Tag: Mamata

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India News West Bengal

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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India News West Bengal

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

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Mamata accuses BJP of instigating violence

Mamata Banerjee

Banerjee also said that the BJP leadership should control itself and accept the mandate of the people….reports Asian Lite News

Hours after Union minister and senior BJP leader V. Muraleedharan alleged that his convoy was attacked by Trinamool Congress supporters in West Midnapore district, West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee on Thursday accused the saffron party of instigating violence in Bengal to put undue pressure on the state government on the issue of law and order.

Speaking at a press conference at state secretariat Nabanna, Banerjee said, “One minister is trying to provoke people. Some sporadic incidents happen after elections and that is natural, but the BJP-led Central government is trying to exaggerate the whole thing. They are instigating violence.”

Banerjee also said that the BJP leadership should control itself and accept the mandate of the people.

Announcing a compensation of Rs 2 lakh each for the people who died in post-poll violence in the state, the Chief Minister said, “Altogether 16 people have died. Half of them are from the BJP, one from the ISF and rest from our party. So people from all the parties have died and I am really sorry for them. But what the BJP is doing is not acceptable.”

Mamata

Accusing the Centre of putting pressure on the state government, Banerjee said, “I took oath at 11 am on Wednesday and in the evening, they sent a strong letter and the next day they sent a Central team. Why are they in such a hurry? I don’t see this kind of prompt reaction when it comes to supply of oxygen, vaccines, emergency medicines or saline. They don’t send their teams then. They can’t accept their defeat.”

The Chief Minister also made it clear that controlling the Covid situation is her priority and she would work to keep the people of the state safe.

Also read:Mamata sworn in as CM for 3rd time

“I don’t have the time to fight with the BJP now. The elections are over. I want to make one thing clear that whoever comes to the state needs to get an RT PCR test done. I shall not allow anyone into the state without that,” Banerjee said.

“Even a Central minister or a businessman coming by a chartered flight will have to come with a fit medical certificate and I shall not allow anybody without that. If the person tests positive, he or she will have to stay in quarantine for 14 days at his own cost. I shall do everything for the poor people but not for those who have money,” she added.

New Delhi: MoS External Affairs V. Muraleedharan participated in the 27th Regional Forum Ministerial via video conferencing in New Delhi on Sep 12, 2020. (Photo: IANS/MEA)

When asked about people fleeing from Bengal and taking shelter in Assam, the Chief Minister said, “They are teaching the chief ministers to speak against me. When there was a problem in Assam, people came to Bengal. It happens in the bordering districts. I can see this more in Cooch Behar where the BJP has done well.”

Speaking on the Covid situation, Banerjee cautioned everybody to stay safe for the next 14 days.

“The state government has decided to develop oxygen plants in all the 105 state-run hospitals and it has already been prepared in Diamond Harbour and Cooch Behar. We have also asked the intern doctors and the post-graduate doctors to come forward and join our war against Covid. This will give an additional strength of 2,000 doctors,” she said.

Also read:Cong leaders praise Mamata, ignoring defeat

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Cong leaders praise Mamata, ignoring defeat

Former Union Minster Manish Tewari even termed Mamata as Rani of Jhansi (queen who fought the Britishers). Some are happy but cautioned the party…reports Asian Lite News

After Mamata Banerjee decimated the BJP in West Bengal it was Congress which was overwhelmed to congratulate the TMC for spectacular performance, while many Congress leaders wondered till when the Congress is happy in BJP’s loss.

Former Union Minster Manish Tewari even termed Mamata as Rani of Jhansi (queen who fought the Britishers). Some are happy but cautioned the party. Salman Khurshid said, “Mamata didi’s victory is relief and comfort despite the sacrifice we as Congress must endure. But for both as indeed many others there is need to return to drawing board for sustainable challenge to BJP.”

The reason for happiness is the defeat of the BJP but some said that the TMC leader was with the youth Congress and have worked with many party leaders during her political career and also the party saw hope in her defeat that BJP could be defeated if one works hard.

But some wondered like Ragini Nayak, “till when the party leaders will be happy in BJP’s defeat.” The Congress was the largest opposition party in outgoing assembly and in 2016 it had 44 seats.

But the Congress State President Adheer Ranjan Chowdhury was more direct and said that Congress should come out from Twitter and FB and hit the roads, perhaps this is the opportunity.

Also read:‘BJP’s North Indian strategy won’t work in Kerala’

The Congress scored zero in the West Bengal election and even lost its strongholds, while the party has said that it is committed to course correction. After losing in the state polls the Congress said that the party will “study” the results, correct mistakes and do a course correction.

Congress Chief Spokesperson Randeep Surjewala addressing a press conference on Sunday read out a statement and said, “The Congress Party will definitely study the results and all the reasons diligently and we are committed to correct our mistakes and do appropriate course correction.”

Adhir Chowdhury(Twitter)

Surjewala said the people’s mandate is the final word in a democracy. People of West Bengal, Assam, Kerala, Tamil Nadu and Puducherry have given their democratic mandate for the next five years. We accept the verdict with humility and a sense of responsibility.

The statement said the party had lost the elections in Assam, Kerala, Puducherry and West Bengal but we have neither lost our morale nor our resolve or determination to continuously become the people’s voice in these times of unprecedented calamity.

Also read:Ramesh alleges CPI-M, BJP of cutting deals

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India News Politics West Bengal

Trinamool wins back confidence in Junglemahal

In the 2019 Lok Sabha elections, all the seats in Junglemahal, including Purulia, Medinipur, Bishnupur in Bankura and Jhargram went to the BJP….reports Asian Lite News

An aggressive presence of Trinamool Congress in the Junglemahal seats took the air out of BJP’s sail in the recently concluded Assembly elections in West Bengal in which the ruling party cruised to a landslide victory.

In the last Lok Sabha elections in 2019, the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) was ahead in all the 40 Assembly segments in the Junglemahal area comprising four districts — Purulia, Bankura, Paschim Medinipur and Jhargam.

However, this time the Trinamool has snatched 25 seats from the saffron brigade, proclaiming that it has been successful in winning back the confidence of the tribal population of the region.

Junglemahal comprises 40 seats of which 16 are in Paschim Medinipur, 12 in Bankura, 9 in Purulia and 4 in Jhargram. Of these 40 seats, 15 are reserved for SC and ST.

In the 2019 Lok Sabha elections, all the seats in Junglemahal, including Purulia, Medinipur, Bishnupur in Bankura and Jhargram went to the BJP.

However, this time, out of the 40 Assembly seats, the Trinamool bagged 24, while the BJP won 16, which was a major setback for the saffron party, as Junglemahal is considered to be an electoral swing region in Bengal.

A closer analysis of the seats shows that Trinamool bagged all the four seats in Jhargram, 13 out of 15 seats in Paschim Medinipur, 3 out of 9 seats in Purulia and 4 out of 12 seats in Bankura.

Also read:Mamata meets Governor after landslide victory

Though the BJP’s performance has been relatively better in Bankura and Purulia, but in the other two districts it couldn’t make a mark at all.

Interestingly enough, of these 40 seats, 15 belonged to the reserved category. The Trinamool has managed to win 9 out of these 15 seats, leaving the impression that the tribal people have started migrating to the ruling party.

The people who deserted Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee and believed in Prime Minister Narendra Modi seem to have started flocking back to the ruling Trinamool Congress. This is perhaps Banerjee’s greatest success that was evident in the landslide victory of her party in the Assembly polls.

Bihar BJP workers .

It has become evident that unlike in some other constituencies in the Bengal polls, the BJP’s Hindutva push did not prove effective among the tribal community mainly dominated by the Santhals and the Kurmis in the Junglemahal region.

The results declared on May 2 revealed a poll debacle for the BJP in Junglemahal, while the party’s internal assessment revealed that a majority of the Santhal vote share, which was its biggest base in the 2019 Lok Sabha elections, shifted to the Trinamool this time.

On the other hand, Banerjee tried to reach to the doorsteps of the tribal people who are hungry for love and respect. Her social welfare schemes like Swasthya Sathi, Duare Sarkar and Khadya Sathi providing rice at Rs 2 per kg throughout the year seem to have satisfied the basic needs of these underprivileged people. Also, the party workers were told to reach out to these people so that they could speak about their grievances, a ploy which worked wonders for the party.

“If you respect them, they will shower everything on you. This is exactly what we did in Junglemahal. We listened to their grievances and fulfilled their demands with full dignity. We tried to understand the problems they faced over the past decade.

“Most of them demanded that they want to become self-reliant and alleged that they were finding it difficult to avail the government schemes as there was no one to guide them. We formed a body comprising representatives of 13 tribal communities, including Kurmi, Santhal, Lodha, Sabar, Mahali, Munda and others, so that their problems could be addressed,” said a senior Trinamool leader.

Also read:Giant killer Mamata’s tryst with three dates


Categories
India News West Bengal

EC suggests TMC to approach HC for Nandigram recount

The commission said that the RO takes a decision which can only be challenged through an election petition under Section 80 of the RP Act, 1951….reports Asian Lite News

Following Trinamool Congress’ demand for recounting of votes in the Nandigram Assembly constituency in West Bengal where Trinamool Congress supremo Mamata Banerjee suffered a close defeat against her one-time aide Suvendu Adhikari of the BJP, the Election Commission on Tuesday clarified that the “only legal remedy is to file an EP (Execution Petition) before the High Court”.

After the declaration of Assembly election results on Sunday, West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee had approached state Chief Electoral Officer Aariz Aftab demanding recounting of votes in Nandigram, following the Returning Officer’s decision to not allow the same.

The EC on Tuesday made it clear that the Returning Officer (RO) of an Assembly constituency performs statutory functions under the RP Act, 1951 in “quasi-judicial” capacity independently.

Also read:Giant killer Mamata’s tryst with three dates

The commission said that the RO takes a decision which can only be challenged through an election petition under Section 80 of the RP Act, 1951.

The poll panel said that after the counting in Nandigram, the polling agent of a particular candidate (Mamata Banerjee) had requested for recounting, which was rejected by the RO.

“…In such a case, the only legal remedy is to file an EP before the High Court,” the EC said.

The poll panel said that in this regard, the Chief Electoral Officer in West Bengal has made available a copy of the order of the RO and other relevant materials related to counting, while the General Observer for the Assembly constituency has also furnished a report in the matter.

The EC further said that the election related officials on the ground perform in extremely competitive political environment with full transparency and fairness, and therefore attribution of any motive in such cases is not desirable.

Also read:Mamata sworn in as CM for 3rd time

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Mamata sworn in as CM for 3rd time

The oath taking ceremony started after Governor Jagdeep Dhankar entered the hall at 10.44 a.m. and his entry was followed by the national anthem. The ceremony started at 10.45 a.m. and lasted for seven minutes where Mamata Banerjee took her oath in Bengali…reports Saibal Gupta.

Mamata Banerjee after taking her oath as West Bengal CM for the third consecutive time in an unembellished function at the ‘Throne Room’ in Raj Bhavan in Kolkata on Wednesday morning announced that handling the Covid situation in the state and tackling post-poll violence and the overall law and order situation in the state will be her priority.

The chief minister’s convoy left her residence at Harish Chatterjee Street popularly known as Kalighat at 10.10 a.m. and reached Raj Bhawan at 10.20 a.m. Like any other day she sat by the side of the driver but the usual scene of people standing by the side of the road to have a glimpse of the chief minister was missing because she had requested everybody to stay indoors. Though the curious eyes were absent but the entire road was decorated with blue-white — the colour combination branded by Trinamool Congress and large footballs — highlighting the party’s theme song — ‘Khela Hobe’ (We will play).

Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee who was escorted by her nephew Abhishek Banerjee and poll strategist Prashant Kishore reached Raj Bhawan and exchanged pleasantries with the guest that included Trinamool hierarchy Arup Biswas, Subrata Mukherjee, Partha Chatterjee, Subrata Bakshi and Firhad Hakim. Though opposition leaders and personalities like BJP state President Dilip Ghosh, Congress state President Adhir Ranjan Cowdhury, veteran leader Abdul Mannan, Left Front Chairman Biman Basu, former chief minister Buddhadeb Bahttacharjee and BCCI President Sourav Ganguly were invited but they were not present.

Mamata Banerjee takes oath as West Bengal CM for the third consecutive time at Raj Bhavan in Kolkata (photo: Pallav Paliwal)

The oath taking ceremony started after Governor Jagdeep Dhankar entered the hall at 10.44 a.m. and his entry was followed by the national anthem. The ceremony started at 10.45 a.m. and lasted for seven minutes where Mamata Banerjee took her oath in Bengali.

Speaking to the media after that the chief minister said, “I shall start my work from today only. I shall go to Nanbanna and do a high-level meeting on the Covid situation in the state. We need to review the situation and several measures will be announced in the evening. We hope we will be able to control the situation as we did before”.

Mamata Banerjee takes oath as West Bengal CM for the third consecutive time at Raj Bhavan in Kolkata (photo: Pallav Paliwal)

“I would also like to take this opportunity to appeal to all people and workers of all political parties to maintain peace and harmony. Bengal has a culture and we should not forget that. There are some sporadic incidents. I have got information but the administration was not in my hand for the last three months. I assure everybody to take necessary action and handle the situation strongly but before that I would like to appeal to everybody to stay in a peaceful manner,” she added.

Ghosh had told the media that he decided to quit the oath taking ceremony because a lot of the BJP workers are being killed all over the state in post poll violence. State Congress President Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury said that he didn’t receive any invitation letter from the government.

Also Read-Mamata meets Governor after landslide victory

Read More-Giant killer Mamata’s tryst with three dates

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India News West Bengal

Giant killer Mamata’s tryst with three dates

Perseverance and courage were going to distinguish her from her fellow travellers and that she has proved time and again in her more than 37 years of legislative political career…reports Saibal Gupta.

May 2, 2021 is perhaps one of the three dates that Mamata Banerjee will remember all her life, not just because she became the Chief Minister of West Bengal for the third time in a row by defeating the all-powerful BJP single-handedly, but because her tryst with dates such as this is part of her historical evolution to weave a political narrative that she is in true sense a ‘Giant Killer’.

It was in 1984 when Rajiv Gandhi and Arun Nehru threw a challenge to an aggressive young woman demanding a ticket to fight the parliamentary polls in the post-Indira election, and they offered her an impossible Jadavpur – a constituency so decisively red that a non-Communist would not even dream of contesting from there. Anybody else would have politely turned down the offer, but not Mamata Banerjee.

She returned to Kolkata, preparing to wage a war against CPM stalwart Somnath Chatterjee with her shrill voice, rubber sandals and ‘jhola’ in which she carried her world. The rest is history.

She can never forget December 29, 1984 when the gutsy woman, a raw street-fighter undeterred by the mammoth election machinery of an organised CPM, defeated the unassailable Chatterjee in her first political battle and announced her arrival as a politician.

Perseverance and courage were going to distinguish her from her fellow-travellers and that she has proved time and again in her more than 37 years of legislative political career.

What singles out Banerjee from the other politicians is her indomitable spirit. Nobody ever thought that after being bludgeoned and brought down by a CPM thug at the Hazra crossing in south Kolkata, she would be able to come back. But she bounced back with more vigour and aggression.

Through the 90s, she toyed with charting a separate path of her own, pushed to the brink by a host of Congress leaders, most of them rudderless and devoid of new ideas.

When even the high command in Delhi refused to let her assume the state unit’s leadership, she adopted the mantra of ‘Ekla Cholo Re’ (walk on your path alone). In 1998, she broke away and launched the Trinamool Congress. Her party won seven seats.

This was not the only instance but all through her life she has proved to be a path-breaking politician who has reacted more on impulse than on political doctrine and diplomatic calculations.

That is the reason perhaps she has occasionally been termed as erratic and crazy, but her apparent political naivety has been best termed by one of her close cabinet ministers — “There is method in her madness” and that political madness is perhaps the nucleus of her political identity.

That is the reason why she can easily leave her convoy and walk alone in a tribal village in West Midnapore or brew tea at a village stall during her visit to the state’s coastal town Digha or share ‘muri’ with the police constable waiting at her door.

“The wait at the antechamber or the halo of politicians is very much missing in Mamata Banerjee. She is the girl next door where she prefers to share her personal details with everybody,” said another close aide of Banerjee, who has been with her from her early days.

Naturally, the Trinamool slogan for this election — ‘Bangla nijer meyeke chai’ (Bengal wants her own daughter) — matched her personality.

What seemed so impossible — to oust the Left from power — became possible. She single-handedly wrecked the red bastion in West Bengal, ending the Left Front’s uninterrupted 34-year-old rule after perfecting the art of the impossible.

It was May 13, 2011, another date which she would perhaps not forget. That was the day when the raw street fighter was crowned as an administrator.

For the last 10 years, she has been the Chief Minister of West Bengal and she has broken protocols — contested the Central schemes and implemented her state-sponsored programmes, stayed absent during Prime Minister’s meeting with CMs, created diplomatic tension by going against the Central decision and denied sharing water of Teesta with Bangladesh — but one thing she has done with all diligence – she has been rooted to the ground and listened to the voices of the people.

She has created schemes like Swasthya Sathi – promising healthcare to all the citizens of the state, Kanyashree – giving education and freedom to women, and Khadya Sathi that promises food for all and that has perhaps paid her off.

She would perhaps never forget May 2, 2021 that eulogised her as a successful Chief Minister.

Also Read-Exit polls indicate hat-trick for Mamata

Read More-Pinarayi creates history, Mamata humbles BJP

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Mamata meets Governor after landslide victory


“The party will take a final call on whether we should move the court, but I believe that we should move the court,” she added…reports Asian Lite News.

A day after her party’s landslide victory in the Assembly elections, Trinamool Congress supremo Mamata Banerjee on Monday appealed to the people of West Bengal to maintain peace and harmony and stand beside the people during the ongoing Covid crisis.

Banerjee also met Governor Jagdeep Dhankhar on Monday evening to stake claim to form the government in the state.

“I am going to the party legislature meeting now where the decisions regarding oath taking, date of the first Assembly and the decisions regarding the formation of the ministry will be taken. I wanted to meet the Governor at 7 pm and he has consented. I shall go to the Raj Bhavan and fulfil the required formalities,” Banerjee told the media at her residence in Kalighat on Monday.

Clad in her trademark white saree and chappal, the Chief Minister said, “I want to appeal to all the people of Bengal to stay in a peaceful manner. Bengal is a place of harmony, peace and culture and we should not forget that. I know that the BJP and the central forces have tortured us a lot, but this is the time when we should stand beside the people and help them out of the grim Covid situation.”

All India Trinamool Congress supremo Mamata Banerjee meet with Governor Jagdeep Dankar at Rajbhavan on Monday.03.05.2021 (photo: Pallav Paliwal)

At a time when the Trinamool Congress is showing possibilities of becoming a key player in national politics, Banerjee, however, decided to skip the question on the possibility of her joining national politics.

Mentioning that all the national leaders, including Uddhav Thackeray, Arvind Kejriwal, Bhupinder Singh Hooda , Naveen Patnaik, Akhilesh Yadav and Amarinder Singh, called her to congratulate her on the electoral success, Banerjee said, “There is a lot of time to think on this. This is a time when we should fight Covid and I am only focused on that. The Prime Minister didn’t call me. That doesn’t matter though. He might be busy, but he had called me before.”

“At the same time, I would like to remind the BJP that what it is doing is not correct. One of the supporters has been killed in East Burdwan. They are torturing our supporters in Cooch Behar,” she said, adding, “I also want to tell the police that some of them have worked in favour of the BJP. But this is the time when we should work together to save people from Covid.”

When asked whether she would move the court on recounting in Nandigram, a visibly furious Banerjee read out an SMS sent to her where she claimed that the RO of Nandigram wrote that if he ordered for recounting, then he would be murdered and his family will be ruined.

“I shall not say who sent me this, but if this is the situation then democracy is under threat. The Election Commission declares someone winner and then it is reversed. The server was down for four hours,” she said.

“The party will take a final call on whether we should move the court, but I believe that we should move the court,” she added.

All India Trinamool Congress supremo Mamata Banerjee meet with Governor Jagdeep Dankar at Rajbhavan on Monday.03.05.2021 (photo: Pallav Paliwal)

Fuming over the EC for its alleged partisan attitude, Banerjee said, “What the Election Commission has done cannot be supported. BJP’s seats would have been less than 50 but because of the Commission’s contribution, it reached this figure (77). There were two observers who were BJP supporters and it was because of them that there was no recounting.”

“It was our demand that all the EVMs, VVPATs and postal ballots should be kept in safe custody else they would be tampered. Our supporters are sitting on a dharna in Nandigram and unless our demand is met, it will continue. We want an assurance from the Commission in writing,” she said.

Also Read-Exit polls indicate hat-trick for Mamata

Read More-Pinarayi creates history, Mamata humbles BJP

Categories
-Top News India News West Bengal

After big win Didi emerges on national political stage

The poll results show that people of West Bengal have rejected the Bharatiya Janata Party’s attempt to polarise the elections, reports Asian Lite News

After winning a bitterly-fought battle with the BJP to record her third successive victory in the West Bengal Assembly elections, Trinamool Congress supremo Mamata Banerjee seems to have emerged as a formidable challenge to the Centre’s ruling party.

With leaders of different regional parties, including NCP chief Sharad Pawar, sending her congratulatory massages, the message from the Assembly election is clear that Banerjee is capable of taking the challenge of Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Home Minister Amit Shah, and combating it successfully.

However, the Congress, which was expected to win at least two states but could not do, failing to wrest Assam from the BJP and Kerala from the Left, still insists that it is the only option to BJP.

Congress chief spokesperson Randeep Surjewala said: “Congress is the sole national party which is alternative to the BJP as it is fighting BJP in all the states.”

But the messages from the leaders of regional parties indicate that Banerjee, whose Trinamool which was once part of the UPA, has shown her mettle by single-handedly defeating the BJP and in a convincing manner.

The poll results show that people of West Bengal have rejected the Bharatiya Janata Party’s attempt to polarise the elections. The BJP, which had left no stone unturned to dislodge the Banerjee government, could not cross three-digit figure despite its claims of getting 200-plus seats out of the state’s 294.

Mamata

The reason behind Banerjee’s masterful performance was admitted by a BJP leader, who said that their leadership “failed to understand the pulse of Bengal and its culture”. “And that is the reason despite leading in 121 Assembly constituencies in the 2019 Lok Sabha polls, we are facing difficulties in winning over 100 seats in less than a two-year period.”

“People rejected politics of polarisation or communal politics. Muslim votes polarised in favour of the Trinamool while the Bengali Hindu also rejected communal politics and voted for the Trinamool,” the BJP leader said.

Mamata dedicates victory to people

Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee on Sunday dedicated the win to the people of West Bengal, besides taking a dig at both the Election Commission and the BJP.

Speaking at the state secretariat Nabanna, Banerjee didn’t spare the EC besides hinting that something wrong is going on in Nandigram.

There was a tweet from Banerjee that read “For winning a greater battle you must sacrifice something.”

Making it obvious that fighting Covid is her priority, the Trinamool supremo vowed to work for the people all through her life.

“This is a victory for the people of Bengal. This is a victory of the people of the country. This is a victory of democracy. The people of Bengal have saved democracy,” Banerjee said.

The Chief Minister also made it clear that her fight against the BJP will continue.

“I announce that all the people of the state will get free vaccine. I would also like to request the Central government to arrange for free vaccination for all the people of the country. This is our demand and if it is not met, I shall go for a non-violent movement at the foot of the statue of Mahatma Gandhi. It will need only Rs 3,000 crore for vaccinating the whole country and that is not a huge amount,” the Banerjee said.

West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee

“BJP has used everything — money power, muscle power and everything possible — but the people of Bengal have voted for development. The people of Bengal have saved democracy. I congratulate all my mothers and sister and minority brothers and sisters,” she added.

Banerjee also announced that there will be no victory procession right now because of the Covid situation.

“The oath taking ceremony will also be organised in a small way. There will be a huge victory rally at the Brigade, but that will be announced later once the pandemic subsides,” she said.

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