Sporadic incidents of violence were reported from various places that went to polls on Saturday during the first phase of the West Bengal assembly election, even as the overall poll situation was largely peaceful with 79.79 per cent turnout recorded till the end of voting, an official said.
Polling was by and large peaceful in the bypolls for three Lok Sabha and seven assembly seats spread across five states and Delhi on Thursday barring an incident of stabbing of a policeman in Tripura, where polling was the highest at 76.62 per cent.
In a stern two-page letter to West Bengal Chief Secretary Rajiva Sinha, Union Home Secretary Ajay Bhalla said stricter enforcement of lockdown norms was necessary to contain the spread of coronavirus in the state.
Railway officials also indicated that possible 'sabotage' and tampering with the electronic interlocking system, which detects the presence of trains, led to the Friday accident.
The post-mortem repor said that Roy died due to hanging and no other injury mark was found on his body.
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He interrupted his speech to observe a minute's silence in the House along with other Opposition leaders, mainly the Congress, to pay tribute to farmers who had lost their lives during the two month agitation.
'We each have our challenges, some tougher than the others...but, get through this...WE WILL...TOGETHER!!!'
Claiming that the BJP is "planning to change Bengal into Gujarat", she said, "I am ready to go to jail but will not allow it to happen."
Banerjee said the TMC would file a defamation case against the CBI and other central agencies for 'harassing and defaming' its leaders.
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Clashes were reported from Kharagpur in West Midnapore district, Narayanpur in North 24 Parganas, and Alipurduar town in north Bengal, among others.
Counting of votes is underway for four Lok Sabha and eight assembly Constituencies, spread across six states and one Union Territory where by-elections were held on Saturday.
Seventy-one parliamentary constituencies spread across nine states voted in the fourth phase of Lok Sabha elections.
Likening the situation in the country to a "social emergency", Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Wednesday made it clear that the nationwide lockdown to contain the spread of Covid-19 cannot be lifted in one go on April 14, asserting that the priority of his government is to "save each and every life".
Polling for three parliamentary seats and 29 assembly constituencies were held on October 30, an exercise being seen as a barometer of the political mood in the country ahead of assembly elections in politically critical Uttar Pradesh as well as other states.
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Observing that there are "definite and proved" allegations that complaints of the victims of violence in the aftermath of the West Bengal assembly polls were not even registered, the Calcutta high court on Thursday ordered a Central Bureau of Investigation probe into all alleged cases of heinous crimes like rape and murder, while accepting the recommendations of a National Human Rights Commission panel.
The Assam government announced a compensation of Rs 5 lakh and a job for the next of the kin of the deceased.
While some CMs suggested reopening economic activity in phases, others pitched for the extension of the coronavirus lockdown, but with a carefully crafted exit strategy
The opposition parties snatched the high-profile Kairana LS seat in from BJP with a united force.
Authorities faced double-barrel challenge -- strengthening its check and prevention mechanism, and addressing public panic, leading to hoarding of essential items.
Congress general secretary Priyanka Gandhi Vadra visited Bijnor district where she met families of two persons killed in the violence. Internet services have been suspended in several areas till Monday, while prohibitory orders remained in force across the state.
'No right thinking student of politics can name one state where the BJP gains in double digits.'
Aseem Chhabra lists his favourite Indian films of 2021.
A three-member fact-finding team of the Bharatiya Janata Party, that was going to visit the violence-hit areas of Malda district in West Bengal, was detained at the Malda railway station.
The 65-year-old Stalin's elevation comes about three weeks after the death of his father and party president M Karunanidhi.
High voter turnout was recorded in the assembly polls in Assam and West Bengal where an estimated 82.02 per cent and 79.51 per cent of the voters cast their ballots till 5 pm.
Many others are feared to have been trapped under the debris. Rescue work is on, as per last reports.
'I am hopeful of getting all six seats from Nagaland, Arunachal Pradesh and Manipur, either for the BJP or with our allies.' 'The same is true about Meghalaya.' 'We will have to work hard in Mizoram and in Tripura.' 'In Assam, we won seven seats. In 2019 election, we will add to this number.'
This time however, the poll panel did not share the overall polling percentage at its briefing.
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Barring Maharashtra, the poll percentage in rest of the states was in excess of 60 per cent while in Puducherry it was 80.47 per cent.
Opposition on Monday picked holes in various government decisions like demonetisation and surgical strikes as well as allocation of funds for MNREGA, agriculture sector and Scheduled Castes, saying it has failed on all fronts despite which it is trying to "fool" the people.
