Former West Bengal governor Jagdeep Dhankhar's subsequent elevation set a new benchmark for the actions of those who occupy Raj Bhavans, observes Aditi Phadnis.
CV Ananda Bose on Wednesday took oath as the new governor of West Bengal.
West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee, who rushed to the district late on Sunday night, assured the people of all help from the administration.
Questioning the team's authority headed by a former Patna high court judge, Banerjee pointed out that Ram Navami processions organised by the Bharatiya Janata Party had carried arms and driven tractors and deliberately taken routes where 'Namaz' was being offered.
A fresh political row has erupted in West Bengal over Bharatiya Janata Party national vice-president Dilip Ghosh's alleged unsavoury remarks about West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee, with the Trinamool Congress seeking his arrest and unconditional apology.
Dhankhar in his letter claimed that the state of governance in the state was 'cliff hanging' and had been further strained by the barbarity witnessed in the Birbhum killings.
Modifying the single bench order, the division bench presided by Justice I P Mukerji directed that Banerjee and Ghosh will be free to make any statement concerning the Governor, not crossing the contours of freedom of speech and expression and public duty.
She is the 21st chief minister of West Bengal and 8th person to hold the office.
One person was killed and six others were injured in a clash between the Trinamool Congress and the Bharatiya Janata Party in West Bengal's Birbhum district, police said.
Odisha Chief Minister Mohan Charan Majhi on Sunday ordered a judicial inquiry into the alleged torture of an Army officer and the sexual assault of his fiance at a police station in Bhubaneswar.
A 10-member delegation of Trinamool Congress (TMC) had announced the dharna after meeting a full bench of the Election Commission (EC) to press their demand.
Clashes broke out between Trinamool Congress and Bharatiya Janata Party supporters in West Bengal's Cooch Behar district after a public meeting addressed by Union Minister of State for Home Nisith Paramanik got over and a rally led by state minister Udayan Guha was about to begin nearby.
The Enforcement Directorate (ED) on Wednesday conducted raids in three locations in and around Kolkata and again recovered large stacks of cash from a flat linked to Arpita Mukherjee, considered a close associate of arrested West Bengal Industry Minister Partha Chatterjee.
Bharatiya Janata Party Supremo and Prime Minister Narendra Damodardas Modi is embraced by a 103-year-old supporter in Dahod.
Three persons were shot dead and several others were injured as violence and arson marked the conclusion of nomination filing for the three-tier West Bengal panchayat polls slated next month.
Govt, however, is readying new Bill that will give it more teeth to deal with such scams.
Expressing concern over agitation by Trinamool Congress workers outside the Central Bureau of Investigation office in Kolkata and elsewhere in West Bengal after the arrest of two ministers and others in the Narada sting case, Governor Jagdeep Dhankhar on Monday alleged that there is 'total lawlessness and anarchy' in the state and the police and administration are in 'silence' mode.
'At the right time, people of Bihar will give a befitting response to him and the one who makes him dance to his tunes, the prime minister'
The Narada sting tapes, made public before the 2016 assembly elections in West Bengal, were claimed to have been shot in 2014, wherein people resembling TMC ministers, MPs and MLAs were allegedly seen receiving money from representatives of a fictitious company in lieu of promised favours.
Within a couple of hours after performing the last rites of his mother Hiraben, who died at 99 in a hospital at Ahmedabad, Modi inaugurated the Vande Bharat Express connecting Howrah and New Jalpaiguri, and other development projects in Kolkata via video link from Raj Bhavan in Ahmedabad.
The Governor invited the 'attention' of Chief Minister Banerjee to the preamble of the Indian Constitution.
What some of our leaders were up to on Thursday, October 5, 2023.
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.
'I urged the chief minister even before she took her oath requesting her to send a tough message to the police and the administration that any violent activity, any destruction of property, any arson, loot in your area, they will be held accountable.' 'Her silence on this speaks volumes.'
BJP and RSS leaders are once again pushing to remove the words 'secular' and 'socialist' from the Constitution's Preamble, showing a deeper effort to change India's identity from a diverse, multi-religious republic to a Hindu-first nation, even though they don't have the numbers in Parliament to officially change the Constitution, observes N Sathiya Moorthy.
While the saffron camp questioned the administrative capabilities of the Mamata Banerjee-led state government, the Trinamool Congress claimed that BJP leaders "behaved like good boys" this time.
Former Union home minister Shivraj Patil has been appointed the Governor of Punjab while National Security Advisor M K Narayanan has been appointed the Governor of West Bengal.Senior Congress leader M O H Farooq has been appointed the Governor of Jharkhand and Urmila Singh has been appointed the Governor of Himachal Pradesh, according to a statement by the Rashtrapati Bhavan.Erstwhile Chhattisgarh Governor E S L Narasimhan will take charge as the Governor of Andhra Pradesh.
West Bengal Governor M K Narayanan on Friday demitted office and left for Chennai along with his wife Padmini.
The body of Debendra Nath Ray, in his 60s, was found hanging from the ceiling of a verandah outside a shuttered shop near his home in Bindal village in Hemtabad area of the district, police said. Ray had won the Hemtabad (reserved) seat on a Communist Party of India-Marxist ticket in 2016 but later joined the BJP. He had, however, not quit his assembly seat.
If you thought Vajubhai Vala's invitation to BSY was a one-off, think again :))
West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee on Thursday took a dig at Governor Jagdeep Dhankhar's New Delhi visit as she said a 'child can be cajoled into silence' but not an elderly man, noting that she has thrice written to Prime Minister Narendra Modi to withdraw him from the state.
West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee on Tuesday expressed disappointment about the outcome of a meeting with Union Finance minister Pranab Mukherjee on the financial condition of the cash-strapped state.
New West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee on Friday said that the state government would prepare a special economic package for the people of Maoist-hit Jangalmahal and was serious about solving the problem within three months.
"Through the Singur discussions on September 5, 6 and 7, I saw earnest participants showing a rare spirit of accommodation. That spirit needs to be operationalised," a Raj Bhavan release said. Invoking Rabindranath Tagore, the Governor said, Jiban jakhan shukai jai koruna dharai esho (when the heart is hard and parched up, come upon me with a shower of mercy."
West Bengal Governor Gopal Krishna Gandhi on Thursday held a series of meetings with the state government and Trinamool Congress in the run up to Friday's crucial talks that could discuss a proposal for higher compensation for farmers whose land was acquired for the Tata Motors car project.
National Security Adviser M K Narayanan is being appointed Governor of West Bengal and former Union Home Minister Shivraj Patil will take over as the Governor of Punjab as the Centre has finalised a list of five new Governors in various states.
Taking a pro-active stand on the law and order situation in the state, West Bengal Governor M K Narayanan is likely to visit Netai village in strife-torn Lalgrah area, where seven unarmed villagers were killed recently.On Thursday, Narayanan had reviewed the overall situation arising out of the spurt in political violence in the state with the top brass of the administration at Raj Bhavan. He had summoned Chief Secretary Samar Ghosh, Home Secretary G D Goutama.
The meeting between the West Bengal government and the Opposition in the presence of governor, Gopal Krishna Gandhi, seeking a breakthrough in the Singur impasse, appeared to have achieved success with the state accepting the 'land for land' formula, and offering 47 acres inside the factory complex now held by WBIDC and another 27 acres acres held by the power department inside the factory complex, along with state held (or 'khas') land of 43 acres
Showing Gandhigiri, West Bengal Governor Gopalkrishna Gandhi went without light on Wednesday, after deciding to have voluntary power cuts at Raj Bhavan, triggering a spat with the Communist Party of India Marxist, which felt the gubernatorial post should be abolished. The action of Mahatma Gandhi's grandson came as an embarrassment to the Left government, with whom he had a run in last year, on its handling of the Nandigram issue.
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