The protest continued even as the Supreme Court intervened in the matter and constituted a 10-member National Task Force to formulate a protocol for ensuring the safety and security of doctors and other healthcare professionals.
'When we get justice we will stop the protest.'
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.
The 50-lakh-strong community of sex workers in India is seriously considering the NOTA option while exercising their franchise in the Lok Sabha election to register protest against deprivation and apathy.
Despite Banerjee's promise of a transparent investigation, the protesters criticised the delay, demanding a judicial inquiry, capital punishment for the culprits, and adequate compensation for the victim's family.
The collapse of a large deposit taker, the Saradha group, has brought protesting collection agents right to the doorstep of West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee, whose government has given a free hand to such firms.
The ongoing agitation has also led the Federation of All India Medical Association to warn that it would declare a nationwide "complete shutdown of medical services" if any "any harm befalls brave junior doctors".
The Calcutta High Court has directed the CBI to produce the case diary related to its investigation into the rape-murder of an on-duty doctor at RG Kar hospital. The court questioned the CBI about the possibility of gang rape or destruction of evidence in its probe. The parents of the victim, who are petitioners in the case, have requested a court-monitored investigation, alleging a larger conspiracy behind the crime. The CBI has already filed a charge-sheet in the case, leading to the conviction and life imprisonment of Sanjay Roy, a former civic volunteer, for the crime. However, the court has sought clarification from the CBI on whether it considered investigating the crime under Section 70 (gang rape) of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS).
'The protection of secrecy and anonymity gets lost with this linking.'
The BJP announced its list of 148 candidates for the last four phases of assembly election in West Bengal, rewarding around 20 turncoats and fielding party heavyweights Mukul Roy and Rahul Sinha.
Family members of a doctor, who was allegedly raped and murdered in Kolkata last month, joined the protesting medics at RG Kar hospital on Wednesday and accused the Kolkata Police of attempting to suppress the case by hurriedly cremating the body of the doctor.
Among those killed were eight from TMC, and one worker each of the BJP, the CPI-M, the Congress and the ISF.
A heated debate erupted in the Rajya Sabha over the ongoing strike by ASHA workers in Kerala, with Congress and CPI(M) MPs trading accusations over responsibility for addressing their demands for a higher honorarium and post-retirement benefits. Congress MP Jebi Mather alleged that both the Kerala government and the Union government had ignored the workers' pleas, while CPI(M) MP John Brittas countered by claiming Kerala provides the highest honorarium to ASHA workers. The debate also saw demands for an AIIMS in Kerala and a hike in MBBS seats, as well as concerns over maternal health, elderly care, and mental health in India.
The government has convened an all-party meeting on July 21 ahead of the Monsoon Session of Parliament which will start next Monday, the Parliamentary Affairs Ministry said.
The Supreme Court has allowed the parents of the RG Kar Medical College rape and murder victim to pursue their plea for a further court-monitored CBI probe into the incident before the Calcutta High Court. The parents had expressed dissatisfaction with the CBI's initial probe and sought a more thorough investigation. The court, without making comments, disposed of the application, allowing the parents to continue the proceedings before the high court. The case has also prompted the Supreme Court to consider recommendations for preventing gender-based violence and developing safety protocols for medical staff at hospitals across the nation.
The doctors asserts that they will take a final call on withdrawing their agitation only after the state government implements its announcements made on the previous night "in true spirit".
The apex medical body, IMA demanded a comprehensive central law in dealing with violence on doctors and healthcare staff, and in hospitals.
Amid demands for a separate state carved out of Bengal by some Bharatiya Janata Party leaders, Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee on Tuesday asserted that she is ready to shed her own blood, if need be, to thwart attempts to divide the state.
FORDA said the decision to end the strike, effective from Wednesday morning, was made in the interest of patient welfare.
'It's a classic conflict between the old and the new BJP. The new BJP is made up of turncoats and the old of veterans who slogged for decades when the BJP barely existed in West Bengal'
It then went on to ask whether a lion could be named after Swami Vivekananda or Ramakrishna Paramahansa.
The rules for the CAA are likely to be issued before the MCC comes into effect, sources privy to the development said.
An angry Nadda called the attack 'unprecedented' and alleged the state has slipped into 'complete lawlessness and goonda raj'. He also said the violence reflected the 'frustration' of the Mamata Banerjee government. West Bengal Chief Minister and Trinamool Congress supremo Mamata Banerjee insinuated the attack was staged.
While India today is vastly different from the India of 1975, the need for vigilance against authoritarianism remains the same, asserts Utkarsh Mishra.
Banerjee has held five rallies in Kolkata in 11 days against the CAA.
Senior Indian Police Service officer Manoj Kumar Verma was appointed the new Kolkata Police commissioner, replacing Vineet Goyal, on Tuesday, a day after Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee held a meeting with agitating junior doctors and agreed to their demands in a bid to resolve the more than a month-long impasse over the RG Kar hospital incident.
Leaders of several INDIA bloc parties met the Election Commission over the Special Intensive Revision of electoral rolls in Bihar and raised concerns over its timing, alleging that over two crore voters of the state may be disenfranchised by this mammoth exercise being done just ahead of assembly elections.
A day after the apex court's order, the Union home ministry wrote to the West Bengal chief secretary seeking deployment of the CISF at the state-run hospital.
The Bharat Mata controversy in Kerala shows how political and symbolic fights between the state and the Centre have taken attention away from education, throwing the state's oldest university into confusion and disorder, observes Shyam G Menon.
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.
Several leaders of the TMC slammed the rural development minister for his comments on the chief minister attending the Kolkata International Film Festival.
According to the cause list of August 20 uploaded on the apex court website, a bench comprising Chief Justice DY Chandrachud and Justices JB Pardiwala and Manoj Misra is scheduled to hear on Tuesday.
As the outpatient departments (OPDs) at government hospitals are closed on Sundays, the rush was less even as senior doctors were attending the emergency department to provide treatment to the visiting patients.
Samyukt Kisan Morcha (SKM), an umbrella body of farmer unions, has organised protests in different states on Friday to mark the first anniversary of the farmers' movement against three central farm laws.
Vaidyanathan apologised to the court but added that the present plea was filed as another petition challenging a high court order dated April 11, 2022 is pending before the apex court.
The protests over the contentious Citizenship Amendment Act notwithstanding, the players' auction for the Indian Premier League will go ahead in Kolkata as scheduled on Thursday. There have been reports of violence in West Bengal but Kolkata hasn't exactly been affected.
A team of CBI officers reached his residence in south Kolkata's Chetla area along with a large contingent of central forces in the morning, officials said.
'The life of his political career is dependent on success in this constituency.'
Over 60 per cent voter turnout was recorded on Monday in 49 constituencies in six states and two Union territories in the fifth phase of Lok Sabha elections, with Baramulla in Jammu and Kashmir recording its highest-ever voting percentage.
Delayed by more than four years, rules for the CAA are a must for its implementation.
