Trinamool Congress (TMC) News

Junglemahal faultlines flare as Kudmis up the ante in ST status stirPremium Story
The Indian Express | 15 hours ago | |
The Indian Express
15 hours ago | |

Standing in front of her mud house in Khemasuli village in West Bengal’s Paschim Medinipur district, 26-year-old Madhuri Mahato points to a scrawl on its outer wall alongside a picture of a girl with a bow and arrow, which read: “Party r Prachar Likhte Dibak Nai (We will not allow graffiti by any party).” A similar line is written across the mud wall of her neighbour’s home: “Hamder Kath Hamder Thak, Voter Prachar Bandho Thak (Let our wall be ours, let the campaign for votes stop).”In several villages in Paschim Medinipur and neighbouring Jhargram district, such messages have recently come up on the houses of Kudmis (Mahatos), forbidding political parties from using their walls for their campaigns. Not only this, several Kudmi leaders and workers of both the ruling Trinamool Congress (TMC) and Opposition parties such as the BJP, CPI(M) and Congress, including panchayat members, have started quitting their parties or posts to join the community’s agitation demanding the Scheduled Tribe (ST) status and inclusion of their Kudmali language in the Eighth Schedule of the Constitution.This strategy of the Kudmi community is designed to put pressure on the political parties ahead of the panchayat elections, which are expected to be held in the coming months, and the Lok Sabha polls slated for next year.The Kudmi community, which is currently listed in the Other Backward Classes (OBC) category, plays a significant role in every election in the tribal-dominated Junglemahal districts of Paschim Medinipur, Jhargram, Bankura and Purulia. In the 2018 panchayat elections, the BJP had captured power in 100 panchayats and in the 2019 Lok Sabha elections won five out of the six parliamentary seats in the region dominated by Kudmis and tribals. But the BJP suffered a setback in the 2021 Assembly polls with the party winning only 16 of the 40 seats with the TMC establishing its upper hand in the region.The current escalation in Kudmis’ movement comes after months of their protests failed to yield any concession from either the BJP-led Centre or the Mamata Banerjee-led state government.In September last year, Kudmis staged a railway blockade at the Kustaur and Khemasuli stations in Purulia and Paschim Medinipur districts over their demand but lifted it after five days.They were back to squatting on the rail tracks at Kustaur and Khemsauli in April this year, even as they also partially blocked the national highway connecting Kolkata and Mumbai. Their protest lasted five days, ending again without any concrete government assurance about their demand.This time, however, the TMC government took note of the eruption of the Kudmi stir and on May 17 three representatives of the community met Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee at the state secretariat Nabanna in Howrah. At the meeting, the CM told the Kudmi leaders that her government would draft a proposal to grant ST status to the community and send it to the Centre. According to a senior official present at the meeting, it was also decided that a Kudmi Development Board would be set up for the welfare of the community.Nine days later, the apparent progress made at the meeting evaporated as the convoy of TMC MP Abhishek Banerjee, the CM’s nephew, was pelted with stones after it left Jhargram town following a roadshow. State minister Birbaha Hansda was injured in the attack. Since then, 10 Kudmi protesters have been arrested, including their leader Rajesh Mahato.The Kudmi community has alleged that it is a conspiracy to derail their movement and have demanded a CBI inquiry into the incident. But they are refusing to back down. “Most of the houses in my village have such writings on their walls. We will not allow any political activity in our village. Our walls cannot be used for political graffiti or campaigns, whichever party it may be,” says Madhuri.Not far from Madhuri’s home lives Sandip Mahato, the 33-year-old resident of Kantasol village, who was once a TMC booth president. “I was with TMC for many years, even during the Left rule. But I left the party on April 11. My samaj comes first. I am part of the agitation now. Neither the TMC nor any other party did anything for my samaj. This is our fight for Jati Satta (community identity),” says Sandip.Standing beside him at a sweet shop is Badal Chandra Mahato, 35, who was earlier the panchayat pradhan and the BJP’s area chairman. “I too left the BJP on April 11,” he says. Like them, Khodumeer village resident Pabitra Kumar Mahato, 47, who was earlier with the CPI(M), and former Congress worker Santanu Mahato, 47, have also given up their party affiliations to join the community’s agitation.“Samaj andolan (community movement) is going on. How can I turn my back on it? ST reservation is our right,” says Pabitra. Santanu says he was part of the rail blockade in Khemsauli. “When my children grow up they will ask me what I did for them. What will I say? Therefore, I am part of the movement,” he says.Kudmis’ mega Jhargram rallyWith no intention of backing down, Kudmis are now preparing to hold a mega rally in Jhargram on June 6 and are mobilising their community members in villages for their campaign. “It will not be easy for the state government, TMC or any other party to ignore us. On June 6, our leaders will show us the roadmap for attaining ST status,” says Adivasi Kudmi Samaj’s Paschim Medinipur district president Kamalesh Mahato.As he speaks with The Indian Express, standing by the road near Saotaldihi village in Jhargram’s Lodhasuli area, hundreds of Kudmis carrying the community’s traditional yellow flags and wearing yellow scarves are engaged in their outreach to villagers, with more than 100 motorbikes and two cars with loudspeakers being deployed for their campaign.Paschim Banga Kudmi Samaj leader Sandip Mahato, 47, says the community has adopted a “Ghagor Ghera (encircle from all sides)” strategy of confronting senior political leaders visiting the Junglemahal belts.Kudmis claim that during the British colonial rule they were considered a primitive tribe like Mundas, Oraons, and Santhals. But when the ST list was prepared after 1950, they lost out on the ST status and put in the OBC category.But the Kudmi agitation and the attack on Abhishek’s convoy have not gone down well with tribal groups and seem to have resulted in social fissures in the region. The United Adivasi Forum, a platform of 18 tribal organisations, has called a bandh on June 8. The tribal group Bharat Jakat Majhi Pargana Mahal’s leader Dilip Mandi says, “We are against ST status for Kudmis since they have been an empowered community from before Independence. They have land, education and money. They have always been associated with upper-caste people. Meanwhile, Santhali and Adivasi communities are extremely backward. If Kudmis get ST status, they will grab all the reservation benefits and the Adivasi communities will be further deprived.”Kamalesh Mahato denies Kudmis’ involvement in the attack on Abhishek’s convoy, pointing out that they have called for a CBI probe into the incident. Asked about the tribals’ opposition to his community’s demand, he says, “We have lived side by side for hundreds of years. It is also a part of a conspiracy to provoke them against us. Some of their leaders who live in cities are provoking the tribals and trying to create division and tension between us.”

Junglemahal faultlines flare as Kudmis up the ante in ST status stirPremium Story
Bad blood between Cong, TMC flares on heels of uneasy truce
The Indian Express | 5 days ago | |
The Indian Express
5 days ago | |

Days after West Bengal Chief Minister and Trinamool Congress (TMC) supremo Mamata Banerjee extended an olive branch to the Congress while offering her support to the party in its strongholds for the 2024 Lok Sabha polls, the fraught relationship between the two parties got more strained after the Congress’s lone Bengal MLA Bayron Biswas crossed over to the TMC.On Tuesday, the Congress slammed the TMC, saying such “poaching” was not designed to strengthen Opposition unity and only served the BJP’s objectives.Three months after wresting the Muslim-dominated Sagardighi Assembly seat in Murshidabad in a bypoll from the TMC, the Congess MLA switched to the ruling party on Monday. Bayron’s defection comes at a time when efforts are on to forge Opposition unity to take on the BJP in the 2024 polls.In February, the TMC candidate’s defeat in Sagardighi had enraged Mamata, who had then said: “In 2024, we will see an alliance between the Trinamool and the people. We will not go with any of the other political parties. We will fight alone with people’s support. Those who want to defeat the BJP, I believe they will vote for us. The ones voting for CPI(M) and Congress are actually voting for BJP.”The TMC appeared to soften its stance towards the Congress after Rahul Gandhi’s disqualification as a Lok Sabha MP following his conviction and sentencing over his 2019 Modi surname remark.In Bengal, the relations between the two parties have been strained for a long time. In the 2016 and 2021 Assembly elections, the Congress aligned with the CPM-led Left Front to take on the TMC, which swept both the polls.Recently, Bihar CM and JD(U) supremo Nitish Kumar and Deputy CM and RJD leader Tejashwi Yadav visited Mamata in Kolkata, following which both Kumar and Mamata asserted that all anti-BJP forces should work together for Opposition unity for the 2024 elections. Many Opposition parties are going to have their first joint conclave in this regard in Patna on June 12.However, after Bayron joined the TMC in his presence, senior party leader and Mamata’s nephew Abhishek Banerjee said, “Our chairperson Mamata Banerjee has repeatedly stated that she has no problem supporting the Congress in order to defeat the BJP. However, Bengal PCC (Pradesh Congress Committee) chief Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury is claiming that he will fight the Trinamool. This implies that he has no intention of defeating the BJP.”Abhishek said, “We don’t mind supporting Congress, but that doesn’t mean that in places where the TMC is strong, Congress would fight us to strengthen BJP. If Congress weakens Trinamool, the only party to gain will be BJP. We are ready to support the Congress in places where they are strong, but they should do the same thing in places where TMC remains the principal force to take on the BJP.”He also claimed, “Congress and Adhir expects the Opposition to support them, but in return, they don’t want to extend the same support to the other Opposition parties. If Adhir wants to break TMC, who benefits? Not Congress or CPM, but BJP. If I had to break the Congress, Bayron would have joined us back in Murshidabad itself. If we decide to break the Congress, 4 MPs (from other states) would join TMC at a moment’s notice. However, we don’t want to do the politics of breaking political parties, we want to defeat the BJP.”Slamming the TMC after Bayron’s switchover, Adhir said, “Our fight against TMC and BJP will continue.”CPM leader Tanmay Bhattacharya said, “Bayron Biswas won because people wanted to defeat TMC and BJP and that situation has not changed. If vote is again held in Sagardighi, then TMC and BJP will again be defeated.”Launching a scathing attack on the TMC, the All India Congress Committee (AICC) general secretary in charge of communications, Jairam Ramesh, said, “Three months after he was elected as a Congress MLA in a historic victory Bayron Biswas has been lured away by the TMC in West Bengal. This is a complete betrayal of the mandate of the people of the Sagardighi Assembly constituency.”Ramesh also said, “Such poaching which has happened earlier in Goa, Meghalaya, Tripura and other states is not designed to strengthen Opposition unity and only serves the BJP’s objectives.”On her part, Mamata, during a press conference at the state secretariat Nabanna Tuesday, declined to comment on Bayron’s move. “Ask our local party. I do not know. I saw it on news,” she claimed.Mamata also charged, “Left, Congress and BJP never stop doing wrong things. They are the same and they will remain together. Let them remain together. They are three flowers of the same garland. They never think good things. So, I have no time for them.”On Ramesh’s allegation that the TMC had tried to hurt the Congress in other states too, Mamata said, “I think we are all together at the national level. At the state level, all parties should understand they have their own obligations. We have contested only Meghalaya and Goa. But when Congress contested Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh, Himachal, Gujarat, Chhattishgarh, we never disrupted. Instead of disrupting, we supported them. That is why I don’t have any comments (about Ramesh’s remarks). Anybody can say anything.”The TMC chief also said, “If we don’t fight in other states, how will we become a national party. It is not for winning election, it is for vote percentage also so that we become a national party.”On the June 12 Opposition meeting, Mamata said, “It is happening, I told Nitishji to call a meeting in Patna. He asked me day before yesterday and I confirmed (my participation in the meeting).”Hitting back at Ramesh, TMC leader Derek O’Brien tweeted: “Despite Mamata Banerjee’s support Congress vows to fight Mamata Banerjee in Bengal” Statement from Congress two weeks ago. Congress breaches trust on Opposition unity and then expects bouquets of roses! And about strengthening BJP? Grow up please.”

Bad blood between Cong, TMC flares on heels of uneasy truce
ED arrests Abhishek Banerjee's aide after 12-hour questioning
The Indian Express | 5 days ago | |
The Indian Express
5 days ago | |

The Enforcement Directorate (ED) on Tuesday arrested Sujoy Krishna Bhadra, a Kolkata-based businessman and a close associate of Trinamool Congress second-in-command Abhishek Banerjee, after questioning him for nearly 12 hours in connection with the school jobs scam in West Bengal.The ED officials said Bhadra was arrested as he was not cooperating with the investigators and dodged their questions. The agency claimed to have found his links with three companies and suspected that crores of rupees were being laundered through these entities. Also, the ED officials had recovered documents during raids at his house earlier.Bhadra’s lawyer Najmul Alam Sarkar said, “They (ED officials) are not communicating with us. I kept waiting for long outside the agency’s office but I wasn’t allowed in.”Earlier, the agency had asked Bhadra to appear in person at its office in CGO Complex in Salt Lake where he reached at 11am on Tuesday. This was the first time he appeared before the ED investigators even as he was summoned for questioning earlier also.The CBI has also summoned him twice.On May 20, the ED agency carried out a search in his flat and office in Behala. Earlier, the CBI had searched his flat on May 4. The businessman appeared before the CBI once in March but skipped the agency’s second summons and instead sent his lawyer.The businessman was first named in the recruitment scam by Tapas Mondal, one of the arrested agents allegedly involved in the scam.According to sources, Abhishek Banerjee’s mother is a director in a company run in the name of Bhadra who claims to be an employee in Banerjee’s office.It is alleged that the TMC leader is a partner in the company, Leaps & Bounds Private Limited, which is into manufacturing of packaged mineral drinking water.Also, the ED has written to state departments in the corruption probe seeking some details. The letters have been sent to the departments of Public Works, and Urban Development, and the Municipal Service Commission. The agency has enquired about the process under which recruitments have been made in the last eight years. The ED also wanted to know as how many people have been employed in these years.Bhadra, also known as Kalighat er Kaku (uncle from Kalighat) had earlier alleged that he was a victim of a politically motivated investigation.Interestingly, he had contested the Bhowanipore by-election in 2011 as an independent candidate against TMC supremo Mamata Banerjee (Chief Minister) and polled 809 votes.Time is ticking, says BJP; TMC hits backTaking a dig at the TMC leadership following Bhadra’s arrest, Leader of Opposition in Bengal Assembly Suvendu Adhikari tweeted, “The long arm of law is finally reaching towards the masterminds & the biggest beneficiaries. No one will be spared. The high and mighty will go to jail. Time is ticking.”He also shared pictures claiming Bhadra’s links with Abhishek Banerjee.Countering his claims, TMC spokesperson Kunal Ghosh said, “Suvendu Adhikari is facing an FIR in the Narada case that is being probed by a central agency. Clearly, Bayron Biswas’ joining the TMC didn’t go down well with the BJP and the Congress. It was a planned effort to uplift the morale of their (BJP’s) workers. If he (Bhadra) has been arrested for something wrong, the party won’t stand by him. It is a politically motivated move.”Lok Sabha MP and West Bengal Congress president Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury said, ” This is so funny that they are finding a link between Bayron Biswas and the ED probe. The TMC is a corrupt party. Technically speaking, Biswas is still a Congress MLA.”CPI(M) leader Sujan Chakraborty said, “I am surprised that if an employee of (Banerjee) can own three companies and have crores of rupees, I wonder how much property and money his employers have.”

ED arrests Abhishek Banerjee's aide after 12-hour questioning
Newsmaker: A new house for Bayron Biswas, back to 0 for West Bengal Congress
The Indian Express | 6 days ago | |
The Indian Express
6 days ago | |

Lashing out at the TMC for “poaching” the Congress’s lone West Bengal MLA on Monday, state Congress chief Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury said he “never had a bad impression of Bayron Biswas”.However, it might have served Chowdhury – who had staked his personal reputation on Biswas’s win on a Congress ticket just three months ago – better, to have been more circumspect.Biswas’s father Babar Ali Biswas might have been an old-time Congress loyalist, since working for veteran Pranab Mukherjee in his first Lok Sabha election from Jangipur in 2004, but with the Congress’s fortunes dwindling in West Bengal, the son himself has been quite the party hopper.In his political career so far, the 40-year-old has swung between the Congress and TMC more than once.While Bayron Biswas started his political innings with the Congress, that lasted briefly before he joined the TMC. In the 2021 Assembly elections, he first tried to get a ticket from the TMC, and when that failed, he returned to the Congress.The Sagardighi seat was won by the TMC by characteristic ease in its Muslim-dominated stronghold in the 2021 Assembly polls. It was when the sitting MLA died, resulting in the February bypoll, that Bayron finally got a political break. In a blow to the TMC, Bayron, fighting on Congress ticket with Left support, registered a 22,000-vote-plus win.Chowdhury stationed himself in the seat to see Bayron through, even skipping the Congress plenary. Sagardighi falls in Murshidabad, Chowdhury’s bastion and the Congress’s sole remaining bleak hope in West Bengal.On Monday, Bayron switched back to the TMC, while slamming the Congress, including Chowdhury, of doing little for his win and suggesting that they were in cahoots with the BJP.The eldest of five siblings – three brothers and two sisters – Bayron started out with the family business of beedi manufacturing soon after he had finished schooling. It was his father who had set up the business, at Samserganj in Murshidabad district, and gradually became known for his social work such as helping people with ambulance services, and medical support.Bayron also dabbled in the healthcare sector and set up a nursing home, before following his father into politics.After the bypoll win, Bayron had praised Chowdhury for steering the party’s campaign in Sagardighi. “Our leader Adhir Chowdhury fought from the front, and the CPI(M) gave its 100 per cent,” he had said.Soon after his victory in February in the bypoll, a controversy had erupted over an audio clip where he allegedly made “abusive” comments against a TMC leader and his mother. While Bayron dubbed the charges “baseless and politically motivated”, the TMC had demanded his arrest and an FIR was registered against him.On Monday, with characters on the two sides reversed, Chowdhury said he always thought well of Bayron, and added: “I want to ask Bayron bhai not to level allegations against the Congress… If we had not been there with you, you would not be what you are today.”He added: “But Didi (Mamata Banerjee), do not forget, what goes around, comes around.”

Newsmaker: A new house for Bayron Biswas, back to 0 for West Bengal Congress
Huge stride towards Oppn unity: JD(U) announces mega meeting, TMC to attend
The Indian Express | 1 week ago | |
The Indian Express
1 week ago | |

The Janata Dal (United) on Sunday said the first official meeting of Opposition parties would take place in Patna on June 12, with the top leaders of several non-BJP outfits set to attend. The Trinamool Congress (TMC) confirmed that West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee would attend the meeting, which will be the first big statement of Opposition unity in the run-up to the Lok Sabha elections next year.“There will be a meeting of Opposition parties in Patna on June 12,” senior JD(U) leader Manjit Singh said. A top JD(U) leader said Chief Minister Nitish Kumar had revealed the date of the meeting during an informal meeting with his party colleagues. Congress insiders in New Delhi said Mamata Banerjee had asked Nitish Kumar to take the lead in organising the event since several parties, including the TMC, the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP), and the Bharat Rashtra Samithi (BRS), have a problem with the Congress being viewed as the leader of any eventual anti-BJP coalition. Since meeting Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge and senior party leader Rahul Gandhi in Delhi last month, Nitish has been reaching out to the Opposition to bring them together on one platform before the Lok Sabha elections.A senior JD(U) leader said, “The meeting is finally going to happen in Patna. The idea was first mooted by West Bengal CM and TMC supremo Mamata Banerjee during her meeting with Bihar CM Nitish Kumar recently, recollecting socialist legend Jayaprakash Narayan’s efforts to form the Janata Party in 1977 by bringing together several parties under one roof. We all liked to go with the symbolism and Patna is ready to host a historic show of Opposition unity.”Earlier this week, JD(U) chief spokesperson and advisor K C Tyagi hinted that work on organising the Patna meeting was going on. “Nitish Kumar has already met all the top Opposition leaders and now the stage is set to take it to a logical conclusion. The Bihar CM has been able to break the ice between the Congress and the AAP, and the Congress and the TMC,” he said.TMC MP Sudip Bandyopadhyay said Mamata Banerjee would attend the event. “The Opposition parties will put up a united fight against the BJP. Mamata Banerjee has made her points clear. If the Congress follows the same path, then it will further strengthen Opposition unity. Nitish Kumar came down here to meet Mamata Banerjee. She proposed that the meeting be held in Patna. They have accepted it. If all parties come together, then it will definitely boost our unity.”However, West Bengal Pradesh Congress Committee (WBPCC) president Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury said notwithstanding what happens in Patna, his party would continue to fight the TMC in the state. “Even in Parliament, sometimes they (TMC) stand with us and sometimes they don’t. But that will not stop our fight against the TMC in Bengal. Notwithstanding the Opposition meeting and whether both parties come together, our movement against them will go on.”The JD(U) sees the Patna conclave as a great boost for Nitish Kumar’s ambition to showcase himself as a key leader in the anti-BJP camp in the run-up to the Lok Sabha elections. According to party insiders, there could be one-on-one contests between the BJP and an Opposition party in about 475 seats.Besides the JD(U), Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD), and Hindustani Awam Morcha (Secular) from Bihar, and the TMC, the other parties that are expected to attend the rally are the Samajwadi Party (SP), Jharkhand Mukti Morcha (JMM), Aam Aadmi Party (AAP), Nationalist Congress Party (NCP), and Shiv Sena (Uddhav Balasaheb Thackeray). The confirmation of the presence of the top leaders of some of these parties is awaited, according to JD(U) insiders.— With inputs from ENS Delhi and Kolkata

Huge stride towards Oppn unity: JD(U) announces mega meeting, TMC to attend
'One man's ego denied President her constitutional privilege': Jairam Ramesh
The Indian Express | 1 week ago | |
The Indian Express
1 week ago | |

Amid the snowballing row over the new Parliament building, Congress leader Jairam Ramesh on Thursday slammed the Centre for denying President Droupadi Murmu, the country’s first Adivasi President, her “constitutional privilege” to inaugurate the building.In a jibe at Prime Minister Narendra Modi, who is slated to inaugurate the building on May 28, Ramesh tweeted: “It is one man’s ego and desire for self-promotion that has denied the first Adivasi woman President her Constitutional privilege to inaugurate the new Parliament building in New Delhi.”His comments come after over 19 Opposition parties banded together to announce that they were boycotting the inaugural event. The Opposition has argued based on constitutional impropriety, saying not getting President Droupadi Murmu to inaugurate the building is an insult to constitutional values.The 19 parties boycotting the event include: the Trinamool Congress (TMC), Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (DMK), Janata Dal (United), Aam Aadmi Party (AAP), Nationalist Congress Party (NCP), Shiv Sena (Uddhav Balasaheb Thackeray), Communist Party of India (Marxist), Samajwadi Party (SP), Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD), Communist Party of India (CPI), Indian Union Muslim League (IUML), Jharkhand Mukti Morcha (JMM), National Conference, Kerala Congress (Mani), Revolutionary Socialist Party (RSP), Marumalarchi Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (MDMK), Viduthalai Chiruthaigal Katchi (VCK), and the Rashtriya Lok Dal (RLD).Meanwhile, the BJP has accused the Opposition parties of politicising the issue.

'One man's ego denied President her constitutional privilege': Jairam Ramesh
20 Oppn parties take on Modi govt: How do they stack up against BJP in Parliament?
The Indian Express | 1 week ago | |
The Indian Express
1 week ago | |

Nineteen Opposition parties on Wednesday issued a joint statement announcing that they would boycott the inauguration of the new Parliament building on May 28 as Prime Minister Narendra Modi is set to inaugurate it and not President Droupadi Murmu.The 19 parties are the Trinamool Congress (TMC), Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (DMK), Janata Dal (United), Aam Aadmi Party (AAP), Nationalist Congress Party (NCP), Shiv Sena (Uddhav Balasaheb Thackeray), Communist Party of India (Marxist), Samajwadi Party (SP), Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD), Communist Party of India (CPI), Indian Union Muslim League (IUML), Jharkhand Mukti Morcha (JMM), National Conference, Kerala Congress (Mani), Revolutionary Socialist Party (RSP), Marumalarchi Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (MDMK), Viduthalai Chiruthaigal Katchi (VCK), and the Rashtriya Lok Dal (RLD).Apart from these 19 parties, the All India Majlis-e-Ittehadul Muslimeen (AIMIM) has said it will not attend the event. The Bharat Rashtra Samithi (BRS), according to party insiders, is also not going to attend the event but it has not issued an official statement yet.All these parties fall short of the strength of the BJP in the Lok Sabha where the ruling party has 301 members. In the Rajya Sabha, they are just four seats more than the BJP that has 93 MPs in the Upper House. But, the BJP can count on the support of smaller National Democratic Alliance (NDA) members and parties such as the YSR Congress Party (YSRCP) and the Biju Janata Dal (BJD), both of which will attend the inauguration of the new Parliament building. With their support — the YSRCP has 23 Upper House MPs and the BJD nine — the BJP is comfortably placed in the Rajya Sabha too.

20 Oppn parties take on Modi govt: How do they stack up against BJP in Parliament?
Mission Oppn unity: Nitish, Tejashwi to meet Kharge, Rahul today
The Indian Express | 2 weeks ago | |
The Indian Express
2 weeks ago | |

Over the last one month, Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar and his deputy Tejashwi Yadav had met several key opposition leaders as part of their attempt to build a non-BJP front to take on the ruling party in the 2024 Lok Sabha elections.On Monday, the duo will meet Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge and senior party leader Rahul Gandhi to share the details of the confabulations they had with various opposition leaders and possibly fix the date for a big opposition conclave in Patna.Kumar and Tejashwi had last met Kharge and Rahul on April 12 during which it was decided that the Bihar CM would reach out to leaders of six parties, most of them who do not share a good equation with the grand old party and at least two that are not in the Opposition fold.Over the last month, Kumar met Trinamool Congress (TMC) chairperson and West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee, Samajwadi Party (SP) president Akhilesh Yadav, Odisha Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik, and Delhi CM and Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) convener Arvind Kejriwal. He also had discussions with Shiv Sena (UBT) leader Uddhav Thackeray and NCP supremo Sharad Pawar besides Jharkhand Chief Minister Hemant Soren and Left leaders Sitaram Yechury and D Raja.Kumar and Yadav have not been able to meet Telangana CM and Bharat Rashtra Samithi (BRS) chief K Chandrasekhar Rao and YSRCP chief and Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister Y S Jaganmohan Reddy. Kumar is keen that the Opposition try and field one common candidate against the BJP in as many seats as possible to avert vote division.Although the idea of an opposition front against the BJP is riddled with hurdles as many of the Opposition parties are pitted against each other in many states — West Bengal, Uttar Pradesh, and Telangana being key examples — and there are questions on who will lead the front, the leaders believe the anti-BJP parties have little option but to unite given the central government’s “high-handed ways”.For instance, most of the Opposition parties have slammed the BJP-led Central government for promulgating an ordinance that effectively nullified a recent Supreme Court order that handed over crucial powers to the Delhi government. Opposition parties across the board have accused the Modi government of “bulldozing the Constitutional federal framework”.There has been some shifting of stands recently. Banerjee, who had earlier declared that her party would go alone in the Lok Sabha elections, some days ago said that the TMC was ready to support the Congress in seats where it was strong, if it did likewise.Separately, the Congress has also decided to begin the ground work early for the crucial Assembly elections scheduled to take place in November-December. Buoyed by the victory in Karnataka, the party is planning to roll out its campaign in Madhya Pradesh, Rajasthan, Chhattisgarh and Telangana early. The Congress leadership has called a meeting of in-charges and top leaders of these states on May 24 to plan the strategy for the elections.

Mission Oppn unity: Nitish, Tejashwi to meet Kharge, Rahul today
EC gets complaint on ‘inaccuracies’ in Mahua poll affidavit, expenditure report
The Indian Express | 2 weeks ago | |
The Indian Express
2 weeks ago | |

The Election Commission (EC) has received a complaint alleging that Trinamool Congress MP Mahua Moitra’s 2019 Lok Sabha election affidavit failed to mention her investments in a financial advisory company, and that her post-election expenditure report to the poll panel had incomplete information.The complaint addressed to Chief Election Commissioner Rajiv Kumar by Shravan Kumar Yadav, who described himself as a “public-spirited person” in the letter, has been received but not reviewed yet, a source in EC said.Moitra was unavailable for a comment.The complaint alleges that Moitra, MP from Krishnanagar in West Bengal, had not mentioned her 4,900 shares in a company — Villerville Financial Advisors Ltd. — in 2019 election affidavit. In the column for “details of investment in bonds, debentures, shares, units in companies/mutual funds”, she had declared nil, which the complainant said, was in contradiction with the company’s annual returns filed from 2010 to 2022.“The said wilful non-disclosure of her investments in the election affidavit is a material illegality and the same needs to be inquired into,” the complaint stated.It alleged that Moitra’s post-election expenditure report declared a total expenditure of Rs 55.59 lakh, with Rs 99,800 from “own source”, Rs 20 lakh from “party funds” and Rs 23 lakh from donations. “There is no breakup of the remaining funds amounting to Rs 11,59,545 in the affidavit filed…” it said.Citing Section 10A of the Representation of the People Act, which enables EC to disqualify a person for failure to lodge election expenses in the required time and manner, the complaint stated that submitting “false election expenditures may result in issuance of notice by the EC”.The complaint was sent by post from South Delhi on April 25. Complainant Yadav told The Sunday Express that he had received the information through RTI replies. He also denied being associated with any political party.

EC gets complaint on ‘inaccuracies’ in Mahua poll affidavit, expenditure report
Unable to pay for ambulance, Bengal man travels in bus with child’s body
The Indian Express | 2 weeks ago | |
The Indian Express
2 weeks ago | |

A day after a man allegedly travelled in a bus with his five-month-old son’s body in a bag as he couldn’t pay for an ambulance in Kaliaganj, West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee directed the Uttar Dinajpur Deputy Chief Medical Officer to submit a report in connection with the incident, officials said on Monday.On Sunday, Ashim Debsharma claimed that he travelled in a public bus with the body of his five-month-old child in a bag for 200 kilometres in the North Dinajpur, as he did not have Rs 8,000 as demanded by an ambulance driver for taking him home in Kaliaganj town from Siliguri.Reacting to the incident during a press briefing at the Nabanna on Monday, the chief minister said, “It is better if such incidents do not happen…There should not be a shortage of ambulances (at a hospital). There were three ambulances at the hospital, maybe all three were busy with other work. We are looking into the incident.”The incident has prompted a war of words between the ruling Trinamool Congress and the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP). BJP MLA from Nandigram Suvendu Adhikari tweeted a purported video of the alleged incident on Sunday and said it reflected the “true” state of the CM’s “Egiye Bangla” (advanced Bengal) model. The TMC also hit back at the opposition party and accused it of doing “dirty politics”.Speaking to reporters on Sunday, Debsharma had said, “My child died on Saturday night at North Dinajpur’s North Bengal Medical College and Hospital. I had already spent Rs 16,000 on the treatment and was left with no money. The ambulance drivers demanded Rs 8,000 to take us back home. With no money left, I packed my son’s body in a bag and took the bus from medical college back to Kaliaganj.”Sources said Debsharma’s twin boys fell ill on May 7 and they were admitted to Kaliaganj State General Hospital. “They were brought in with respiratory issues among other problems and were later referred to the North Bengal Medical College and Hospital for further treatment. On May 11, Debsharma’s wife and one of his sons went back home after the hospital discharged him. On Saturday, his other son died,” said a hospital source.According to reports, Debsharma said he boarded a private bus from Siliguri to Raiganj and then took another bus to reach his hometown in Dangipara village under Mustafa Nagar gram panchayat in Kaliaganj town in Uttar Dinajpur district. He travelled for about 200 kilometres before reaching home.Debsharma claimed that he put the body in a bag and travelled by bus to Kaliaganj, without letting anyone know, fearing that he would be deboarded if the co-passengers or the staff became aware of it. He claimed that an ambulance driver under the 102 scheme told him that the facility was free for patients, but not for transporting bodies.Sources said on reaching the Vivekananda trisection in Kaliaganj, Debsharma sought help from a few locals and arranged for an ambulance which helped him take his son’s body home.Dean of North Bengal Medical College Sandip Sengupta said, “A six-month-old baby died on Saturday. The infant’s family claimed that when they wanted to take the body home for cremation, the ambulance driver demanded a huge amount of money, but they didn’t approach the administration after that. It is a serious matter. There is nothing to take it lightly. We definitely want a strong inquiry into it.”As purported videos of the alleged incidents went viral on social media, Opposition leaders hit out at the Bengal government. “This is Ashim Debsharma; father of a five-month-old infant who died in a medical college in Siliguri. He was being charged Rs. 8000/- to transport the body of his child. Unfortunately after spending Rs.16,000/- in the past few days during the treatment, he couldn’t pay the money. So, he kept the dead body of the child in a bag & boarded a public bus to go back to his home at Mustafanagor village in Kaliyaganj; Uttar Dinajpur district. Let’s not get into technicalities, but is this what “Swasthya Sathi” has achieved? This is unfortunately the true portrayal of the “Egiye Bangla” model,” Leader of Opposition in West Bengal Assembly Suvendhu Adhikari tweeted on Sunday.Hitting back, TMC Rajya Sabha MP Santanu Sen accused the BJP of trying to “play dirty politics with the unfortunate death of a child”.“It’s definitely an inhuman incident. MSVP and the dean of the hospital are already looking into it. This is the only state in India where all people get free health facilities. As the Leader of Opposition continues to do politics over dead bodies, I would like to remind him that recently a man died after being hit by a vehicle which was part of his convoy. He didn’t even stop to take him to the hospital and we all know that he died,” said Sen.BJP leader Rahul Sinha said, “She (Mamata Banerjee) makes such tall claims. The government claims to have constructed multi-speciality hospitals where many get facilities for free…We have returned to the era where people don’t have vehicles to carry a body. Mamata Banerjee should see what is the condition of this state.”Communist Party of India (Marxist) leader Sujan Chakraborty said, “A father is carrying his child’s body because an ambulance is charging Rs 8,000 in a state, where the CM claims all health facilities are free, is unthinkable.”In January, a similar incident was reported in Jalpaiguri district of West Bengal when a man had to carry his mother’s body on his shoulders after an ambulance demanded Rs 3,000 from him. The man, identified as Ram Prasad Dewan, walked for about 50 kilometres from Jalpaiguri Medical College and Hospital to his residence under Kranti block in Jalpaiguri district with his elderly father. — With PTI inputs

Unable to pay for ambulance, Bengal man travels in bus with child’s body
Anubrata parked cattle smuggling money with ex-helps, vendors: ED
The Indian Express | 4 weeks ago | |
The Indian Express
4 weeks ago | |

From former domestic helps to four party councillors and workers to a primary school teacher and a vegetable vendor — the Enforcement Directorate has listed seven individuals who it has alleged are frontmen in whose bank accounts and entities Trinamool Congress (TMC) strongman Anubrata Mondal and his daughter Sukanya Mondal allegedly parked proceeds of crime from cattle smuggling in West Bengal.The central agency made these allegations in the supplementary chargesheet that was filed in the cattle smuggling case in a Delhi court recently.These alleged benamidar (front-persons), the investigators said, are close associates of Anubrata, the TMC’s Birbhum district president.They are Bidyut Baren Gayen, a former servant in the Mondal household; Biswajyoti Banerjee and Omar Sheikh, both TMC councillors from the Bolpur Municipality in the district; party workers Tapas Mondal and Shyamapada Karmakar; Arko Dutta, a primary school teacher who previously served as a contractual worker in the civic body as well as a computer assistant in TMC’s local office; and Bijoy Rajak, a vegetable vendor who doubled up as a masseur for Mondal.The ED said in the chargesheet, “According to the investigation so far, it was found that Bidyut Baren Gayen worked as a servant in the house of Anubrata Mondal since 1995. He joined the Bolpur Municipality as a driver in 1997 as a casual employee and got confirmed in 2017. While working in the civic body, he continued to work with Anubrata Mondal as a housekeeper. Initially, he was paid Rs 5,000 a month but at the time of leaving his job when diagnosed with a liver disease in 2019 he was getting Rs 15,000-20,000 in cash from Mondal.”The fact that Gayen was working as a servant in the Mondal household was confirmed under section 50 of the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA) by several witnesses during the probe, it added. “He is a shareholder-cum-director in the companies — ANM Agrochem Private Ltd and Neer Developers Private Ltd — which are controlled and managed by the Mondal family. There were several bank transactions between Gayen and the Mondals,” the agency said.Omar Sheikh, the councillor, also used to work at Mondal’s house at one time, it has been claimed.“Another frontman Biswajyoti Banerjee is also very close to Anubrata Mondal. He is presently TMC councillor from Ward No 19 of the Bolpur Municipality. Earlier, he worked as a contractual employee in the civic body besides having worked in the Mondal household,” the supplementary chargesheet read.Besides selling vegetables, Bijoy Rajak also provides laundry services, the agency said. Mondal’s driver Sehgal Hossain, who has also been arrested in the case, used to call Rajak for giving massage to the TMC leader at his house, it said.“Tapas Mondal, a worker at the local TMC office in Bolpur, is involved in trading of building materials. Shyampada Karmakar, also a worker at the party’s local office, writes campaign material during the elections,” the chargesheet read.These people, the agency alleged, were made to sign bank forms and blank cheques of various banks by Sehgal Hossain on the directions of Anubrata Mondal. “Cash was deposited in their bank accounts and then transferred to the accounts of Anubrata Mondal, Sehgal Hossain and their family members,” it added.

Anubrata parked cattle smuggling money with ex-helps, vendors: ED
Will meet Nitish Kumar during his Mumbai visit: Sharad Pawar
The Indian Express | 4 weeks ago | |
The Indian Express
4 weeks ago | |

Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) president Sharad Pawar on Monday said he would meet Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar during the latter’s visit to Mumbai on May 11, adding their outlook is that the country needs an “alternative” to the current BJP-led government.Pawar, who on Friday revoked his decision to quit as NCP chief, was speaking to reporters in Solapur before heading to Nipani in Karnataka where he will hold a rally for his party candidate in the Assembly polls to be held in the neighbouring state on May 10.Asked about a possible meeting with Janata Dal (United) leader and Bihar CM Nitish Kumar, Pawar said, “I have received a message that Nitish Kumar will visit Mumbai on May 11. We will meet, though I do not have all the details with me. Our outlook is that an alternative (to the BJP government) is needed in the country. Those who wish to contribute to it, be it Nitish or Mamata (West Bengal CM and Trinamool Congress leader), in my view we all need to work together for the same,” the NCP chief said.The Lok Sabha polls in the country are due next year.Pawar also said there were no discussion on Lok Sabha seat sharing in Maharashtra with his political allies Shiv Sena (UBT) and Congress (the three parties are constituents of the Maha Vikas Aghadi).“The Maha Vikas Aghadi leaders will sit together and then discuss a seat sharing formula. There is no point in making any claim on a particular Lok Sabha seat before such meetings,” he said.

Will meet Nitish Kumar during his Mumbai visit: Sharad Pawar
Opposition Unity Platform: Stoop to conquer
The Indian Express | 1 month ago | |
The Indian Express
1 month ago | |

The oldest party in the country is the Indian National Congress. The biggest party in the country is the Bharatiya Janata Party, also by far the richest. In the last Lok Sabha elections (2019), all BJP candidates together won 37.4 per cent of the votes that were polled. The Congress’ candidates won 19.5 per cent of the votes. There are regional and state-specific parties that are quite influential and rule many states.India’s electoral map is a multi-coloured political mosaic. The BJP’s aim — not concealed — is to make it a monochromatic mosaic. The Opposition parties’ (those who are opposed to the BJP) goal is to replace the BJP at the Centre and form a liberal, progressive and inclusive government.In every election since 2014, the BJP seeks votes not in the name of the party or its manifesto but in the name of Mr Narendra Modi. It has gone to the extent of appealing to the voters of Karnataka — the state will elect a new government on May 10 — to “hand over Karnataka to Modi”. For the BJP, it is Mr Modi who is the candidate in every constituency. The BJP thinks that ‘Modi everywhere’ is enough to achieve its aim.As of today, it appears that the Opposition parties do not have a common leader/candidate behind whom they are willing to rally. This may change, but we are looking at the position today. Minus this seeming disadvantage, the Opposition parties have many pluses and strengths, and this essay is intended to explore how the Opposition parties can leverage their strengths.Some extreme options are ruled out. The Opposition parties will not, and cannot, unite to form a single new party, a la 1977, when the Janata Party was formed. None of the Opposition parties will cede the entire space in a state to another party. Despite appeals to forbear, AAP contested the elections in Uttarakhand (2022) and Karnataka (2023) and TMC in Goa (2022). So, while total Opposition unity is desirable, it does not seem feasible.The alternative is an Opposition Unity Platform (OUP). An OUP will need each party to make concessions to others and gain from the concessions made by the others. The outline of the scheme is roughly as follows: create four columns of states and union territories and put each state/UT in the appropriate column (the number denotes the number of LS seats)Of course, it must be acknowledged that the BJP is more dominant than the ‘Lead’ Opposition party in many of the states (it has 302 MPs in the Lok Sabha).In my view, if an OUP is formed, the Congress can legitimately expect to take the lead in fighting the BJP in about 209 seats. Likewise, another Opposition party among SP, TMC, RJD, JD(U), DMK, BRS and AAP can take the lead in about 225 seats. In three states, there are 2 or 3 parties that are in a position to take the lead to challenge the BJP. In seven states with 53 seats, the winner may turn out to be a covert ally of the BJP.Next step: all parties on the OUP must willingly subscribe to the rule that while the Lead party will contest a majority of the seats in the state concerned, the Lead party will be obliged to give each seat to the candidate who has the best chance of winning the seat irrespective of the Opposition party to which the candidate may belong. Sometimes, this may mean denying the seat to the Lead party’s own member. The goal is not to maximize the number of seats that each Lead party may win but to defeat the BJP’s candidates in the maximum number of seats. All Opposition parties must stoop to conquer.The arithmetic is simple. The BJP is in a position to win over 150 seats. Among the Opposition parties, the Congress alone is in a position to win over 100 seats. Every other Opposition party, even if there is a wave in its favour, can win a maximum of 40 seats but, together, they can win up to 150 seats. The BJP is not unbeatable. If the Opposition parties willingly subscribe to the plan that I have outlined, there is a credible path to victory.

Opposition Unity Platform: Stoop to conquer
Pune Infra Watch: Krishna Valley Corporation’s fund to be used to build water tunnel from Khadakwasla dam
The Indian Express | 1 month ago | |
The Indian Express
1 month ago | |

Considering the water crisis in Maharashtra’s Pune district in the last few years, the district water resources department is planning to use the fund of the Maharashtra Krishna Valley Development Corporation (MKVDC) to construct the proposed tunnel from Khadakwasla dam to Phursungi.The tunnel that will be built at a cost of Rs 2,000 crore will carry water for irrigation purpose and save annually 2.5 TMC water which is lost due to leakages, theft or evaporation from the existing canal. The project is likely to start by the end of this financial year, said officials.According to the water resource department, the saving of 2.5 TMC water is equivalent to meet the water consumption of 50 lakh population of the city for one-and-a-half months.The city has been reeling under acute water shortage, both for domestic and irrigation purposes. The water resource department has also been struggling to provide sufficient water to meet the agricultural needs of the district. The main source of water comes from the dams upstream the Mutha river, which include Khadakwasla, Panshet, Varasgaon, and Temghar.“Technical studies for constructing a 34-km tunnel from Khadakwasla dam to Phursungi village have been completed. The design and the alignment have been finalised. The state technical committee has approved the plan,” said Pravin Kolhe, executive engineer, the state water resources department for Bhima valley.The proposal is now being sent to the finance department which would approve it and then send it to the state cabinet for the final nod, he said,“The project cost is estimated to be Rs 2,000 crore as the tunnel construction involves blasting and drilling. We discussed the financial aspects and have recommended that the project should be started with the funding from Maharashtra Krishna Valley Development Corporation (MKVDC). The capital investment can be later sought from the agencies using the water from the dam. This way the project can be expedited,” the engineer explained.Many legislators from the rural parts of the district want the project to be implemented as early as possible. BJP legislator Rahul Kul enquired about the project status in the canal advisory committee held Wednesday.Earlier, two canals from the Khadakwasla dam were used to ensure water supply for the city’s domestic purposes and irrigation needs. But the Pune Municipal Corporation (PMC) laid two huge pipelines from the dam to link it to a water purification plant of the civic body so as to reduce water loss due to leakages and evaporation. However, one canal is still in use to carry the water from the dam to the agricultural area outside the city and it cuts across the city. In the recent past, the idea was floated to stop the loss of water through the canal and explore the possibility of carrying water through a tunnel. But the project did not materialise due to financial constraints.The 34-km tunnel from Khadakwasla dam to Phursungi would be D-shaped and 7.8 metres wide. The project would also make available the canal land for other purposes and it is estimated to be worth Rs 10,000 crore.Earlier, the state water resources department approached the Pune Metropolitan Region Development Authority (PMRDA) for the project.

Pune Infra Watch: Krishna Valley Corporation’s fund to be used to build water tunnel from Khadakwasla dam
'Ready to give my life, won't let people divide country': Mamata Banerjee's jibe at BJP
The Indian Express | 1 month ago | |
The Indian Express
1 month ago | |

In a veiled attack against the BJP, West Bengal Chief Minister and Trinamool Congress supremo Mamata Banerjee on Saturday alleged that she was ready to give her life but would not allow the country to be divided by people pursuing politics of hate.Speaking at a congregation for Eid namaz at Kolkata’s Red Road, Mamata said: “We want peace in Bengal. We don’t want riots. We want peace. We don’t want divisions in the country. Those who want to create divides in the country – I promise today on Eid, I am ready to give my life but I will not let the country divide.”#WATCH | West Bengal CM Mamata Banerjee and TMC MP Abhishek Banerjee visit Red Road in Kolkata where people offered namaz on the occasion of #EidUlFitr pic.twitter.com/uKlUjGFQ3g— ANI (@ANI) April 22, 2023Banerjee further alleged that she would continue to fight and would not “cow down” to what she called a “gaddar party”. “A ‘gaddar party’ with whom I have to fight, I have to fight agencies too – I fight them because I have the courage to do so but I am not ready to cow down,” the TMC supremo said.The West Bengal Chief Minister went on to accuse the BJP of attempting to divide Muslim votes in the state. “Someone takes money from BJP and says that they will divide Muslim votes. I tell them that they don’t have the courage to divide Muslim votes for BJP. It is my promise to you today. There is one year to elections. See who will get elected and who won’t,” Banerjee added.She went on to say, “If democracy will go away, everything will go away. Today Constitution is being changed, history is being changed. They brought NRC; I told them that I will not let them do that.”(With agency inputs)

'Ready to give my life, won't let people divide country': Mamata Banerjee's jibe at BJP
'Everyone has right to choose life partner... love has no limit': Abhishek Banerjee
The Indian Express | 1 month ago | |
The Indian Express
1 month ago | |

Expressing his support for same-sex marriages, Trinamool Congress (TMC) leader Abhishek Banerjee Thursday said everyone has the right to choose their life partner and criticised the Centre for “dillydallying” the issue.“The matter is sub judice. So I would not like to comment on it. India is a democratic country and everyone has got the right to choose their own life partner. Love has no religion, caste, or creed…,” said Banerjee.#WATCH | “Everyone has the right to choose their own respective life partner, love has no limit. If I want to choose a life partner of my choice, if I’m a man & I’m fond of man, if I’m a woman, I’m fond of woman…hopeful SC will rule in favour of ethos we take pride in”: TMC Gen… pic.twitter.com/jEuAyK4OnK— ANI (@ANI) April 21, 2023“…If I want to choose a life partner of my choice, if I am a man and I am fond of a man, If I am a woman and I am fond of a woman – whatever combination that is, no authority can make a comment on that,” Banerjee, who is West Bengal CM Mamata Banerjee’s nephew, added.His remarks came at a time when the Supreme Court is hearing petitions seeking recognition of same-sex marriages.The TMC national general secretary also said that he was certain that the Supreme Court would rule in favour of democracy and the “ethos that we take pride in and the diversity that unites India”.Responding to the Centre’s opposition on the matter, Banerjee said, “The Centre is deliberately delaying the matter. This tactic keeps the matter dangling for no reason. They could have done that in the last seven years if they were serious about seeking an opinion. They want to dilly-dally on the matter for no reason”.Since Tuesday, a Supreme Court Constitution Bench, led by Chief Justice of India DY Chandrachud, has been hearing a set of petitions seeking legal recognition of same-sex marriages.While the Centre, in one of its affidavits filed, termed the petitions a reflection of an “urban elitist” view for the purpose of social acceptance, the apex court said that there was no data to back the government’s contention. The apex court was hearing a batch of petitions seeking legal sanction for same-sex marriage.CJI Chandrachud on Thursday wondered whether the law has “progressed” to accommodate such relationships, and said that once Section 377 had been decriminalised, perhaps the stage had been set to acknowledge a more “stable emotional relationship”. The CJI’s remarks came as Senior Advocate A M Singhvi, representing the government, argued how to interpret the Special Marriage Act (SMA), 1954, to provide rights under it to same-sex couples too.

'Everyone has right to choose life partner... love has no limit': Abhishek Banerjee
What’s up with Mukul Roy? TMC leader in Delhi amid talk about BJP return
The Indian Express | 1 month ago | |
The Indian Express
1 month ago | |

Hours after Mukul Roy’s son Subhranshu Roy on Monday claimed that his father was “untraceable” and filed a complaint with the West Bengal Police, the senior Trinamool Congress (TMC) leader arrived in Delhi, fuelling speculations of his return to the BJP.Sources on Tuesday said a West Bengal Police team from the Bidhannagar Commissionerate, acting on Subhranshu Roy’s complaint, left for Delhi to look for Mukul. Later on Tuesday night, the senior MLA told Bengali news channels he was still a BJP legislator and in touch with party leaders. “I am a BJP legislator. I want to be with the BJP. The party has made arrangements for my stay here. I want to meet Amit Shah and speak to (party president) J P Nadda,” he told a Bengali news channel, according to PTI.Mukul Roy is a founding member of the TMC and was once the party’s master strategist and second in command. He joined the BJP in 2017 due to differences with the top leadership and was instrumental in helping the party win 18 Lok Sabha seats in West Bengal in the 2019 general elections. A year later, he was made BJP national vice-president. In the 2021 West Bengal Assembly elections, he won from Krishnanagar Uttar Assembly seat on a BJP ticket but soon left the party and returned to the TMC.He, however, did not resign from the Assembly and continues to remain a BJP MLA. The TMC appointed him as the Public Accounts Committee (PAC) chairman. But in June 2022, he resigned from the post as the BJP questioned his appointment. Since then, Roy has not been playing an active role in politics. Since undergoing brain surgery in March, Roy stayed away from the public eye.Reacting to the developments earlier on Tuesday, Subhranshu alleged some people were indulging in “petty politics” and trying to take advantage of his father’s ill health. Addressing a press conference in Kolkata, Subhranshu, without naming anyone, said: “They have indulged in politics with Mukul Roy to malign the image of TMC MP Abhishek Banerjee. My father is unwell and needs immediate hospitalisation. Till now, I have not been able to contact him. I came to know that he is in Delhi through the news. This is nothing but petty politics. A conspiracy has been hatched.”Subhranshu who too was earlier with the BJP is a former MLA. He returned to the TMC along with his father in 2021. He claimed that after coming to know on Monday night that his father was travelling to Delhi he requested the authorities to deboard him. But by then “the flight had taken off”.Claiming that his father suffers from dementia and Parkinson’s disease, Subhranshu said: “My father is not in the right frame of mind. I request everyone not to do politics with an unwell person… This is shameful that some people have stooped so low and are doing politics over my father’s visit to New Delhi. If my father joins the BJP now, he will not join in a mentally stable state.”Speculation about Mukul Roy’s return to the BJP was rife on Tuesday after BJP national secretary Anupam Hazra wrote “pratyabartan (comeback)” on a Facebook post. “It is time to wait and watch. Please wait for one or two more days, everything will be clear very soon,” Hazra said when asked about his cryptic post.Meanwhile, BJP national vice-president Dilip Ghosh said: “He (Mukul Roy) has been missing in action for a long time. Have you seen him anywhere? He is a big politician and a sitting MLA but there is no news about him. It is a lost cause because no one cares about him anymore. I wish him good health.”The TMC remained tight-lipped about the developments. “He (Mukul Roy) has not been keeping well for a very long time. Now, why he has gone to Delhi, only he can tell. We as the party cannot say anything about this. We wish him a speedy recovery,” said TMC spokesperson Kunal Ghosh. 

What’s up with Mukul Roy? TMC leader in Delhi amid talk about BJP return
Mukul Roy lands at Delhi airport hours after son claimed TMC leader was ‘untraceable’
The Indian Express | 1 month ago | |
The Indian Express
1 month ago | |

Hours after Trinamool Congress leader Mukul Roy’s son Subhranshu Roy claimed on Monday that he was untraceable, the MLA reportedly arrived in Delhi. Reacting to the development, Subhranshu said Tuesday that some people were indulging in “petty politics” and trying to take advantage of his father’s ill health.A video which has emerged on social media, purportedly shot by a journalist, showed Roy wearing a white kurta-pyjama and talking to a man who came to receive him at the airport. The Indian Express could not independently verify the authenticity of the video.Speaking at Delhi airport, Roy said he was in the National Capital for some work. “I come to Delhi very often and this time too I have come. I have some work in Delhi. I have not come for any medical check-up,” said the 69-year-old.Prodded further, the senior politician who had defected to the BJP in 2017 and returned to the TMC fold after the 2021 West Bengal Assembly polls, said, “I have not come here for any special political reason. I have come for special work. Can’t I come to Delhi? I am the MLA… (was) MP here.”The video emerged after Roy’s son Subhranshu claimed that the senior TMC leader was untraceable and informed the state police. “Till now I am unable to contact my father. He is untraceable,” he said on Monday.However, after learning that Roy may have taken a flight from Kolkata’s Netaji Subhas Chandra Bose International Airport, Subhranshu Roy, a former TMC MLA, filed a complaint with the airport police authorities and urged them to deboard Roy if he was on any aircraft.Following the death of his wife Krishna in 2021, Mukul Roy has been facing health issues and was under treatment for dementia.He was hospitalised in February this year.

Mukul Roy lands at Delhi airport hours after son claimed TMC leader was ‘untraceable’
CBI arrests TMC MLA Jiban Krishna Saha over Bengal school job scam
The Indian Express | 1 month ago | |
The Indian Express
1 month ago | |

The Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) Monday arrested TMC MLA Jiban Krishna Saha in connection with the alleged irregularities in the recruitment of assistant teachers in government schools in West Bengal. Sources said Saha was arrested early on Monday after he was questioned for 65 hours.Saha is the third MLA after Partha Chatterjee and Manik Bhattacharya to be arrested in the alleged school job scam.Last week, CBI had conducted searches at six locations in West Bengal’s Birbhum, Murshidabad, and Kolkata, including the premises of Saha. CBI officials have been stationed at Saha’s residence since Friday. Saha, an MLA from the state’s Burwan constituency, was questioned several times by agency officials in the last three days.During the search at his home, investigators claimed Saturday to have recovered five bags of “incriminating” documents from the bushes near the boundary wall of the legislator’s residence. “The documents have photographs of aspiring candidates having paid bribes to get jobs affixed. As alleged, the bribes collected from the candidates are estimated to be in several crores of rupees,” said the CBI official.He had also allegedly dumped two of his cell phones in the pond behind his house, but CBI recovered one of them after a search lasting hours with the help of pumps and other equipment and sent it to the Central Forensic Science Laboratory (CFSl) to retrieve the data. They are trying to recover the other phone.CBI has alleged the Burwan MLA was the main conduit who was allegedly collecting money from the aspirants for recruitment of teachers for classes 9 and 10.“It was alleged that the accused acted as a conduit in collecting money from the candidates by promising them jobs in the education department as teachers in the recruitment process of 1st SLST 2016 for classes 9 and 10. During searches, several incriminating materials including primary and upper teachers recruitment and documents containing the list of the candidates and amounts mentioned against them were recovered,” a CBI spokesperson said.The agency had registered the case on the directions of the Calcutta High Court last April and is probing the alleged recruitment scam involving Group D staff in government schools. The court had directed a probe into the scam in which the role of the former advisor of West Bengal School Service Commission (SSC) S P Sinha is also being looked into.Justice Abhijit Gangopadhyay had observed that this matter needs to be investigated by CBI by registering a new case as it relates to the appointment of assistant teachers in classes 9 and 10. “The CBI is directed to investigate the matter and to interrogate Dr Santi Prasad Sinha, especially and other members of the committee again in this matter in view of the startling revelation,” Justice Gangopadhyay had said.More than 12 accused, including former education minister Partha Chatterjee and officials of the State Education Department, are behind bars for their alleged involvement in the scam. The scam involves providing jobs in State-run schools illegally for monetary gains.

CBI arrests TMC MLA Jiban Krishna Saha over Bengal school job scam
EC order on national parties is based on well-defined criteria, not a subjective interpretation of their history or influence
The Indian Express | 1 month ago | |
The Indian Express
1 month ago | |

Recently, the Election Commission of India (EC) revised the list of “recognised” national parties and state parties. It recognised the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) as a national party, giving it a major boost before 2024, while the Trinamool Congress (TMC), Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) and Communist Party of India (CPI) lost their national party status. The country now has six national parties — the BJP, Congress, Bahujan Samaj Party, CPI(M), National People’s Party and AAP.In 10 separate speaking orders, the EC also revoked the state party status granted to Rashtriya Lok Dal in Uttar Pradesh, Bharat Rashtra Samithi in Andhra Pradesh, People’s Democratic Alliance (Manipur), Pattali Makkal Katchi (Puducherry), Revolutionary Socialist Party (West Bengal) and Mizoram People’s Conference (Mizoram). At the same time it granted “recognised state political party” status to the Lok Janshakti Party (Ram Vilas) in Nagaland, Voice of the People Party in Meghalaya and Tipra Motha in Tripura. The EC also said the NCP will be recognised as a state party in Nagaland and the TMC in Meghalaya, based on their performance in the recent assembly elections.The EC’s decision was based on a review of the parties’ poll performances — the 2014 and 2019 Lok Sabha polls and 21 state assembly polls since 2014. It has laid down strict technical criteria for a party to be recognised as a national party, based entirely on its electoral performance. A party may gain or lose national/state party status from time to time, depending on the fulfilment of these conditions.The process of recognition and derecognition is stipulated under the Election Symbols (Reservation and Allotment) Order, 1968, which lays down the criteria for recognition as a national or state party. These specific stipulations also find concurrence in the EC’s Political Parties and Election Symbols, 2019 Handbook.According to paragraph 6C of the order, amended with effect from January 1, 2014, a party will continue to be a national or state party in the next election even if it fails to fulfil the criteria laid down in paragraphs 6A and 6B. In all the present cases, the parties have exhausted the concession given even after falling short in two successive elections. Among other conditions, paragraph 6A states that a state party must get at least 6 per cent of the votes polled in the last Assembly election and at least two MLAs; or 6 per cent vote share and one MP from that state in the last Lok Sabha election; or 3 per cent of the total seats in the Assembly or three seats, whichever is more.Similarly, paragraph 6B states that a national party must get at least 6 per cent vote share in four or more states in the last Lok Sabha or Assembly elections and have at least four MPs; or at least 2 per cent of the seats in the Lok Sabha, with its candidates having been elected from at least three states. Paragraph 10 A (a) allows EC to reserve a symbol for a national party that just lost its status provided it applies within three days of notification of the election, a benefit which at least one party has availed in Karnataka.A party can avail of certain benefits on being recognised as a national party. First, the election symbol of the party will remain unchanged across India. National parties get free broadcast/telecast times on Akashvani and Doordarshan during the general election. More importantly, they can have a maximum of 40 star campaigners whose travel expenses will not be counted in the accounts of the candidates. This is the most important tangible benefit. Recognised “state” and “national” parties need only one proposer to file nomination. They get two sets of electoral rolls free of cost at the time of revision of rolls. Their candidates get one copy of the electoral roll free of cost during general elections. Finally, and more importantly, the parties will have the privilege of consultation with the EC in the setting of election dates, and giving inputs in setting electoral rules and regulations. Additionally, top slots on the EVM/ballot paper are reserved for the national parties. The greater impact, however, will be concerning the public perception of the party, which is why many who have lost national party status are planning to go to courts.Some parties are questioning the power of the EC though it stands legitimised by the Supreme Court. In Janata Dal (Samajwadi) v Election Commission of India, 1996, the Court held that the EC has the power to rescind the recognition of a national party if that party failed to fulfil the conditions prescribed under the Symbols Order. Furthermore, the Court, in Subramanian Swamy v Election Commission of India, 2008, had considered the argument as to whether a symbol reserved for a party due to grant of recognition under the Symbols Order becomes a part of its identity in the minds of the voters and, therefore, should not be taken away due to subsequent de-recognition. The Court rejected the contention and held that the EC had every right to deprive a political party of its symbol due to its dismal performance in the elections.Another question being asked is whether the EC has been unduly harsh and could have taken a charitable view. The rules are very specific and repeatedly emphasise that a party is eligible “if, and only if” it fulfils all criteria. The EC has no discretion at all as we discovered to our disappointment in 2010. The RJD case came before us with similar facts where the party had got 5.99 per cent votes. We were extremely sympathetic but our legal adviser clinched the issue by pointing out the language of the rules which specifically used the expression “not less than” 6 per cent votes. Well, 5.99 is definitely less than 6! This was one order we were sorry to pass.The writer is former Chief Election Commissioner of India and the author of An Undocumented Wonder — The Making of the Great Indian Election

EC order on national parties is based on well-defined criteria, not a subjective interpretation of their history or influence
33 Arrested For Running Fake Call Centre In Goa
Ndtv | 1 month ago | |
Ndtv
1 month ago | |

The police have seized 26 computers with accessories and a router during the raid. (Representational)Panaji: At least 33 persons were arrested for operating a fake call centre from a premises in North Goa today, an official said.The Goa crime branch raided a premises in Colvale village around 9.15 am and arrested the accused, who hailed from Gujarat, Maharashtra, Assam, Meghalaya, Mizoram and Nagaland, Superintendent of Police (Crime Branch) Nidhin Valsan told reporters.The accused allegedly posed as the customer service staff of a popular e-commerce portal and also catered to customers from the US, he said.The accused would note down information about customers, including their personal and bank details, and using these, they would induce the customers to make some payments to get issues with their purchases resolved, the official said.The police have seized 26 computers with accessories and a router during the raid, he said.Investigations revealed that the premises of the fake call centre belonged to one Tarak Arolkar from Mapusa, who had contested the 2022 Goa Assembly election as a Trinamool Congress (TMC) candidate.When contacted, Arolkar admitted that he owned the premises, but said he had rented it out to another person since August, 2022.PromotedListen to the latest songs, only on JioSaavn.com"I have 18 such premises on the rent. I have mentioned the terms and conditions. But I did not go to check what kind of business was being run from that place," Arolkar said.(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)

33 Arrested For Running Fake Call Centre In Goa
Bengal violence: From TMC to BJP — the 'outsider' is a convenient scapegoat
The Indian Express | 1 month ago | |
The Indian Express
1 month ago | |

It is easy enough to see political parties measuring their responses to harvest the hostility and distrust that went up several notches with the outbreak of communal rioting over Ram Navami “Shobha Yatras” in pockets of Howrah and Hooghly districts. The inevitable blame game over who cast the first stone, trashed a parked vehicle and then set it on fire that followed has become the officially approved formula for the Bharatiya Janata Party on the one hand and the ruling Trinamool Congress on the other, with the Congress and the Communist Party of India Marxist-led Left parties delivering tired, scripted responses.Even as some senior leaders of the BJP insert themselves into locally organised protests in the areas where tension is running high, as the state party chief Sukanta Majumdar and his predecessor Dilip Ghosh have done, there are others in the party who are finding it difficult to explain what happened and why the violence continues.Like the invisible and menacing foreign hand, the outbreak of communal confrontation is being attributed by politically ambivalent local residents to “outsiders”, clearly with a vested interest in igniting trouble. The narrative has gained traction with even BJP leaders talking about “unknown faces” who penetrated the peaceful shobha yatras of local Ram Bhakts chanting “Jai Shri Ram” like a “war cry”, while aggressively brandishing swords, and unverified viral video clips of guns.The unidentifiable outsider as agent provocateur is a convenient presence for all political parties. It allows the Trinamool Congress as the dominant ruling party to reiterate that the politics of hate and hostility have been imported into West Bengal to wreck the tradition of communal harmony. It allows the BJP to distance itself from the aggressive presence of sword-wielding persons in its procession. It excuses the police for its professional failure to maintain peace and order in what has become, since 2016, a routine by various affiliates of the BJP during Ram Navami.For the state government and its embattled chief minister, Mamata Banerjee, the outsider, this time, is a problem. The probability of infiltration by outsiders ought to have been estimated by the police and there should have been some preparedness to deal with trouble makers. If there was no such anticipation it reveals the decline in the professionalism of a police force that was reputedly adept at containing communal tensions and rapidly restoring order. As stories circulate of police personnel cowering when the stones rained down or being absent when vehicles were destroyed followed by arson, the narrative of a Trinamool Congress regime losing control over the coercive machinery of the state is picking up momentum.The calculated communalisation of politics in West Bengal is new, but it is not unfamiliar. Howrah has been a favourite stamping ground for arms-wielding processions organised by affiliates of the Sangh Parivar. Politically conscious Bengalis were apprehensive about how the Ram Navami celebrations during Ramzan would pan out. The state government must have anticipated trouble. The question is, why then did the rioting spread to Hooghly? And that too, into the industrial belt, where maintaining communal peace is an imperative, as Hindus, Muslims and other minorities live in congested localities.Describing the spreading violence as a natural outcome of the “clash of civilisations” is as dangerously irresponsible as it is deliberately malevolent. There is nothing natural about communal violence that continues and spreads. One outbreak on one day that is emphatically not murderous violence does not grow and sneak into other areas on its own, unless there is a will to keep the communal fire burning.By appealing to the Hindu majority to protect the Muslim minority as Mamata Banerjee did on Monday, anticipating that there would be more trouble around April 6 when Hanuman Jayanti is celebrated, is chanting an old mantra to ward off an entirely new evil. It has not worked, as pockets in Rishra in Hooghly continue to burn on Tuesday. A decade ago this would have been an adequate message from a strong chief minister to political and community leaders to maintain order and restore normalcy. It is no longer so.The clash of competing ideologies, majoritarian Hindutva in aggressive mode versus passive secular values, playing out in pockets of Howrah and Hooghly is an indication that the 75 years of politically enforced equilibrium between communities is ending. It is cancelled by the BJP’s dogged push to establish itself as the alternative to the Trinamool Congress in West Bengal.The controlled but continuing violence in Howrah and Hooghly delivers specific messages to voters in rural Bengal where panchayat elections are due soon. It can be read as an appeal for consolidation of Hindu votes by the BJP campaign that the majority is unsafe and threatened in West Bengal, more so because the Trinamool Congress is shaky about its support from Muslim voters. It can be interpreted as an appeal to tolerant Hindus to support the Trinamool Congress or face the consequences of a manufactured volatility in the social equation. It can also be understood as a caution to Bengali-speaking Muslim voters that their best interests are protected by the Trinamool Congress.Amassing votes in the panchayat elections by stirring up Hindu nationalism as a bulwark against Muslim appeasement is a cynical calculation that simplifies the causes of growing mass discontent as economic hardships multiply and fears of more crises and greater uncertainty rise. It helps the incumbent regimes, in the state and at the Centre, to temporarily dodge responsibility for failure.The writer is a senior journalist based in Kolkata

Bengal violence: From TMC to BJP — the 'outsider' is a convenient scapegoat
Howrah violence: Flare-up in same area last year, police slow to actPremium Story
The Indian Express | 2 months ago | |
The Indian Express
2 months ago | |

A procession without permission, a disregard for past communal flare-ups, a lackadaisical approach in not securing the area despite being a stone’s throw from the Shibpur police station, and not imposing curbs swiftly – these appear to be some of the failures of the police in Howrah district which has been rocked by communal violence.Post 1 pm Friday, Kazipara and PM Basti areas, located adjacent to the Shibpur police station, saw stone-pelting for hours, with police personnel stuck in the middle. This comes a day after two processions were taken out – one by the Vishva Hindu Parishad and another by the Anjani Putra Sena. Last year too, the area was witness to a communal flare-up following such processions, but the lessons appear to have been lost on the local police.That there was insufficient police deployment during the procession is also evident in videos being highlighted by TMC and BJP.While TMC national general secretary Abhishek Banerjee, addressing a press conference, showed a purported video clip of a man carrying a pistol during the procession, BJP’s Suvendu Adhikari, Leader of Opposition in the state Assembly, pointed to two videos – one showing stones being pelted from rooftops at the procession, and another of people indulging in arson later. He has submitted both the videos to the Howrah police chief.Banerjee also claimed that police had not given any letter “granting permission” to the two organisations, but that did not deter them from going ahead with the processions.The Indian Express has learnt that the  Assistant Commissioner of Police (Howrah Police Commissionerate) wrote separate letters to VHP’s Indra Deo Dubey and Anjani Putra Sena’s Surendra Verma, seeking documents before deciding on permission for the procession. The organisers claimed they submitted the documents and informed police that the procession timing would be from 3 pm to 8 pm.Stone pelting in West Bengal’s Howrah, day after clashes during Ram Navami processionhttps://t.co/eY7FGB3tWq📹 @HEYPARTHA pic.twitter.com/Vqhjirnld7— The Indian Express (@IndianExpress) March 31, 2023Police sources said they had barred carrying of any weapons, use of motorcycles and DJ, but not all terms and conditions were followed.And little appeared to have been done on the ground to ensure these directions were not flouted.Guardrails were used at two ends of the procession – near Kazipara and PM Basti – but there wasn’t much else that could prevent people from moving in and out of the dedicated area.Asked about the deployment, a senior officer said: “More than 100 personnel were present during the procession along with five IPS officers.”Although the area had been tense since Thursday, several personnel on the ground remained unarmed. In fact, many were seen defending themselves with plastic milk crates instead of riot shields as mobs roamed fearlessly, pelting stones at police and damaging public property.Officials also pointed to other gaps in the police response – no prohibitory orders were issued until 3 pm Friday, and the internet was not suspended. People could be seen recording videos from the rooftops, which were then widely circulated, further fanning the flames.“Last year too, stones were pelted, vehicles were torched, but things calmed down in half an hour. This year, it’s worse,” said a sub-inspector ranked official at the Shibpur police station.“I have been living here for 18 years. Such tension is common during this time. Things were normal until yesterday, but spiralled out of control today,” said J Rama, a resident.According to sources, the CID will probe the incident.

Howrah violence: Flare-up in same area last year, police slow to actPremium Story
It is time for Politican Journalists
The Indian Express | 2 months ago | |
The Indian Express
2 months ago | |

Week 1 of Parliament: Opposition MPs from Trinamool Congress wear black masks around their mouths to signify how their voices are being muzzled in Parliament.Week 2 of Parliament: Opposition MPs from Congress, DMK, SP and others put up a giant banner on the facade of Parliament building, demanding a Joint Parliamentary Committee. Some Opposition party MPs sign caps with the words “Arrest Adani” inscribed on them. These are then taken to the offices of the Finance Minister, Enforcement Directorate and Central Bureau of Investigation.Week 3 of Parliament: Opposition MPs from over a dozen parties wear all black to Parliament, as a sign of protest. Some wear black masks.Why, you might well ask, are Members of Parliament, not belonging to the ruling party, indulging in such tactics? Cynics could even call these acts, gimmicks. But before rushing to any conclusion, let us examine what exactly is happening (or more correctly, not happening) at the altar of democracy — Parliament.Pictures beamed from Sansad TV (the channel that telecasts proceedings of Lok Sabha and Rajya Sabha) are being selectively edited online before telecast. Protests by Opposition MPs are rarely, if ever, shown. The edited video output ensures the focus is on the Speaker, Chairperson and the Treasury Benches. Visuals of Opposition MPs protesting from their seats or in the well of the House are censored. Sansad TV is not the only culprit. Media outlets too have their “own priorities”. Here is one example from last week. The Prime Minister delivering a speech while inaugurating a sewage treatment plan in Varanasi at around 2 pm on March 24, got wall-to-wall live coverage. At around the same time, news of Rahul Gandhi’s disqualification as an MP broke. Opposition parties, like mine, did not wait for phone-ins from television channels. We were creating our own “Breaking News” by posting our reactions on Twitter, Instagram, and Facebook.Yes, there is no use being a cry baby. No use sitting around complaining about pro-establishment reportage. Political parties in the Opposition will have to overcome these challenges through innovative ways. I feel, besides professional journalists and citizen journalists, the time is now ripe for “politician journalists” who must set the narrative in a proactive manner by creating compelling communication (even if it means shooting on personal mobile phones) and then amplifying the same beyond the legacy media.The eight years I spent in my twenties in the creative department of that brilliant advertising agency, Ogilvy & Mather, come in handy today. Generating political content that cuts the clutter is a challenge. We are moving to an era where political parties fighting the good fight will not wait for a guest relation executive from Noida to call a spokesperson to appear on prime time television. Where choreographed conclaves and soporific summits will be called out as advertorials for the ruling party. Where those taking on the Union government will create more ingenious media spaces to directly engage with the citizen.Look at what has been happening in the ongoing Budget Session. A minacious precedent is being set. MPs from the Treasury Benches are shouting slogans. The Union Budget, totalling an amount of Rs 45 lakh crore, was passed in just nine minutes. The very next day, the Finance Bill 2023 was also passed without any discussion. Scrutiny of Bills by Parliamentary committees has come down from a healthy 60 per cent to a dismal 13 per cent. Out of every 10 Bills passed, as many as four are Ordinances. In contrast, this number was two Ordinances out of 10 bills, 20 years ago. Bills are also being passed in a hurry. In the 2022 budget session, Lok Sabha utilised only 62 per cent of the time allocated by the Business Advisory Committee (BAC) for discussion, and Rajya Sabha utilised just 48 per cent. The last eight consecutive sessions of Parliament have been adjourned sine die before the scheduled date of closure.These serious issues about Parliament are not getting many centimetres of coverage in newspapers and are most often ignored by news channels. I do believe it’s the MPs from the Opposition parties who are being compelled to play the role of content creator and amplifier aka “politician journalists”.Parliament must not be allowed to be turned into a deep, dark chamber.Scribes covering Parliament are slowly being made to play diminishing roles by a government that wants total control. Senior editors, who till not so long ago had access to Central Hall, are now not allowed into this sanctum sanctorum. No political party has conducted a formal press conference in Parliament House in at least a few years. Entry of journalists has also been restricted; lots are drawn and those whose names come up are given entry passes. In the last few weeks we have noticed groups of school children being taken around Parliament on conducted tours. Very good. If the Covid restrictions have been lifted, let us get back to pre-Covid rules when it comes to journalists.Last week, I attended the equivalent of the Pulitzer Prize in India, the Ramnath Goenka Excellence in Journalism awards. After the awards ceremony, I hung around for more than an hour casually interacting with many of the journalists who had been felicitated. They were young. They were fearless. They gave me hope.The writer is Member of Parliament and Leader, All India Trinamool Congress Parliamentary Party (Rajya Sabha). Additional research by Pallavi Balakrishnan

It is time for Politican Journalists