The ruling BJP in West Bengal has suspended 22 functionaries, including several mandal presidents, over allegations of extortion and indiscipline. This action follows public warnings from the party leadership against adopting an 'extortion culture' and comes ahead of a visit by BJP's central in-charge for West Bengal, Sunil Bansal, to review the party's organisation and the new government's functioning.
Three months after winning power in West Bengal, the BJP is confronting a significant political challenge: how to expand and consolidate its presence without adopting the very political culture it campaigned against, particularly concerning the integration of former TMC leaders and the need to curb practices like extortion and intimidation among its own cadres.
From guns to handlooms. From forest trails to a public runway. Women who had once been associated with that conflict walked into the spotlight wearing Bastar's traditional textiles.
Forty-six militants of the banned Kangleipak Communist Party (People's War Group) surrendered before security forces in Manipur on Tuesday, the police said.
BJP National General Secretary Tarun Chugh has criticised the AAP government in Punjab, citing failures in tackling drug trafficking, mafia activities, and a deteriorating law and order situation. He urged party workers to launch awareness campaigns against drugs and assist in the Special Intensive Revision exercise for upcoming elections, envisioning a drug-free, fear-free, and development-oriented Punjab.
Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath criticised the TMC, alleging corruption and 'mafia rule' have created an 'identity crisis' in West Bengal. He urged voters to support the BJP in the upcoming elections, promising a 'double-engine' government for development.
'This so called trend of giving money, in the disguise of marketing a film, to ensure good 'hype' for a film is created or else 'they' will continuously write negative things (even before the film is released), until you pay 'them' money feels nothing but kind of extortion.'
Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath criticised the ruling TMC in West Bengal, alleging corruption, extortion, and the rise of 'mafia rule' have led to an 'identity crisis' in the state.
BJP National President Nitin Nabin has criticised West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee for allegedly prioritising political games over sports and cultural activities, leading to the state's decline in these areas. He also accused the TMC government of using sports clubs for political purposes.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi launched a strong attack on the Mamata Banerjee government in West Bengal, accusing it of facilitating cultural changes through infiltration, presiding over a 'Maha jungleraj' in tribal areas, and betraying women, farmers, and youths.
A BJP government in Bengal inherits more problems than it might care to admit at its moment of triumph, points out Ramesh Menon
A Hindu businessman in Bangladesh died after being brutally attacked, raising concerns among minority groups about increasing intimidation and violence.
Protests continue in Kolkata against attacks on minority Hindus in Bangladesh. BJP leader Suvendu Adhikari threatens a large-scale protest if the attacks are not stopped.
President Droupadi Murmu addressed Indian Police Service probationers, highlighting the growing threat of 'digital arrest' scams and emphasizing the importance of ethical policing and public service.
'When an establishment operates despite demolition or closure orders, without proper fire exits, evacuation plans or safety audits, and yet is allowed to host large crowds, the state cannot hide behind the language of accident.' 'The authorities were aware of the risks and of the violations, but chose not to act decisively because doing so would have inconvenienced those with influence and financial stakes.' 'In such a scenario, the moral and legal responsibility for the resulting deaths moves from negligence towards culpability; calling it 'murder' is a way of underlining that these lives were sacrificed at the altar of greed and complicity, not fate.'
Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Sunday claimed that the Congress had been unwilling to accept Tejashwi Yadav as the Indian National Developmental Inclusive Alliance (INDIA) chief ministerial candidate and relented only after the Rashtriya Janata Dal pointed a 'katta', an unlicensed country-made gun, at its head.
The gangster saga Nayakan not only earned Mani Ratnam's reputation as a great director, the dubbed version of the film also did well in Mumbai, so much so that Feroz Khan's Hindi remake, Dayavan, starring Vinod Khanna, could not compare, recalls Deepa Gahlot.
The Maharashtra State Commission for Women has directed Mumbai Police to take immediate action on a complaint filed by actor Prajakta Mali against MLA Suresh Dhas for making inappropriate remarks about her. Mali alleged that Dhas' comments impacted her personal and social life and led to defamatory content being circulated online. The commission has instructed the Mumbai Police Commissioner to submit a factual report on the matter. Dhas has stated that he is ready to face any consequences regarding the issue and has emphasized the need to focus on the Santosh Deshmukh murder case and crime in Beed district.
All three agreed to have the proceedings heard in English and each of them nodded that they understood the charges of first-degree murder and conspiring to murder Nijjar, the report said.
Manipur Chief Minister N Biren Singh said that mobile internet services, which were suspended after ethnic violence erupted in the northeastern state on May 3, will be restored from Saturday.
From small restaurants to mighty software companies, it is businesses, not the government, that create jobs. Yet, in a cruel irony, they have to fight extortive and brutal State power every step of the way, says Debashis Basu.
It is suspected that detection of alleged irregularities in a fisheries project led to the incident.
As the curtain come down on 2022, Roshmila Bhattacharya flashbacks to some of the year's newsmakers and events.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi Thursday attacked West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee for pursuing "appeasement and vote bank politics" which were responsible for infiltration.
The Aam Aadmi Party on Saturday drew flak as videos purportedly showing its jailed Delhi minister Satyendar Jain receiving massage and meeting visitors in his prison cell emerged, with the opposition Bharatiya Janata Party and Congress demanding his sacking and questioning the 'silence' of Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal.
Nasty surprises and quirky humour make Monica, O My Darling an intriguing, fun, watch, observes Sukanya Verma. Monica, O My Darling Review.
Addressing his first election rally in poll-bound Bihar, Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Friday paid tributes to the soldiers from the state who had made the supreme sacrifice in the Galwan Valley clash and the Pulwama attack.
The chief minister has also directed Director General of Police Dinkar Gupta to look into the possible action that could be initiated against one of the film's producers, K V Dhillon, who had reportedly promised in writing, back in 2019, that he would shelve the movie, originally titled 'Sukha Khalwan'.
'I have interacted with Muslim women in rural Bengal, they are scared of the BJP.'
'For the first time one single party is getting 49% which is a record of its own.'
'You just make the bureaucracy honest and make them function with integrity.' 'Everything will be taken care of after that.' 'But this Mission Karmayogi does not even mention these two words -- honesty and integrity.'
When the BJP forms government in Bengal, the chief minister will be a son of the soil, he said at the rally amid loud cheers from his supporters.
Does Uddhav (and indeed the Sena) have the pizzazz and staying power to continue to be an actor in Maharashtra politics as a paler version of the NCP and an orange rather than saffron version of the BJP, asks Aditi Phadnis.
The extremist outfit has a tainted past and has been entangled in different legal cases for extortion, rioting and instigating violence
It is the NSCN-IM which is having the last laugh as speculation grows that Nagaland Governor R N Ravi may have been replaced as Naga interlocutor.
The 15-member body called for enhanced actions, from closing financial system loopholes to stopping the abuse of charitable causes, as well as updating the existing IS and Al Qaeda sanctions list.
'The recalculated ranking showed India should have had a higher ranking earlier (113 in 2012 instead of 132) and lower ranking later (114 in 2018 instead of 100).' 'This would mean that there has been no change in India's climate of doing business across two regimes.' 'This is exactly consistent with the reality on the ground,' observes Debashis Basu.
Remembering an incomparable actor by re-visiting his finest films.
While lashing out at Mamata Banerjee, the prime minister said he was going for a rally in Dum Dum later in the day but was not sure if the West Bengal Chief Minister will allow his helicopter to land.
A group of retired civil servants also called upon the PM to reach out to the families of the victims in Unnao and Kathua and "seek their forgiveness on behalf of all of us".
