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Mamata hits campaign trail, lashes out at BJP

Banerjee echoed Abhishek Banerjee when she said, “They can silence the Congress with agencies’ fear…reports Asian Lite News.

Lashing out at the BJP in her first election campaign for the bypolls to the Bhowanipur Assembly constituency where she is a candidate, West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee said on Wednesday that the saffron brigade is using the central agencies to thwart the voices of the opposition.

She also told the Narendra Modi-Amit Shah duo that this might work well against other political parties, but it will not have any effect on Trinamool Congress.

Speaking at a party workers’ meet in Chetla in south Kolkata, Banerjee said, “They have interrogated Abhishek Banerjee (Trinamool Congress General Secretary and Mamata Banerjee’s nephew) for nine hours and again they are asking him to come. Is it possible to go to Delhi every day? Why did they shift the case from Kolkata?”

“Nothing has been found against him, but he will have to go and prove that he is a thief,” Banerjee said, adding: “Now they have summoned Partha Chatterjee. Whenever an election is announced, the central agencies start to dance. I don’t blame them because they are also under pressure and the pressure is from Narendra Modi and Amit Shah.”

On Wednesday, state Commerce and Industry Minister Partha Chatterjee was asked to appear before the CBI in connection with the I-Core chit fund scam. He has been asked to appear before the CBI on September 13.

Banerjee echoed Abhishek Banerjee when she said, “They can silence the Congress with agencies’ fear. They can silence Mulayum Singh, Akhilesh and Sharad Pawar in the same way, but they cannot stop us. We will fight till the end.”

It should be mentioned here that after being interrogated by the ED in connection with a money laundering case related to the coal scam in New Delhi for nine hours, Abhishek Banerjee had said, “I shall die but I shall not bow my head. They can stop the Congress but they can stop us. We will go to all the places where democracy is being killed.”

Speaking on the Nandigram election where she was defeated by the Leader of the Opposition Suvendu Adhikari, the Chief Minister said, “I was defeated in Nandigram, but I have filed a case and if there is nothing in the case, it would not have been admitted by the court.”

Banerjee needs to win the bypoll from Bhowanipur to continue as the Chief Minister of Bengal.

“A lot of things happened in Nandigram. The VVPATs were not counted. Lots of machines were broken. I had to campaign with an injured leg. There were lots of conspiracies that were hatched against me. The case is sub-judice and so I shall not say much,” she said.

“We only know how we fought against all the odds to win the Assembly polls. The BJP brought in goons from other states during the Assembly elections. I have to contest this bypoll as a conspiracy was hatched against me (in Nandigram),” she added.

ALSO READ-Mamata urges PM not to introduce electricity amendment bill

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Mamata urges PM not to introduce electricity amendment bill

The Electricity (Amendment) Bill 2020 seeks to propose amendments to the Electricity Act 2003…reports Asian Lite News.

West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee has alleged that states were not consulted properly before the initiation of the Electricity (Amendment) Bill, 2020 in the Parliament and asked Prime Minister Narendra Modi to “refrain from the initiation of the legislation” because it will hamper the interest of the larger section of the society.

In a letter written to Prime Minister Modi, Banerjee said, “Power is too important a sector for such unilateral interferences, especially when ‘electricity’ as a subject is in the Concurrent List of the Constitution of India and any legislation on a subject in such a list needs serious prior consultation with the States. In the present case, there has been some tokenism of consultations, but no real exchange of views, which is antithetical to the federal structure of our polity”.

Registering her protest against the recent Central government’s move to place the much-criticized Electricity (Amendment) Bill, 2020 in the Parliament, the chief minister said, “Such a laissez faire approach would result in concentration of private profit – focussed utility players in the lucrative urban-industrial segments, while poor and rural consumers would be left to be tended by public sector DISCOMS”.

“In the name of market reforms, the State will give up its commanding height, state PSUs will become sick and ailing and yet forced to serve areas where no corporate body would focus. Allowing cherry-picking to select private entities cannot be the goal of public policies, particularly in a strategic sector like power,” she alleged.

The Electricity (Amendment) Bill 2020 seeks to propose amendments to the Electricity Act 2003. The 2003 Act governs the power sector structure and policy. It recommends the generation, distribution, transmission, trading and use of electricity. Further, it also sets rules and regulations for regulatory authorities in the state and central departments of the power sector. The first few amendments introduced to the Act were in 2014.

The 2020 amendment Bill has proposed the setting up of a National Selection Committee instead of a separate selection panel for the appointment of state electricity regulatory commissions (SERCs).

Alleging the sweeping abdication of the State’s pre-eminent role in the power sector in favour of unregulated and de-licensed private players, the chief minister wrote, “The avowed objective of the Bill is to provide plural choices to the consumers, even while actually the Bill will finally end up in profiteering by the new service providers through enhancements in tariffs and every sector of the society will suffer due to increased tariff”.

Mamata Banerjee said that the proposed Amendment strikes at the root of that federal architecture. “The reduction of the role of the state public utility bodies, the unchecked enhancement of the role of private corporate bodies, and the curtailment of the authority of the states in the power sector together imply a sinister design, whereby crony capitalism will get nourishment at the cost of the states, the public sector and the common people at large,” she wrote.

“The dilution of the role of the State Electricity Regulatory Commission and the State Distribution Companies implies a political design to demolish state bodies and domestic industries. Direct interference by the Central Government in activities involving distribution will not at all be helpful to take care of the interest of the common people and the States,” she added.

“I would like to request you to kindly refrain from the initiation of the legislation and to ensure that a broad-based and transparent dialogues on the subject is opened up at the earliest,” she said.

ALSO READ-Mamata meets Modi, demands more vaccines, medicines

READ MORE-Mamata meets Sonia; discusses political situation, Pegasus

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Mamata meets Modi, demands more vaccines, medicines

Banerjee also discussed several different projects of the state and tax issues…reports Asian Lite News.

West Bengal chief minister Mamata Banerjee on Tuesday called on Prime Minister Narendra Modi for what she called a courtesy meeting. This is the first official meeting between Prime Minister and Banerjee in the national capital after she became chief minister of West Bengal for the third time after stunning victory in assembly polls. The meeting, held at Prime Minister’s residence, lasted for around 45 minutes.

It is learnt that during the meeting, Banerjee discussed Covid situation in the state and demanded more vaccines and medicines for the state.

After meeting with the Prime Minister, Banerjee said, “It was a courtesy meeting. I told the Prime Minister about need of more vaccines and medicines in the West Bengal. I also raised the pending issue of change of the name of the state on which the Prime Minister said he will see.”

In July, 2018, West Bengal assembly passed a resolution to change the name of the state to Bangla.

Banerjee also discussed several different projects of the state and tax issues.

On issue of her meeting with the opposition leaders, Banerjee said, “Many parties and their leaders are old friends. I am meeting them.”

Banerjee also said that she will be meeting Congress interim president Sonia Gandhi on Wednesday.

“On Wednesday, I am meeting Sonia Gandhi. She has invited me for tea,” she said.

On her plan to bringing all opposition parties on one platform, She said, “Though the Lok Sabha polls are far away, we must have to start planning in advance. Assembly elections will be held in Uttar Pradesh, Punjab and Tripura. Our people were arrested in Tripura.”

Earlier she met Congress leader and former Madhya Pradesh chief minister Kamal Nath.

Banerjee’s meeting with opposition leaders is being seen as an attempt to bring all the opposition parties together before 2024 Lok Sabha polls. She is also likely to meet NCP chief Sharad Pawar on Wednesday.

Mamata Banerjee is in Delhi on a five-day visit.

ALSO READ-Mamata calls for national front to defeat BJP

READ MORE-Mamata sets out for Delhi with an agenda

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Mamata sets out for Delhi with an agenda

Banerjee left for Delhi at 3.35 p.m. She will meet Modi on July 28 besides also likely meet President Ram Nath Kovind during her stay….reports Asian Lite News

Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee left for Delhi on Monday amid speculation about her attempt to unite the opposition ahead of the 2024 Lok Sabha polls.

Though the chief minister didn’t say a word about her busy schedule in the national capital for the next four days, sources in the CMO (Chief Minister’s Office) indicated that besides meeting with Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Banerjee is likely to hold several meetings with opposition leaders.

Banerjee left for Delhi at 3.35 p.m. She will meet Modi on July 28 besides also likely meet President Ram Nath Kovind during her stay.

“There are several issues like the appointment of the DGP, the financial aid post-Yaas and the regularisation of the supply of vaccines for the state which are going to take the centre-stage. This will be the chief minister and prime minister’s first meeting after the controversial Kalaikunda incident. The meeting invited a lot of debates,” a senior official of the state secretariat said.

Banerjee is expected to host tea for opposition leaders at 3 p.m. on July 28, possibly at the home of her nephew, and Trinamool Congress MP and General Secretary, Abhishek Banerjee in Delhi.

The chief minister had issued an appeal for unity on July 21 Martyrs’ Day speech that was screened in Delhi and attended by top leaders, including the Congress’ P. Chidambaram and NCP chief Sharad Pawar. The guest list is now a subject to speculation but it is expected that it would range from Congress to DMK, from TRS to RJD and from Akali Dal to AAP.

On July 21 the country has already witnessed the presence of a large number of opposition leaders leaving ample scope to believe that most of them will be present in the tea-party thrown by the chief minister. Apart from Chidambaram and Pawar, others present were Congress leader Digvijaya Singh, the NCP’s Supriya Sule, the DMK’s Tiruchi Siva, Keshav Rao of the TRS and Manoj Jha from the RJD.

The Shiv Shena’s Priyanka Chaturvedi, the Samajwadi Party’s Ram Gopal Yadav and Jaya Bachchan, the AAP’s Sanjay Singh and the Akali Dal’s Balwinder Singh Bunder were also present.

Though there is no official confirmation about the chief minister meeting with Congress chief Sonia Gandhi but sources in the party indicated that there is a possibility of Banerjee’s meeting with Sonia Gandhi and Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal. The chief minister is also likely to go to the Parliament during her stay in Delhi.

ALSO READ: Mamata likely to meet Modi in Delhi on July 28

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Mamata likely to meet Modi in Delhi on July 28

This will be the first meeting between Modi and Banerjee after she had skipped a meeting chaired by the Prime Minister to review the damages caused by Cyclone Yaas in May this year…reports Asian Lite News

West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee is likely to meet Prime Minister Narendra Modi on July in the national capital during her coming trip to Delhi, sources said.

“I will go to Delhi for two-three days. I will meet the PM. I have got the time. I will also meet the President,” Banerjee said during a press conference on Thursday.

Though she didn’t confirm the date and left everyone guessing, sources in the CMO said that the Chief Minister is likely to meet the Prime Minister on July 28. She will stay in Delhi for three days, from July 27 to July 29.

This will be the first meeting between Modi and Banerjee after she had skipped a meeting chaired by the Prime Minister to review the damages caused by Cyclone Yaas in May this year.

Banerjee had met Modi separately for a moment and handed over the state government’s report on the cyclone before excusing herself from the official meeting, leading to a major controversy.

Expressing her wish to meet President Ram Nath Kovind if given an appointment, the Chief Minister said, “I shall try to go to the Parliament if I am allowed. If I go, I shall have the opportunity to meet several leaders. I cannot assure now whom I shall meet, but there are many who want to speak to me. Let me see the timing and the situation, then only I shall take a final call”.

At the presser, Banerjee also came down heavily on the BJP government at the Centre on the Pegasus issue, alleging that the raids conducted at Dainik Bhaskar’s office on Thursday was a result of the vindictive attitude of the (Narendra) Modi government.

“This is an effort to bulldoze the reporters and throttle the voice of the people. Dainik Bhaskar was boldly reporting on the Pegasus issue and on the bodies that were thrown into the Ganges by the Uttar Pradesh government. That is why it has been victimised. I strongly condemn this,” she said.

She also reiterated her appeal to all the political parties to come forward and unite to defeat the “autocratic government” at the Centre and save the “largest democracy of the world”.

ALSO READ: Mamata calls for national front to defeat BJP

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Huge controversy erupted after one minute Modi-Mamata meet

The controversy started in the morning when an official from the PMO called Suvendu Adhikari and was asked to stay in the review meeting at Kalaikunda..reports Asian Lite News.

It was a meeting that hardly lasted for a minute but the meeting between Prime Minister Narendra Modi and West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee created a huge political controversy.

When senior leaders of the BJP claimed that it was the chief minister’s ego that resisted her from staying away from the review meeting with Suvendu Adhikari, Trinamool Congress alleged that the meeting with the Prime Minister personally was pre-scheduled but she was not allowed time as promised by the PMO.

The controversy started in the morning when an official from the PMO called Suvendu Adhikari and was asked to stay in the review meeting at Kalaikunda. Adhikari, who is also the Leader of the Opposition in the state legislative assembly, reached Kalaikunda at 1 p.m. much before the arrival of the Prime Minister.

Interestingly Mamata Banerjee announced from her review meeting in Hingalganj that she won’t be able to stay at the review meeting but she would hand over the estimate of the damage caused by the storm.

According to highly placed sources in the state secretariat, chief minister’s announcement comes after chief secretary Alapan Bandopadhyay confirmed that Prime Minister has given her separate time but when she reached Kalaikunda she was made to sit in a separate room and was informed that as the review meeting has started already, she will have to wait.

Mamata

Sources close to the chief minister said that she insisted for one minute time but she was requested to wait. Mamata Banerjee then walked into the review meeting, handed over the paper and walked out.

This one-minute incident was enough to attract strong political repercussions. Just after the meeting Governor Jagdeep Dhankhar who was also present wrote, “At the Review Meet by PM #CycloneYaas to assess damage caused. CM and officials @MamataOfficial did not participate. Such boycotts both in consonance with the constitution and federalism. Certainly, by such actions neither public interest nor interest of state has been served.

Trinamool Congress MP Kalyan Banerjee was quick to respond. In his tweet, Banerjee wrote, “@jdhankhar1, can you tell us, under what provision Nandigram MLA can be present in the review meeting between the central government headed by @narendramodi and state government headed by @MamataOfficial. Stop doing politics @jdhankhar1 in this situation”.

Suvendu Adhikari who was in the centre of the controversy wrote, “When Hon PM Shri @narendramodi stands strong with the citizens of West Bengal in wake of cyclone Yaas, Mamata ji should also set aside her ego for the welfare of people. Her absence from the PM’s meeting is murder of constitutional ethos & the culture of cooperative federalism”.

“Today is a dark day in India’s long-standing ethos of cooperative federalism, a principle held sacred by PM @narendramodi. If her track record is anything to go by, @MamataOfficial Didi’s administration was unable to manage Amphan relief. Rampant loot plagued the relief works. Even now, West Bengal is suffering and the state government is in absent mode,” he added.

Union Home Minister on his Twitter handle wrote, “Mamata Didi’s conduct today is an unfortunate low. Cyclone Yaas has affected several common citizens and the need of the hour is to assist those affected. Sadly, Didi has put arrogance above public welfare and today’s petty behaviour reflects that”.

Trinamool Congress refuted the allegation. The party’s spokesperson, Kunal Ghosh said, “There is no place for any kind of controversy. It was a meeting between the Prime Minister and the Chief Minister. The chief minister met the Prime Minister and submitted to him the details of the damage caused by the storm. There the matter ends”.

State BJP President Dilip Ghosh said, “This cannot be a good example of cooperative federalism. She gave preference to her personal ego more than the pains of the people of the state. Suvendu Adhikari is the Leader of the Opposition and the Prime Minister has invited him to be present. Her absence in the meeting will send a very wrong signal”.

TMC General Secretary Partha Chatterjee said, “Those who are speaking of her insensitivity should know that she was in the state secretariat whole might to oversee the pains of the people. She is the one who is personally overseeing the relief operations in the state. I would like to ask where were those people during the storm?”

ALSO READ-Stalin asks Modi to allocate 500-ton medical oxygen

READ MORE-Modi chairs high-level meeting on Covid

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Mamata terrorising over TMC leaders’ arrest: CBI tells SC

Mamata Banerjee comes out from CBI office at Nizam Palace (IANS)

The top court is likely to hear on Tuesday CBI’s appeal against the Calcutta High Court order sending four Trinamool leaders to house arrest after cancelling their judicial custody…reports Asian Lite News

The CBI has moved the Supreme Court challenging a Calcutta High Court order allowing the house arrest of four Trinamool Congress heavyweights in the Narada sting operation case.

The investigating agency has also claimed that the Calcutta High Court ignored the disturbing pattern wherein Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee �terrorised’ it by remaining present at the CBI office along with a well-engineered crowd of �thousands of miscreants’ outside the probe agency’s office in Kolkata.

The top court is likely to hear on Tuesday CBI’s appeal against the Calcutta High Court order sending four Trinamool leaders to house arrest after cancelling their judicial custody.

Kolkata witnessed high drama last Monday after CBI sleuths arrested two Trinamool Congress ministers — Firhad Hakim and Subrata Mukherjee — along with present MLA Madan Mitra and former Kolkata Municipal Corporation Mayor Sovon Chattopadhyay — in connection with the 2016 Narada sting tapes case, in which several politicians and a high-ranked police officer were allegedly found accepting cash for providing unofficial favours to a fictitious company.

While a lower court granted bail to the four Trinamool leaders on Monday evening, the order was stayed by the Calcutta High Court late on the same night.

The CBI said in its plea in the top court that the West Bengal Chief Minister had rushed to its office on May 17 and passed several derogatory and defamatory comments about the probe agency, and even threatened to register cases against the officers under the Disaster Management Act and the Epidemic Diseases Act, among others.

She shouted “you also arrest me”, and demanded unconditional release of the arrested accused, said the petition.

The CBI has named Banerjee, Bengal Law Minister Moloy Ghatak and Trinamool MP Kalyan Banerjee as parties in the petition.

The CBI said that thousands of followers of Trinamool Congress had laid siege on the CBI building at Nizam Palace in Kolkata last Monday, constantly trying to disrupt the process of law by engaging in stone pelting.

The CBI contended that the Chief Minister did not bat an eye and stood in support of it all till the end.

The petition said: “The terror was created by and at the behest of the respondent persons, including the Chief Minister who herself who remained present at the CBI office [in the very room where the arrested accused persons were kept] along with a well-engineered crowd of thousands of miscreants and after ensuring media presence.”

The CBI added that it is most relevant to note that it did not pray for police custody of the accused on May 17 before the competent court due to the terror unleashed by the Trinamool workers and leaders, including the Chief Minister of the state.

The agency claimed that the accused involved in economic offence of grave nature are influential members of the society. Therefore, putting them under house arrest is subject to a constant risk of them tampering with the witnesses or the administration of justice, the CBI said.

“The visit of the CM to the CBI office where the four accused were kept broke all rules and norms and violated the very rule of law which the Chief Minister took the oath to abide by,” argued the CBI.

The probe agency said that the Kolkata Police have even registered a case against CBI officials, who were discharging their lawful duties.

The CBI contended that after the high court order, the accused chose to stay back in the hospital where they continuously met guests and other political workers.

The acting Chief Justice of Calcutta High Court had on Friday constituted a five-member bench to hear the interim bail plea of the four Trinamool heavyweights.

The matter was referred to the five-judge bench after the two judges of the high court division bench differed with each other.

ALSO READ: Mamata accuses EC of directly helping BJP

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Saffron party set to give tough time to TMC in Assembly

The BJP legislative party has already nominated TMC turncoat, who defeated Mamata Banerjee in Nandigram battle — Suvendu Adhikari as the Leader of the Opposition…reports Asian Lite News

BJP boycotted the Speaker election in the West Bengal Assembly protesting against post-poll violence in the state and that is indicative enough that the saffron party will not leave grounds to the Trinamool Congress though the ruling party captured over two-third majority in the recently concluded assembly polls.

“We are going to play the role of a constructive opposition. We are with the ruling party so far as any development program or any initiative that will benefit the people but we will protest strongly if we see that Trinamool Congress is trying to cause hindrance to the people.

“We have already played the role of a cooperative opposition so far as the state’s effort to control coronavirus and vaccination is concerned but we cannot accept hooliganism of the ruling party after the announcement of the election results,” a senior BJP leader told IANS on the condition of anonymity.

Though the BJP legislative party is yet to develop a comprehensive plan of action for the upcoming Assembly Sessions, its state high command has already instructed the 75 MLAs to go back to their constituencies and reach out to the people.

ALSO READ: Deposits of 7 BJP candidates forfeited in WB polls

When asked how they would like to fare in the coming sessions in the assembly, another senior BJP leader said, “It is very difficult to say right now. We will decide once and when things occur. This is for the first time we are playing the role of the main opposition and we don’t want to send a wrong signal to the people”.

BJP is primarily worried on two accounts — the erosion of votes particularly among the upper and lower caste Hindus and the absence of an acceptable face who will be able to counter Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee.

State BJP President Dilip Ghosh has already told the national leaders present in the state to go back and assured that the state BJP unit is capable of handling the ground situation better making it clear that the national BJP leaders did not have an acceptance among the voters.

The BJP legislative party has already nominated TMC turncoat, who defeated Mamata Banerjee in Nandigram battle — Suvendu Adhikari as the Leader of the Opposition.

It goes without saying that an avid speaker Adhikari will put a stiff resistance both to Mamata Banerjee and the party in general inside the assembly. BJP will definitely try to reap the benefits of it.

ALSO READ: Disquiet in BJP big concern for party in Bengal

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Didi’s agenda for first 100 days

Party insiders indicate that the Mamata Banerjee government is likely to re-introduce and establish a Second Chamber in the State Legislature or the Legislative Council…Reports Asian Lite News

After securing a thumping majority in the recently concluded elections Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee had made it clear that vaccination and controlling the spread of Coronavirus will be her government’s priority and she has already initiated some formidable steps to restrict the unchecked spread of the pandemic.

Besides controlling the disease — as party insiders indicate — the chief minister is likely to carry forward the promises made in the manifesto in three different stages — short-term, middle-term and long-term plans.

Covid vaccination and controlling the spread of SARS-COV2 virus will be the priority of the state government –this was already announced on the day of her oath taking ceremony on May 5.

“She has already taken some steps like suspending the movement of the local trains, closure of bars, restaurants, gyms, cinema halls and shopping malls and restricting the number of people to 50 in any kind of religious and entertainment functions.

“The state government is also thinking of completing the vaccination of all the people of the state in the next six months,” a senior government official said.

“However, to complete the mass vaccination drive the state government needs active cooperation of the central government and she has written to the Prime Minister in this regard,” the official added.

Party insiders indicate that the Mamata Banerjee government is likely to re-introduce and establish a Second Chamber in the State Legislature or the Legislative Council, which will comprise eminent persons, who will play an active role in shaping the State’s functions.

ALSO READ:Mamata accuses BJP of instigating violence

The State Legislative Council, or Vidhan Parishad, is the Upper House and the Lower House being the State Legislative Assembly or the Vidhan Sabha.

The state is likely to pass a resolution in the State Assembly after which it will be the constitutional mandate and obligation of the Parliament to complete the formality by passing a law to that effect.

Seven states, including Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka, Telangana, Maharashtra, Bihar, and Uttar Pradesh and Telengana have state legislative council.

It is not a secret now that the Trinamool Congress came to power riding on the successful execution of the government delivery systems like ‘Duare Sarkar’ – government at your doorstep and “Parai Parai Samadhan’ – solution in your neighbourhood.

If the former is a mechanism to deliver the benefits of the government projects at the doorstep, then the latter is a process to mitigate public grievance through offering a solution at the local level.

ALSO READ: Cong leaders praise Mamata, ignoring defeat

Though it was a brainchild of the poll strategist Prashant Kishore hired by the Trinamool, Mamata Banerjee wants to continue with the projects so that it doesn’t seem to be a poll stunt.

The Trinamool Congress government is likely to bring back the projects with government camps twice a year likely to be conducted August-September and December-January.

Chief Minister Banerjee is well aware that a huge support of the women voters have enabled her to come to power and so the state government is likely to strengthen the social security net keeping the women in mind.

“The State’s monthly average Consumption Expenditure of a household is Rs 5,249. Providing a monthly income support of Rs 500 (yearly Rs 6,000) to General Category households and Rs 1,000 (yearly Rs 12,000) to SC/ST Category households, would account for 10 per cent and 20 per cent of their monthly expenditure, respectively.

This amount would be directly deposited into bank accounts of 1.6 crore matriarchs of each family in West Bengal. It would include every household from the SC/ST community. For General Category, this income support would be provided to all households except those having at least one tax-paying member (42.30 lakh people) and those owning land more than 2 hectare (2.8 lakh people).

The budget outlay for the scheme would be approximately Rs 12,900 crore every year,” a senior party leader said.

ALSO READ: Mamata accuses EC of directly helping BJP

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Disquiet in BJP big concern for party in Bengal

Tathagata Roy

Hitting out at the two leaders, Roy said their poor decisions, especially in selection of candidates, were responsible for BJP’s poll debacle in Bengal….reports Asian Lite News

Rumours doing the rounds inside BJP circles that many of its 77 MLAs and 18 MPs in West Bengal are reportedly in touch with the Trinamool Congress leadership, looking for ways to defect, are creating a strong sense of disquiet within the party, which many feel may be hard to negotiate.

Moreover, a sense of discontent among some party hardliners in accepting the newcomers in the saffron camp, especially after the BJP’s way below par show in the recently concluded Assembly elections, is only adding fuel to such speculation.

The buzz grew stronger when BJP’s Krishnanagar North MLA and national vice-president Mukul Roy decided to stay away from the first meeting of the BJP’s legislative body in the Assembly on Friday, where it was decided that the party would boycott the Assembly proceedings until post-poll violence stops completely in the state.

Tathagata Roy

Though state BJP chief Dilip Ghosh maintained that “Mukul-da had to rush back to Krishnanagar, as cases of violence against our workers were reported from there”, some party insiders believe that it was an effort on Roy’s part to distance himself from the party proceedings following his decreasing importance in the BJP with regard to forming poll strategy during the just-concluded Assembly polls in the state.

Roy, who won his first election this time after switching over to the BJP from the Trinamool in 2017 when he was unofficially the No 2 in the party after Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee, was instrumental in BJP’s success in the 2018 panchayat polls and the 2019 Lok Sabha elections.

Also read:Mamata accuses BJP of instigating violence

“Mukul-da isn’t happy with the party. He had been issuing vital warnings, identifying crucial inflection points, but his advice has been overlooked,” a senior party leader said.

However, former Meghalaya and Tripura Governor and senior Bengal BJP leader Tathagata Roy, who is always considered to be a hardliner in the party, didn’t sound quite surprised and rather blamed state BJP chief Dilip Ghosh and the party’s state in-charge Kailash Vijayvargiya for the party’s defeat in the Assembly elections.

Hitting out at the two leaders, Roy said their poor decisions, especially in selection of candidates, were responsible for BJP’s poll debacle in Bengal.

“The Kailash-Dilip-Shiv-Arvind foursome has dragged names of our respected Prime Minister (Narendra Modi) and Home Minister (Amit Shah) through mud and have sullied the name of the biggest political party in the world. Sitting atop Agarwal Bhavan of Hastings (Bengal BJP’s election headquarters) and 7-star hotels, they have distributed tickets to incoming garbage from Trinamool Congress,” Roy tweeted.

He added that now that these leaders are “faced with abuse from party workers”, they are hoping that the storm will blow over.

West Bengal polls (Twitter)

Though the party leadership denied commenting on Roy’s tweet, BJP spokesperson and state vice-president Joy Prakash Majumdar said, “We need a proper introspection to find out the reasons behind our defeat. It is perhaps because we couldn’t reach out to the people and make them understand the benefits of our schemes.”

The top party leadership is also concerned about the brewing disquiet in the party and so, perhaps, party insiders admitted that Dilip Ghosh has asked the national leaders to let the local leaders handle the problems.

Though Ghosh seemed to be ready to make a comment, he avoided by terming it as an ‘internal matter’, but his close aides confirmed that he is trying to strike a balance between the old hardliners and the newcomers in the party, but how far he will be successful only time will tell.

Also read:Deposits of 7 BJP candidates forfeited in WB polls