West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee has set an ambitious goal of winning over 215 seats in the 2026 state assembly elections, aiming to secure a fourth consecutive term for the Trinamool Congress (TMC). She declared that the party will work to significantly reduce the BJP's tally and ensure that their candidates struggle to retain their deposits. The TMC's national general secretary, Abhishek Banerjee, echoed this sentiment, urging party workers to ensure a decisive victory and achieve a two-thirds majority in the upcoming polls. The BJP, however, dismissed the TMC's claims, stating that Banerjee is merely trying to boost morale among party workers.
Amid a controversy over the rejection of West Bengal's tableau for the Republic Day parade themed on Netaji Subhas Chandra Bose and his Indian National Army, his daughter Anita Bose Pfaff said on Monday the legendary freedom fighter's legacy has often been 'partly exploited' for political reasons.
Uttam Ghosh/Rediff.com recalls the many ways in which he has been influenced by Netaji Subhas Chandra Bose.
'Rather than assuaging the feelings of the Hindus accommodated in schools and hospitals, she calls a meeting of imams and tries to assuage them.'
The Lok Sabha was adjourned for the day on Tuesday due to noisy protests by the opposition, who demanded answers regarding Prime Minister Narendra Modi's statement on the Mahakumbh. Opposition members protested after PM Modi's statement and demanded the inclusion of stampede deaths in the statement. The House proceedings were initially adjourned until 1 pm, and when the House resumed, opposition members continued their protests, forcing the Chair to adjourn the proceedings for the day.
Shyam Benegal, the shining beacon of the Indian cinema, was laid to rest on Tuesday around 3 pm with full state honours and a three-gun salute at Shivaji Park, central Mumbai.
Five things we learnt from the trove of data released on Saturday by the Narendra Modi government
Actors, directors and admirers mourned legendary filmmaker Shyam Benegal on Saturday evening.
Family members of Subhas Chandra Bose on Saturday met Prime Minister Narendra Modi here and put forward their long-pending demand to de-classify the files related to Netaji.
A threat about the presence of bombs on an Akasa Air flight at Biju Patnaik International Airport in Bhubaneswar was received on social media, but it later turned out to be a hoax, an official of the airport said on Thursday.
The Congress's second AICC session in Gujarat post-Independence is being held on the 100th anniversary of Mahatma Gandhi's party presidency and the 150th birth anniversary of Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel.
In the last part of this four-part interview to Arthur Pais, biographer Sugata Bose dispels rumours that Netaji is still alive.
'The TMC can't go on forever taking advantage of the people's fright of the BJP.'
Normally the celebrations begin from January 24.
'We are not a dictatorship. If the people do not desire some law, it is impossible for any government to implement it,' says BJP leader Chandra Kumar Bose.
West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee has defended her support for teachers who were dismissed following a Supreme Court verdict, accusing the BJP and CPI(M) of "hatching a conspiracy" to influence the ruling. She dared the BJP to arrest her for supporting the affected candidates, while asserting that her government will abide by the verdict but explore all legal options. The development has triggered political reactions with the BJP demanding Banerjee's resignation, while the CPI(M) expressed concern over the impact on the education system. Banerjee also criticized the BJP's handling of the Vyapam scam in Madhya Pradesh, drawing parallels to the school jobs scam in West Bengal.
The move drew criticism from the Akhil Bharatiya Akhara Parishad. Its president Mahant Ravindra Puri said that Mulayam Singh Yadav had always been "anti-Hindu and anti-Sanatan".
The chief minister said the Congress-Samajwadi Party alliance will win an overwhelming majority in the assembly polls and get more than 300 seats in the 403-member House.
Netaji had used the Audi Wanderer W24 to escape from his Elgin Road residence to Gomoh railway station in Jharkhand to catch a train to Delhi.
The national capital is on high alert for Republic Day, with over 70 companies of paramilitary forces and more than 70,000 police personnel deployed across the city. A six-layered security protocol involving 15,000 security personnel has been deployed in New Delhi district alone. Security measures include over 2,500 CCTV cameras with facial recognition, anti-drone systems, and snipers on rooftops. Traffic restrictions have been imposed in central Delhi, with no traffic movement allowed on Kartavya Path from Vijay Chowk to India Gate from 6 pm on Saturday. Flying of sub-conventional aerial platforms is prohibited over Delhi until February 1.
West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee on Friday announced that 64 files on Netaji Subhash Chandra Bose lying with the state's home department would be declassified and put in public domain from next Friday.
Rijiju said India has approached a number of countries to retrieve any documents related to Netaji and they have responded to the requests.
Researchers plan to move court if Shyam Benegal's film, Bose -- The Forgotten Hero, is released in its present form.
The files were handed over by the PMO to the National Archives of India for 'further processing, preservation and digitisation'.
Netaji's daughter-in-law visited Peshawar, the last post of the revolutionary leader's great escape to Kabul.
The Bharatiya Janata Party on Sunday expressed hope that declassification of Netaji Subhas Chandra Bose files will reveal the mystery.
"For the last one month a rather strange broadcast is being heard over the radio...The broadcast only says 'Neta Subhas Chandra transmitter...wanted to speak," this was written by Netaji's nephew Amiya Nath Bose in a letter to his brother in 1949 as revealed by one of the secret files on the leader declassified by the West Bengal government.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi will on Thursday inaugurate the newly-christened Kartavya Path -- a stretch from Rashtrapati Bhavan to India Gate that will have red granite walkways with greenery all around, refurbished canals, state-wise food stalls, new amenity blocks and vending kiosks.
The files, digitised and given "preliminary conservation treatment" by the National Archives of India, were released on the birth anniversary of Netaji.
Buddhadev Bhattacharjee criticised the Congress for not according the 'due importance' to Netaji, as it did to Mahatma Gandhi.
Earlier in the day, the prime minister inaugurated a slew of development projects and laid foundation stones of several others related to energy, connectivity, education, tourism and health sectors.
The West Bengal chief minister said such "insult" was unacceptable.
A declassified file contained a letter written by Netaji's nephew Sisir Kumar Bose to his father and Netaji's elder brother Sarat Chandra Bose in 1949 that he had information on Netaji going on the air on a radio channel.
The secret files related to Subhas Chandra Bose will be declassified by the central government beginning January 23 next year, Prime Minister Narendra Modi announced on Wednesday.
Netaji Subhas Chandra Bose's grand nephew would meet Prime Minister Narendra Modi in Germany on Monday to demand declassification of files relating to the freedom fighter's mysterious disappearance in 1945.
'The non-violent movement would not have brought freedom to the country, that had to be an armed struggle.'
Political observer Nazarwala, who made a spot-on prediction on Rediff.com of Mayawati's victory in the 2007 Uttar Pradesh assembly election, assesses Samajwadi Party chief Mulayam Singh Yadav's likely political resurrection.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi on October 14 had announced that government will start unveiling the secret files related to Netaji from January 23 next year.
