Azad, who was part of the group of 23 which has been critical of the party leadership and has sought an organisational overhaul, has also been awarded the Padma Bhushan for his contribution to public affairs.
Congress leader Jairam Ramesh took a veiled dig at Azad who was conferred with the award.
The veteran Communist Party of India-Marxist leader is likely to undergo a few tests later in the day, which will help in ascertaining the severity of the infection in his lungs that landed him in the hospital on Saturday afternoon.
West Bengal Chief Minister Buddhadeb Bhattacharya on Sunday said that his government was not getting funds from the Centre for the development of the state and accused opposition Trinamool Congress of blocking development efforts
West Bengal Chief Minister said the decision will be implemented as early as possible.
MNS president Raj Thackeray is all praise for Railway Minister Mamata Banerjee and does not mince words to express it.
The Centre on Saturday expressed its willingness for a dialogue with the Gorkha Janamukti Morcha, which in turn declared that Gorkhaland was not a separatist demand.Stating that the government was willing to talk to the GJM, External Affairs Minister Pranab Mukherjee, who held a brief meeting with West Bengal Chief Minister Buddhadeb Bhattacharya, said, "There is no question of creating a separate state of Gorkhaland."
Controversial Bangladeshi author Taslima Nasreen was not driven out of West Bengal as published in a section of the press and was free to return when she liked, West Bengal Chief Minister Buddhadeb Bhattacharya said in Siliguri on Sunday.
West Bengal Chief Minister Buddhadeb Bhattacharya continued defending the actions of Communist Party of India Marxist cadres in Nandigram on Wednesday, unfazed by the scathing attack by his coalition partners about his previous comments. "I am saying today what I have said yesterday. Those who returned home merely followed the tactics of the opposition," said the chief minister,
The alternative location is to be selected by the state government, which has appointed Mott McDonald, an engineering and development consultancy, to identify a new location.
According to those in the know, a solution will be tabled within a couple of days. Regional television channels in Kolkata too hinted that a solution was likely soon.
West Bengal Chief Minister Buddhadeb Bhattacharya has adopted a 'wait and watch' policy in his bid to solve the Singur impasse with opposition Trinamool Congress rejecting his offer of talks on land acquisition on Thursday.
Charging Bhattacharya with running the state in a "dictatorial" manner, TC chief Mamta Banerjee said that no dialogue was possible unless the state government withdrew the notification for farmland acquisition.
Seeking to clarify his controversial remarks on the existence of Lord Ram, West Bengal Chief Minister Buddhadeb Bhattacharya on Saturday blamed the media, saying his remarks were "taken out of context".
Announcing the decision to go ahead with the exercises planned in Kalaikunda Air Base near Kolkata, Mukherjee told reporters on Friday, "Everything has been sorted out."
The CPI-M Poliburo appears inclined to support West Bengal Chief Minister Buddhadeb Bhattacharya's reforms agenda.
A Rashtrapati Bhavan spokesman said the President had talked to the chief minister two days ago also on the same issue.
West Bengal Chief Minister Buddhadeb Bhattacharya said on Thursday that he would continue to appeal to Trinamool Congress chief Mamta Banerjee to give up her indefinite fast on the Singur issue.
The US will try to contribute towards the economic progress of West Bengal, US Assistant Secretary of State Richard Boucher said on Friday and complimented Buddhadeb Bhattacharya for his efforts to improve the fiscal condition of the state.\n
Nandigram was Stalinised the same way Stalin had Siberia-ised Soviet Russia.
Nandigram has seen violent incidents over the issue of acquisition of land for a SEZ to be set up by Indonesia's Salim Group.
Rajeev Kumar, the Kolkata police commissioner, is known for his impeccable investigating and electronic surveillance skills.
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