West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee slammed the Sealdah court's decision to award life imprisonment till death to Sanjay Roy, the sole convict in the rape-murder of an on-duty doctor at the state-run RG Kar Medical College and Hospital in Kolkata. Banerjee said the incident was a "rare, heinous and sensitive crime" and she has been seeking capital punishment for Roy. She said the state government would challenge the verdict and move Calcutta High Court, which has granted permission to file an appeal against the Sealdah court order.
Banerjee, referring to violence-hit Bangladesh, said she would keep the doors of West Bengal open for people in distress from the neighbouring country and offer them shelter.
The welfare schemes of the government, particularly Lakshmir Bhandar, have had a major impact on the electoral outcome.
Heavy overnight rainfall caused widespread flooding in Kolkata, disrupting traffic, public transport, and daily life. Train and Metro services were suspended, and many areas experienced significant waterlogging.
West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee has accused the Border Security Force (BSF) of allowing infiltrators from Bangladesh into India and claimed it's a deliberate attempt to destabilize the state. Banerjee, who alleges a larger conspiracy by the central government, has also accused some district magistrates and SPs of aiding the BSF in their alleged illegal activities. She plans to send a strongly worded letter to the Centre expressing her concerns and has directed the state police to investigate the matter further.
The Trinamool Congress on Friday accused the Bharatiya Janata Party of spreading lies and criminalising poverty over the detention of Bengali-speaking migrant workers in Odisha, while the saffron party charged the Mamata Banerjee dispensation with providing shelters to illegal immigrants.
Bose is on record that the government cannot evade responsibility and remain silent on the disturbing developments in the state.
The Election Commission suspended four officers and a casual worker in West Bengal for alleged dereliction of duty and lapses in preparing electoral rolls. The action follows allegations of electoral roll compromise at the behest of the ruling Trinamool Congress.
The Mamata Banerjee government will table the anti-rape bill in the West Bengal Assembly on Tuesday.
Banerjee, who also takes care of the home department, said Kolkata Police Commissioner Vineet Goyal has offered to resign in the wake of the protests but "we need someone who knows law and order ahead of Durga puja".
The Congress party has criticized Prime Minister Narendra Modi's handling of GST reforms, calling them inadequate and demanding an apology for the tax imposed on essential items. They argue that the reforms are merely a 'band-aid' solution and that the government should address the states' demand for extended compensation.
Speaking in the assembly after tabling the Aparajita Woman and Child Bill (West Bengal Criminal Laws and Amendment) Bill 2024, Banerjee said the Bill aims at quick investigation, fast justice delivery and enhanced punishment of the guilty.
Earlier, Mamata Banerjee appealed to the agitating doctors to join the meeting, amid their demand for live-streaming of the discussions.
Instead of using her power to act against the culprits, the chief minister is trying to divert people's attention by holding protests, Asha Devi told PTI.
'I asked her whether she stood first. 'Yes Baba' was her reply. Her mother was crying in joy.'
Banerjee had on Wednesday said an amendment to existing laws will be passed in the state assembly next week to ensure capital punishment to convicted rapists.
Banerjee also appealed to the people of West Bengal not to get provoked over matters concerning the current situation in Bangladesh.
A poster with death threats to West Bengal Chief Minister and Trinamool Congress supremo Mamata Banerjee and her nephew, party's general secretary Abhishek Banerjee, appeared in Uluberia in West Bengal's Howrah district on Friday, police said.
A landslide on the Kedarnath route in Uttarakhand killed two pilgrims and injured six, while heavy rain led to the temporary suspension of the Char Dham and Hemkund Sahib pilgrimages.
In a video message, Bose also said he will also socially boycott the chief minister.
Following the incident, she flew to Kulti and addressed a rally in support of TMC's Asansol candidate Shatrughan Sinha.
'Why is she against refugees obtaining citizenship? I request refugees not to be afraid, please apply for citizenship'
Dhankhar, who represented the Kishangarh Assembly constituency as a Congress MLA from 1993 to 1998, received pension as a former legislator until July 2019. It was discontinued after he was appointed the governor of West Bengal.
"I apologise to the people of Bengal who expected an end to the RG Kar impasse today. They (junior doctors) came to Nabanna but did not sit for the meeting. I request them to go back to work," Banerjee told a press conference.
Singh was JD-U president when the party was part of the INDIA bloc and used to accompany Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar to the coalition's meetings.
"An Indian citizen has the right of movement in the entire country. There is no mention of territorial rights anywhere in our Constitution," he said.
Hindi Diwas was observed across India with leaders emphasizing Hindi's role as a unifying factor and the need to enrich all Indian languages. Events were held in India and abroad to promote the language.
'The police could not save my daughter or bring her justice, but they didn't think twice about beating up women and elderly persons.'
Bharatiya Janata Party dismissed the allegation and said it was only a paper cutting used in a protest.
West Bengal Governor C V Ananda Bose on Friday filed a defamation case against Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee at the Calcutta high court, a day after she said that women complained to her saying that they were afraid to visit the Raj Bhavan because of the activities there, a source said.
A two-day special session of the West Bengal assembly was convened by the government on September 2 to table and pass a Bill which would provide for capital punishment to convicted rapists, Parliamentary Affairs minister Sovandeb Chattopadhyay said. The Bill would be tabled for discussion and passage on Tuesday, the second day of the special session, Speaker Biman Banerjee said.
Although both sides agreed on the prevailing threat culture, they differed on the underlying premises, forces, and situations that promote it.
The protestors called the state's administrative measures "only partial victory" of their movement.
No politician should use such language, the Bharatiya Janata Party said on Friday as it chastised West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee for her choice of words targeting Prime Minister Narendra Modi.
Kolkata Police stopped the trailer launch of 'The Bengal Files', a film based on the 1946 Calcutta Riots, its director Vivek Agnihotri claimed, sparking controversy and allegations of censorship.
'Women are likely to have voted because of the numerous welfare schemes. The CAA consolidated minority votes and the BJP's booth-level organisation in Bengal is weak.'
West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee on Thursday asserted that she did not threaten junior doctors at state-run hospitals, who have been continuing cease-work for 21 days now to protest against the alleged rape and murder of a woman medic. Addressing a rally organised by the Trinamool Congress Chhatra Parishad, Banerjee had on Wednesday urged the agitating junior doctors of Bengal to urgently consider returning to duty and said she doesn't want to lodge first information reports (FIRs) against the striking doctors in consideration of their future careers.
A year after the RG Kar rape-murder Swarupa Dutt/Rediff look at the city where it happened, Kolkata -- its study in dichotomy, at once the self-proclaimed cultural capital of India as also a petri dish for a peculiar rage that breeds crimes against women.
Parents of the RG Medical College rape victim met CBI Director Praveen Sood to express their dissatisfaction with the agency's probe. They believe more than one person was involved in the rape and murder of their daughter and allege a cover-up. The CBI has challenged the life imprisonment sentence given to the convicted, seeking the death penalty.
India on Tuesday called on Bangladesh to reconsider its decision to demolish the ancestral property of noted filmmaker Satyajit Ray and offered help to preserve the iconic building as it symbolises Bangla cultural 'renaissance'.
