Several prominent INDIA bloc leaders, including Arvind Kejriwal and Mamata Banerjee, were detained by Delhi Police on Saturday while attempting to protest at Jantar Mantar. They were demanding the resignation of Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar over alleged irregularities in electoral rolls, with leaders condemning the detentions as an attack on democracy.
Police in West Bengal have arrested four people for allegedly attacking Trinamool Congress leader Abhishek Banerjee during his visit to Sonarpur. The arrests followed an incident where Banerjee's convoy was pelted with stones and eggs, leading to a chaotic situation. Banerjee, who was visiting victims of post-poll violence, claimed BJP activists were trying to kill him. The incident has sparked political reactions, with the Trinamool Congress blaming the BJP, while the BJP denies involvement.
'You think it is written somewhere that she will not? She might escape for two months, perhaps a little longer. But she will go.'
The Election Commission has issued a stern notice to Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge for calling Prime Minister Narendra Modi a 'terrorist'. Kharge has been asked to explain his remarks within 24 hours.
Heavy police and central forces deployment outside Mamata Banerjee's Kolkata residence has sparked a political row. The TMC alleges it's to prevent her from visiting the family of an 11-year-old rape and murder victim in Baruipur, while the BJP claims it's routine security. This comes amidst public outrage and violence following the girl's death.
The Supreme Court has sought a response from the Election Commission on a plea by Trinamool Congress MPs alleging irregularities in the revision of electoral rolls in West Bengal.
Rahul Gandhi led a significant opposition protest in New Delhi, attempting to march to the Election Commission office to allege "vote chori" and demand the CEC's resignation. The protest resulted in a lockdown of Parliament Street, a standoff at the All India Radio premises, and detentions of several opposition MPs, drawing strong reactions from the ruling BJP.
Opposition leaders, including Rahul Gandhi and members of the INDIA bloc, have strongly condemned the arrest and jailing of Cockroach Janta Party (CJP) co-conveners Saurav Das and Ashutosh Ranka for protesting at Jantar Mantar, asserting that waving the national flag and peaceful protest are not crimes.
Vice President Jagdeep Dhankhar expressed gratitude to several leaders, including Congress leader Sonia Gandhi and West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee, for their concern and well wishes after he was hospitalized for cardiac-related ailments. Dhankhar, who resumed chairing the Rajya Sabha on Monday, said he was "greatly touched" by the concern expressed across party lines, which contributed to his speedy recovery.
Trinamool Congress strongman Shajahan Sheikh, accused of sexual abuse and land grab in West Bengal's Sandeshkhali, was on Thursday suspended from the party for six years, TMC leader Derek O'Brien said.
The opposition parties were demanding a division of votes as they had moved a motion to send the Bill to a select committee, which was rejected by voice vote.
The Trinamool Congress (TMC) has strongly condemned the arrest of Vinesh Chandel, co-founder of I-PAC, alleging it is a politically motivated act of "electoral sabotage" ahead of the West Bengal elections.
Opposition parties in India are demanding the impeachment and arrest of Chief Election Commissioner (CEC) Gyanesh Kumar, alleging he is running the poll panel as a 'one-man autocracy' following revelations that two Election Commissioners red-flagged issues related to the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls.
A political storm has erupted with the Opposition demanding the removal of Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar, following reports that two Election Commissioners raised 'expansive red flags' over the Special Intensive Revision of voters' lists, citing issues like name deletions and decisions made without their knowledge.
Congress leader Jairam Ramesh said there are some parties that have expressed their inability to attend this particular meeting for their own reasons.
West Bengal's annual July 21 Martyrs' Day observance has transformed into an unprecedented political contest, with three rival camps - Mamata Banerjee's Trinamool Congress, a breakaway TMC faction, and the Congress - holding parallel programmes in central Kolkata, each vying for legacy and organisational strength.
The Supreme Court will hear on Wednesday a plea filed by West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee challenging the ongoing Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls in the state.
Confusion arose regarding the hospitalisation of TMC leader Abhishek Banerjee after he complained of pain following an alleged attack. Despite initial reports suggesting superficial injuries, Banerjee was admitted to the ICU, leading to allegations of political interference in his medical treatment.
Raising slogans against the Bharatiya Janata Party, Trinamool Congress (TMC) leaders ended their 24-hour protest at the Mandir Marg police station in New Delhi on Tuesday evening, a day after they were detained while staging a dharna outside the Election Commission's office.
Modi is scheduled to reply to the debate on Thursday.
The leaders were prodded by the Twitterati to defend the AIB's freedom of expression.
"In Bengal, the region of India I come from, we call this humanistic philosophy of 'Ma, Maati and Manush' signifying an equilibrium of the universally caring Mother, the earth, that nurtures us and human beings who must be central to our developmental endeavours," TMC MP Derek O'Brien told delegates while speaking on why poverty eradication should be the focus of UN's operational activities for development.
Twenty-three political parties and an Independent MP have jointly written to Chief Justice Surya Kant regarding the Election Commission's Special Intensive Revision (SIR) process and other election-related issues, a move spearheaded by the INDIA bloc.
The party released two videos as 'proof' of BJP workers vandalising the statue.
Under attack from senior Trinamool Congress lawmaker Kalyan Banerjee amid turmoil within the party, its national general secretary Abhishek Banerjee on Friday struck a conciliatory note, describing the Serampore MP as an elder who has "brought him up" and therefore had every right to criticise him.
The eight members -- distributed among the Congress, Communist Party of India-Marxist, Trinamool Congress and the Aam Aadmi Party -- were suspended earlier in the day for the remainder of the Monsoon Session over their 'unruly behaviour' during the passage of farm Bills in the Upper House of Parliament.
Trinamool Congress (TMC) leader Abhishek Banerjee has formally petitioned Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla to disqualify 20 rebel MPs, arguing their claimed merger with the lesser-known Nationalist Citizens Party of India (NCPI) is invalid under the anti-defection law.
West Bengal's appointment of Manoj Agarwal, the former Chief Electoral Officer, as the new Chief Secretary has ignited a political firestorm, raising concerns about the fairness and impartiality of the state's electoral processes.
Opposition MPs have submitted notices in both Houses of Parliament seeking a motion for the removal of Chief Election Commissioner (CEC) Gyanesh Kumar, alleging partisan conduct and obstruction of electoral fraud investigations.
Insisting that the decision to introduce Foreign Direct Investment in retail requires vigorous Parliamentary sanction, the Trinamool Congress on Wednesday accused the government of indulging in 'hoodwinking tactics' to claim that there was need for it.
Advertising industry veteran Sylvester daCunha, the creator of the iconic 'Amul Girl' campaign that started in the 1960s, has died, the Gujarat-based milk cooperative that owns the dairy brand said on Wednesday. "Very sorry to inform about the sad demise of Shri Sylvester daCunha, chairman of daCunha Communications last night (Tuesday) at Mumbai," said Jayen Mehta, managing director of Gujarat Co-operative Milk Marketing Federation (GCMMF).
A meeting of leaders of political parties, called by Rajya Sabha Chairman Hamid Ansari to break the deadlock in the House over coal block allocation issue, remained inconclusive on Thursday.
The Trinamool Congress (TMC) team comprises O'Brien, MP and leader of the delegation Sunil Mondal and MP Abir Ranjan Biswas.
A Trinamool Congress delegation on Friday alleged before the Election Commission top brass that around 40 SIR-related deaths had occurred in West Bengal so far, a charge junked by the poll authority.
India's Parliament is set to begin its Budget session on Friday, with opposition parties poised to demand a discussion on the alleged mismanagement of the Maha Kumbh festival in Prayagraj, where 30 pilgrims died in a stampede. The opposition also accused the government of politicising parliamentary committees and pushing its agenda through its majority. The session will start with President Droupadi Murmu addressing both houses of Parliament. Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman will present the Union Budget on Saturday for the eighth consecutive time.
Claiming that the police had no role in the death of Student's Federation of India student Sudipta Gupta, Trinamool Congress Member of Parliament Derek O'Brien said on Wednesdaa that CCTV footage suggested that it was an accident.
The move has sparked a political row, with the opposition accusing the BJP of promoting a vegetarian agenda.
A meeting of the Trinamool Congress parliamentary party has been convened in New Delhi on August six to finalise party's stand on the vice-presidential election slated for August seven.
Trinamool Congress on Saturday removed Mukul Roy, a former confidante of Mamata Banerjee, from the key post of party general secretary.
"This is the minimum expectation at this time of national tragedy," she said.
