprise by announcing demonetisation of Rs 500 and Rs 1000 currency notes, his rivals continued to aggressively target him
BJP state president V Muraleedharan said that the CPM leadership had run out of ideas and was trying to suppress its political opponents by physically intimidating them. Arun Lakshman reports
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