Taking strong exception to former West Bengal chief secretary Alapan Bandyopadhyay skipping a meeting of Prime Minister Narendra Modi, government sources on Wednesday said his conduct has made a severe dent to Indian Administrative Service and it could lead to anarchy.
West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee, who is on a three-day visit to Odisha, is set to meet her counterpart in the neighbouring state, Naveen Patnaik, on Thursday afternoon.
Banerjee, who lost the election in Nandigram, has to win this bypoll to retain the chief minister's post.
Dada present at event bringing La Liga to India.
As Cyclone Dana barrels toward the coasts of Odisha, threatening to impact nearly half of the state's population, the government is racing against time to execute a massive evacuation plan aimed at relocating about 10 lakh people in several coastal districts to safety. In West Bengal, the cyclone is set to bring heavy rainfall in several southern West Bengal districts, including Kolkata, the India Meteorological Department (IMD) has said.
Although both sides agreed on the prevailing threat culture, they differed on the underlying premises, forces, and situations that promote it.
'The TMC can't go on forever taking advantage of the people's fright of the BJP.'
The incident took place around 4 am when hundreds of devotees gathered near the temple to witness Rath Yatra festivities, Puri district collector Siddharth S Swain said.
"I came to meet you as your 'didi' not as the chief minister," she said.
'If the INDIA bloc ever forms the government, they will be more than tempted to use such provisions to bring about regime change in BJP-ruled states.'
The Supreme Court expressed serious concern over the Enforcement Directorate summoning advocates for offering legal advice or representing clients during investigations, calling for guidelines on the matter.
Banerjee stressed she wished for harmony, fraternal ties and cordial relationship to remain between all communities living in Bangladesh and elsewhere.
Banerjee claimed that some people will try to "engineer riots" during elections and urged everyone "not to fall prey to the plot".
Prime Minister Narendra Modi and West Bengal CM Mamata Banerjee paid rich tributes to Swami Smaranananda.
The Trinamool Congress supremo, who reached Khadikul village in this area, 11 days after the blast, also said the incident could have been averted if the state had received proper intelligence inputs.
However, speculation remained rife that the meeting was part of Banerjee's plan to form an opposition front with regional players minus the Congress.
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.
West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee on Wednesday took stock of the COVID-19 situation in the state, shortly after her swearing-in ceremony, and announced fresh curbs to combat the spread of COVID-19, including suspension of local train services.
Nine MLAs, including Babul Supriyo, took oath as ministers in West Bengal on Wednesday, in a major reshuffle of Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee's cabinet.
The Aam Aadmi Party (AAP), led by Arvind Kejriwal, suffered a major setback in the Delhi Assembly elections, losing to the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP). The loss marks a significant blow to Kejriwal's national ambitions and raises questions about the future of the party. The AAP had been in power in Delhi for the past 10 years and had also formed a government in Punjab. Despite the defeat, the party still holds 13 MPs from Punjab and Delhi. The article examines the factors that contributed to the AAP's defeat, including allegations of corruption, poor civic facilities, and the BJP's relentless attacks. It also explores the impact of the loss on Kejriwal's national aspirations and the party's future.
The words 'industry', 'industrial development', 'jobs', and 'employment' have been ringing with higher frequency since Mamata Banerjee stepped into her third term with landslide victory after a high-octane election last year. "Our government's next target is industrial development," the chief minister (CM) had been heard stating at different public meetings in the past few months - perhaps setting the tone for the sixth edition of the Bengal Global Business Summit (BGBS) slated for later this month. Investor summits by any state are about intent, big numbers, and tall claims. Yet in competitive federalism, its importance as a marketing tool is undeniable.
Banerjee said there is no video footage or any other proof to substantiate claims of the central forces.
Banerjee expressed skepticism about the BJP's ambitious target of achieving 400 seats in the Lok Sabha elections.
West Bengal Chief Minister Buddhadev Bhattacharjee on Thursday said that Marxists were changing with the world and his government was open to all kinds of foreign and private investments to develop the infrastructure.
The India Meteorological Department (IMD) has predicted above-normal rainfall for the upcoming monsoon season in India (June to September). The cumulative rainfall is estimated to be 105 percent of the long-period average. The IMD has also ruled out the possibility of El Nino conditions during the entire season. The monsoon is crucial for India's agriculture sector, which supports the livelihood of a significant portion of the population and contributes substantially to the country's GDP. However, while the prediction of normal rainfall brings relief, climate change is expected to cause variations in rainfall distribution.
Setting aside political rivalry, West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee on Monday called up BJP state president Sukanta Majumdar -- who was diagnosed with Covid-19 a day ago -- to enquire about his health.
West Bengal Bharatiya Janata Party chief Dilip Ghosh on Saturday said that the party has to fulfil its long-cherished mission of winning the state not only to expand its ideological footprint but also to secure India's eastern borders, which have turned into a 'transit point for terror elements' trying to create unrest in the country.
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.
Banerjee, while addressing a convention of party workers and leaders, said her party's cadres have to reach out to the people to counter canards spread against the TMC by opposition parties.
The police condemned the unprovoked, unacceptable attack on an individual's religious identity and added that stern legal action is being initiated.
Gujarat Minister of State for Home Harsh Sanghavi has defended the state government's use of bulldozers to demolish the homes of alleged anti-social elements, saying that only opposition parties are upset about the measure. He also vowed to take strict action against those involved in "love jihad", saying that they would be paraded on the streets. Sanghavi's comments come amid rising tensions over the issue of religious conversions in India.
West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee on Wednesday asserted that priority must be given to locals and those knowing the local language during recruitment in state government jobs.
West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee asserted that she had last year inaugurated the second campus of the Chittaranjan National Cancer Institute which Prime Minister Narendra Modi dedicated to the nation on Friday.
He further commented on the current state of public discourse, saying a "mob rule" is being created wherein politicians capitalise on certain incidents and assure people of the death penalty for culprits even though only the judiciary has the power to pass legal verdicts.
'She could have sat down with the students and taken a list of their grievances including their allegations and suspicions.' 'Not all suspicions are true, but you have to listen, you have to let the steam come out.'
If Meena resigns, it is likely to put pressure on other ministers whose areas also saw poor performance in the general elections.
Congress and Janata Dal-United on Friday strongly objected to the description of revolutionary leaders Khudiram Bose, Jatindranath Mukherjee and Prafulla Chaki as "extremist and terrorist" in school syllabus in West Bengal and urged Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee to drop the chapter.
Fielding a strong joint opposition candidate from Varanasi in the 2024 Lok Sabha elections was among the proposals discussed at the fourth meeting of the Indian National Developmental Inclusive Alliance (INDIA), sources said.
Following is the gist of the controversy over sudden transfer of West Bengal Chief Secretary Alapan Bandyopadhyay, who retired on Monday, to Delhi and related rules.
Trinamool Congress chief Mamata Banerjee took the oath of office as West Bengal's first woman chief minister on Friday.West Bengal Governor M K Narayanan administered the oath of office to her. Banerjee, who is the eighth chief minister of the state, took her oath in Bengali.The oath-taking ceremony at the Raj Bhavan was taken amid tight security.Apart from Banerjee, 43 other ministers, including seven from the Congress party, were administered the oath of office.