Trinamool Congress general secretary Abhishek Banerjee and several other party leaders were detained on Tuesday night as they held a dharna at the Union Rural Development Ministry office in New Delhi demanding a meeting with the minister and released around three hours later.
'My role will be to take her message across the country.'
The central probe agency had on Friday carried out a fresh round of searches in connection with the case, they said.
'The chief minister has to remember that the people of Bengal have suffered a lot. They waited for three decades for a change in rule. Hence, they are impatient and want fast and effective action.' Legendary writer Mahasweta Devi rates the Trinamool Congress-led government in West Bengal.
The TMC supremo, who started her poll campaign for the Bhabanipur by-election, also alleged that the saffron party is targeting party general secretary and her nephew Abhishek Banerjee for political reasons, claiming there is no valid case against him.
The development is a major boost for West Bengal Chief Minister and TMC supremo Mamata Banerjee, who has been trying to expand her party's footprint beyond her native state.
Amid criticism over his absence from violence-hit Murshidabad in West Bengal, TMC leaders defended Baharampur MP Yusuf Pathan, saying he is "busy with the IPL." TMC sources expressed unhappiness with Pathan for not visiting the district during last week's communal clashes. Three people were killed in the clashes, which erupted during protests against recent amendments to the Waqf Act. The BJP seized the opportunity to criticize the ruling party, with Union Minister Sukanta Majumdar saying, "Bengal is burning under the indulgence of TMC leaders. But TMC MP Yusuf Pathan is busy sipping tea as Hindus get slaughtered. This is the true face of the TMC."
Reacting sharply to Banerjee's fulminations, the Congress struck back pointing out that Prime Minster Narendra Modi's and her stand were similar, with one seeking a 'Congress 'Mukt' (Free) India' and the other, an 'Opposition coalition sans Congress'.
Mamata Banerjee's sights are not on the next month's Presidential election. She is focusing on another election that will take place in 2024.
The rally was not allowed to proceed towards the South Calcutta Law College, where the 24-year-old student was allegedly gang-raped by three men, including an alumnus of the institute, on June 25.
The Delhi High Court refused to accept TMC MP Saket Gokhale's written apology in a defamation case against former diplomat Lakshmi Murdeshwar Puri, citing discrepancies and directing him to file a fresh one. The case involves allegations of defamatory utterances and financial impropriety.
Congress MLA Rabindranath Chattopadhyay filed a written complaint at the Katwa police station on Saturday demanding immediate action as per law against Trinamool Congress leader Anubrata Mondal for threatening his party workers.
Vijayvargiya, who is also the BJP's Bengal minder, also said that he has received a call from Union Home Minister Amit Shah, who enquired about the party's poor show.
West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee and Left leaders met Nationalist Congress Party chief Sharad Pawar separately on Tuesday to try and convince the veteran leader to be the joint opposition nominee for the presidential election.
The ruling Trinamool Congress claimed that the strike call exposed the BJP's game plan to foment disturbances in the state exploiting people's pain over the alleged rape and murder of a woman doctor.
Trinamool Congress on Monday ruled out any action against Dinesh Trivedi, who resigned as railway minister, saying that he has been asked to attend the parliamentary party meeting which party chief Mamata Banerjee is expected to attend.
West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee on Wednesday urged people to celebrate the Hanuman Jayanti festival peacefully, and said while religion is a personal choice, festivities were an occasion for all to join in.
Trinamool Congress MP Mahua Moitra, currently facing recommendations for expulsion from the Lok Sabha in a cash-for-query row, was tasked with strengthening the party's organisation in West Bengal's Nadia district ahead of the 2024 general elections, in a clear message of support from the TMC.
Amid a war of words triggered by Congress leader Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury's comments regarding seat-sharing in West Bengal, sources from the Trinamool Congress (TMC) on Thursday said they will give more time to ally Congress to sort out issues, adding the party is committed to the opposition bloc.
Trinamool Congress backs the BUPC, an anti-land acquisition front in Nandigram, which has witnessed violent protests on the issue.
Moitra was expelled after the House adopted the report of its Ethics Committee that held her guilty of accepting gifts and illegal gratification from a businessman to further his interest.
Dissident Trinamool Congress MP Somen Mitra on Friday said he has decided to leave the party and go back to the Congress, while stating he would resign from his Lok Sabha membership first.
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.
Banerjee, whose party is spearheading the agitation against acquisition of farmland for a proposed SEZ by the Left Front government, entered Nandigram in a procession with members of the Krishi Jami Raksha Committee.
"No one is above party discipline. Dinesh Trivedi did not consult me or Mukul Roy (the party all India general secretary)," party insiders quoted Banerjee telling the Trinamool Congress legislature party meeting ahead of the budget session of the West Bengal legislative assembly.
The senior MP had been suspended for 'anti-party' activities after he publicly criticised Mamata's decision to leave the NDA before the 2001 assembly elections in West Bengal.
Once the tremors of Mamata Banerjee and Mulayam Singh Yadav's political shock dies down, they will return for fresh negotiations with the Congress, notes Sheela Bhatt.
The Congress in West Bengal on Friday said it accepted the challenge thrown by ally Trinamool Congress chief Mamata Banerjee that it would go it alone in the state henceforth but said it would remain in the Mamata Banerjee-led government.
In a blow to the prestige of the saffron brigade, Bharatiya Janata Party's national vice president Mukul Roy along with son Subhranshu, rejoined the Trinamool Congress on Friday, with Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee and other leaders of the state's ruling party welcoming the prodigal back to the fold.
Noor, niece of Congress stalwart A B A Ghani Khan Choudhury, have quite often been taking stands which were not in line with that of the party's state leadership.
The CBI's visit to Abhishek's residence comes after Rujira told the central agency that she will be available for examination between 11 am and 3 pm on February 23, replying to a notice that the sleuths had hand-delivered her on Sunday.
While addressing a rally at Alipurduar, Banerjee accused the Election Commission of removing the deputy inspector general of police of Murshidabad at the behest of the BJP.
Trinamool Congress strategy of opposing the United Progressive Alliance candidate has raised question mark over its continuance in the Congress-led coalition.
'My primary point was where is the Mamata Banerjee who jumps and reaches out, starts talking directly and starts solving over the heads of the bureaucracy.'
In a virtual rebellion against the United Progressive Alliance government, its largest ally Trinamool Congress on Friday threatened to pull out over the petrol price hike, as it sought an appointment with Prime Minister Manmohan Singh before taking "any vital decision".
Banerjee, who is staging a two-day sit-in to protest alleged discrimination by the Centre against the state, had on Wednesday in a change of stance urged all political parties in the country to unitedly fight the Bharatiya Janata Party in next year's Lok Sabha election.
Bora claimed that he had suggested the need for an Assamese leader at the national level of TMC, declaring the residence of Bharat Ratna Dr Bhupen Hazarika at Tollygunge in Kolkata as a heritage site and converting the Madhupur Satra in Cooch Behar to a cultural hub.
While the Congress has not lost all hopes on ties with Trinamool Congress which announced the decision to withdraw from UPA, other parties like Samajwadi Party and Janata Dal-United blamed the government for putting itself in an embarrassing position.
Twelve of the 17 Congress MLAs in the Meghalaya Assembly on Thursday joined the Trinamool Congress, dealing a body blow to the grand old party in the northeastern state, their leader and former chief minister Mukul Sangma said.
The Trinamool Congress (TMC) has demanded that the Election Commission (EC) accept its error in issuing duplicate voter card numbers within 24 hours, threatening to release more documents on the issue if the EC fails to do so. The party alleged that the EC issued the statement after the TMC announced it would hold a press conference on the issue, and termed it an "Epic Scam." The EC had said it would rectify the issue and update its technology-driven platform, but the TMC insists the EC must accept the error. The party also demanded an in-depth probe into the matter.
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