The incident had happened in Bihar when the Howrah-New Jalpaiguri semi-high-speed train was passing through that state on January 3.
What some of our politicians were up to on Tuesday, September 24, 2024.
Struggling to gain political traction on issues of corruption, the West Bengal Bharatiya Janata Party is shifting its focus to emotive topics such as the Ram Temple in Ayodhya and the Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA) in a bid to achieve its target of securing 35 out of the 42 Lok Sabha seats from the state.
"If municipal elections can take place in Hyderabad and Assam, why not here. The situation is worse than Kashmir and is similar to that of Iran and Iraq. Didi (Mamata Banerjee) has proved that West Bengal's law and order is not conducive to go for polls," he said while addressing a party meeting in Kolkata.
"I follow Ramayana, Quran, Bible and Guru Granth Sahib... I do not do drama by visiting poor people's homes to eat food brought from outside," she said.
Chandra Bose had joined the BJP in 2016 and had twice contested on the BJP ticket -- in the 2016 assembly and the 2019 Lok Sabha polls.
As electoral sails shift in the dynamic political winds of West Bengal, two factors may still change the electoral equations are how the BJP fares this time and how Muslims are going to vote. Mayank Mishra reports.
Banerjee said she will not allow implementation of the CAA, the NRC and the Uniform Civil Code in the state.
Kolkata Police intercepted a military truck for alleged reckless driving, a day after the army dismantled a TMC protest stage. The incident occurred near the Writers' Buildings, with police citing dangerous driving and traffic violations. Army officials deny any wrongdoing.
According to the former Union minister, Banerjee has also said that she was ready to forget her experience with the Congress in the West Bengal state elections.
West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee on Friday wrote to Prime Minister Narendra Modi, saying that her state would sever all ties with the Damodar Valley Corporation (DVC) for 'unilaterally releasing water', which led to floods in south Bengal districts.
Uttam Ghosh wonders if the farmers's concerns will be addressed now that the BJP has embarked on Mission Bengal.
A total of 73 women got elected to the 18th Lok Sabha against 78 women MPs in the 17th Lok Sabha.
Families of two West Bengal women killed in a stampede at the Maha Kumbh Mela have alleged that they were handed over the bodies without death certificates. They received only a piece of paper mentioning that the body was given to them. The victims, Basanti Poddar and Urmila Bhuniya, were killed in the pre-dawn stampede on January 29. A senior West Bengal minister alleged that "total mismanagement" prevailed in the Maha Kumbh Mela.
Banerjee accused the BJP of resorting to divisive tactics in the face of anticipated defeat in the initial phases of polling.
The TMC-led West Bengal government has already started laying the groundwork for the election, setting the tone with the recent Bengal Global Business Summit and the state Budget.
Apparently, Mithunda has shared with BJP leaders that becoming West Bengal's chief minister is his only motive for the political jump from the Trinamool Congress, which sent him to the Rajya Sabha, to the BJP.
'As per instructions of Dr Sukanta Majumdar, all departments and cells stand dissolved till the time they are reconstituted, and new appointments are made,' said a statement issued by the state BJP.
81 per cent voter turnout recorded in West Bengal, 80 per cent in Assam.
The police on Friday claimed to have arrested 'a local Bharatiya Janata Party leader' along with 10 others on charges of running a sex racket in a hotel in West Bengal's Howrah district, while the state's main opposition party denied any association with the accused individuals.
The phase is crucial as it will decide the fate of several ministers -- Finance Minister Amit Mitra, Agriculture Minister Purnendu Basu, Law Minister Chandrima Bhattacharya, Tourism Minister Bratya Basu, Food and Supplies Minister Jyotipriyo Mullick and Agriculture Marketing Minister Aroop Roy.
Leader of Opposition in the Lok Sabha Rahul Gandhi on Wednesday challenged Home Minister Amit Shah to debate with him on his three press conferences in which the Congress leader alleged 'vote chori' by the Bharatiya Janata Party in collusion with the Election Commission.
One hundred and thirty-three candidates will try their luck from the constituencies falling under the districts of West Midnapore, Purulia and Bankura.
Opposition parties in India's Rajya Sabha, including the Congress and the TMC, walked out of the chamber after their demand for a discussion on the Election Commission's alleged lapses in issuing duplicate voter ID cards and delimitation was disallowed. The Deputy Chairman, Harivansh, rejected the notices under Rule 267, citing non-compliance with previous rulings. While TMC and Congress MPs focused on the duplicate voter ID issue, Tamil parties expressed concerns about the impact of delimitation on southern states. Despite raising slogans and pressing for a discussion, the opposition staged a walkout after their notices were rejected and their statements deemed not part of the official record.
Yadav, during his first visit to Guwahati, said he has already spoken to Congress and will hold talks with the All India United Democratic Front later in the day to formalise the alliance.
'The politics of divisiveness won't work.' 'The janta is too clever not to see through it.'
Lambasting the Bharatiya Janata Party for allegedly bringing up the issues of NRC, CAA and Uniform Civil Code ahead of the Lok Sabha elections, West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee on Tuesday asserted she would not allow anyone to take away the citizenship of people during her lifetime.
After big win in Bihar, the BJP is likely to push harder in Tamil Nadu, where the DMK government and the uneasy BJP-AIADMK alliance are preparing for a tense election filled with seat-sharing fights, changing alliances, and the unpredictable entry of Vijay's TVK party, predicts N Sathiya Moorthy.
The police condemned the unprovoked, unacceptable attack on an individual's religious identity and added that stern legal action is being initiated.
Ajit Pawar, who heads the Nationalist Congress Party, which is in an alliance with pro-Hindutva BJP and the Shiv Sena, noted Chief Ministers Mamata Banerjee (West Bengal), Chandrababu Naidu (Andhra Pradesh) and Nitish Kumar (Bihar) -- all secular politicians -- aligned with the BJP for the sake of development of their respective states.
Senior Bharatiya Janata Party leader and Gujarat Chief Minister Narendra Modi on Saturday alleged that the Left Front had not done any development work or set up any industry in West Bengal in its 34 year-rule.
The Trinamool Congress (TMC) has distanced itself from controversial remarks made by its senior leader and West Bengal minister Firhad Hakim regarding the Muslim percentage in the population. Hakim, in a speech, had claimed that Muslims constitute 33 per cent of the population in West Bengal and 17 per cent nationwide, adding that they could become a numerical majority if they empower themselves. The party issued a statement on Monday condemning Hakim's remarks, asserting that they do not reflect its ideology and commitment to communal harmony. The remarks have sparked a political storm, with the opposition BJP accusing Hakim of attempting to stir communal sentiments. Hakim later clarified that his remarks were misinterpreted and that he was advocating for the empowerment of minorities through education and skill development. However, the controversy has caused ripples within the TMC and complicated the party's messaging.
'Our party has formed governments independently in all neighbouring states except West Bengal; now it's Bihar's turn.'
The violence, which erupted over the setting up of a shop in Maheshtala under Rabindranagar police station in South 24 Parganas district, quickly escalated, turning the area into a virtual battlefield.
The glass door of coach number C13 of 22303 Vande Bharat Express was damaged in the incident.
'Mamata needs to address the anger and resentment among various sections of the Hindu community because low-scale communal violence has always paid richer electoral dividends for the BJP.'
BJP national president, J P Nadda during his recent visit to the state had said that rules for implementation of the Act are being framed. CAA will be implemented in letter and spirit after it.
Navigating a history of animosity and mistrust, negotiations for a potential Congress-Trinamool Congress alliance in West Bengal face significant challenges while addressing the shared adversary of the Bharatiya Janata Party, with the Bengal Congress unit appearing reluctant to engage in an electoral pact.
The juggernaut of the Bharatiya Janata Party-led National Democratic Alliance, which triumphed in three of the four east and north-eastern states that went for assembly bypolls on Saturday, was halted yet again in West Bengal where Mamata Banerjee's Trinamool Congress registered a six-on-six clean sweep.
The Trinamool Congress had called the bandh to protest against the West Bengal Block Level Pre-Litigation Conciliation Board Bill, starvation deaths and price rise.
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