For the third year running, the birth anniversary of Netaji Subhas Chandra Bose is an issue that the Trinamool Congress (TMC) and the BJP find themselves wrangling over in West Bengal.In the run-up to the West Bengal Assembly elections in 2021, the Centre announced that the birth anniversary of Netaji Subhas Chandra Bose on January 23 will be observed as “Parakram Diwas (Day of Valour)”, leading the TMC and the Forward Bloc to accuse the Narendra Modi government of using Netaji as a political prop ahead of the Assembly elections.Last year, faced flak from the TMC after the state’s proposed Republic Day tableau was dropped. The proposed tableau was set to commemorate the contributions of Bose and his army on his 125th birth anniversary year, Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee said in a letter to Modi in which she urged that the government reconsider its decision. Later, in September, the PM unveiled a 28-ft Netaji statue at India Gate.This year will see Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) sarsanghchalak Mohan Bhagwat address a rally at Shahid Minar in Kolkata to pay tribute to Bose. This, BJP insiders feel, will help consolidate its position among the Bengali middle class that will prove to be a crucial electoral constituency in the Lok Sabha elections next year. The popularity of a pan-Bengal icon like Netaji is also something that the BJP hopes to benefit from ahead of the coming panchayat elections.Sources in the RSS said Bhagwat will be in West Bengal on a five-day tour beginning January 18 and the event on Netaji’s birth anniversary will also be attended by noted personalities from West Bengal and neighbouring states.But, non-BJP parties reacted to the news of Bhagwat’s visit with scepticism. TMC state vice-president Jayprakash Majumdar said, “In 2021, an event on the birth anniversary of Netaji was held at Victoria Memorial that was attended by Prime Minister Narendra Modi. Everyone knew what had happened at that event. We have doubts about whether this event is being organised to pay respect to Netaji or get political dividends out of it ahead of the panchayat polls. It is also surprising to see Bhagwat attending this programme as RSS never showed respect to Netaji. They have always been an ardent follower of Veer Savarkar whom Netaji had refused to meet before Independence.”Senior CPI(M) leader Sujan Chakraborty targeted both the RSS and the TMC. “Mohan Bhagwat is free to come here and hold programmes. The RSS is growing in Bengal under the patronage of Mamata Banerjee. It is all well for the Sangh, but it is surprising to see them organising an event like this. The ideologies of Netaji and the RSS are poles apart. The RSS has always praised Syama Prasad Mukherjee and Netaji always was against Mukherjee. Then, how will Mohan Bhagwat talk about Netaji’s ideology? They are now glorifying Netaji to serve their political purposes.”Another senior CPI(M) leader said, “The BJP and the RSS are doing this not only for Bengal but also for our country as a whole. They want to propagate a ‘Hindu Netaji’ and posit his method of armed struggle in opposition to Mahatma Gandhi’s non-violence. This is dangerous.”But dismissing the rivals’ concerns, a senior BJP leader said, “Netaji has made a place for himself as a model hero among Bengalis. Praising Netaji will benefit us as it will help us with Bengali Hindu voters. Because of Congress’s Gandhian attitude, Netaji’s place in Indian history was diluted. Narendra Modi and the BJP-RSS are trying to correct that. What is wrong with it?”BJP spokesperson Samik Bhattacharya said, “The Sangh is not at all a political outfit. It is above politics. The task of the Sangh is to build a strong and prosperous nation. They do this work through cultural nationalism. So, this is nothing related to politics.”
For the third year running, the birth anniversary of Netaji Subhas Chandra Bose is an issue that the Trinamool Congress (TMC) and the BJP find themselves wrangling over in West Bengal.In the run-up to the West Bengal Assembly elections in 2021, the Centre announced that the birth anniversary of Netaji Subhas Chandra Bose on January 23 will be observed as “Parakram Diwas (Day of Valour)”, leading the TMC and the Forward Bloc to accuse the Narendra Modi government of using Netaji as a political prop ahead of the Assembly elections.Last year, faced flak from the TMC after the state’s proposed Republic Day tableau was dropped. The proposed tableau was set to commemorate the contributions of Bose and his army on his 125th birth anniversary year, Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee said in a letter to Modi in which she urged that the government reconsider its decision. Later, in September, the PM unveiled a 28-ft Netaji statue at India Gate.This year will see Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) sarsanghchalak Mohan Bhagwat address a rally at Shahid Minar in Kolkata to pay tribute to Bose. This, BJP insiders feel, will help consolidate its position among the Bengali middle class that will prove to be a crucial electoral constituency in the Lok Sabha elections next year. The popularity of a pan-Bengal icon like Netaji is also something that the BJP hopes to benefit from ahead of the coming panchayat elections.Sources in the RSS said Bhagwat will be in West Bengal on a five-day tour beginning January 18 and the event on Netaji’s birth anniversary will also be attended by noted personalities from West Bengal and neighbouring states.But, non-BJP parties reacted to the news of Bhagwat’s visit with scepticism. TMC state vice-president Jayprakash Majumdar said, “In 2021, an event on the birth anniversary of Netaji was held at Victoria Memorial that was attended by Prime Minister Narendra Modi. Everyone knew what had happened at that event. We have doubts about whether this event is being organised to pay respect to Netaji or get political dividends out of it ahead of the panchayat polls. It is also surprising to see Bhagwat attending this programme as RSS never showed respect to Netaji. They have always been an ardent follower of Veer Savarkar whom Netaji had refused to meet before Independence.”Senior CPI(M) leader Sujan Chakraborty targeted both the RSS and the TMC. “Mohan Bhagwat is free to come here and hold programmes. The RSS is growing in Bengal under the patronage of Mamata Banerjee. It is all well for the Sangh, but it is surprising to see them organising an event like this. The ideologies of Netaji and the RSS are poles apart. The RSS has always praised Syama Prasad Mukherjee and Netaji always was against Mukherjee. Then, how will Mohan Bhagwat talk about Netaji’s ideology? They are now glorifying Netaji to serve their political purposes.”Another senior CPI(M) leader said, “The BJP and the RSS are doing this not only for Bengal but also for our country as a whole. They want to propagate a ‘Hindu Netaji’ and posit his method of armed struggle in opposition to Mahatma Gandhi’s non-violence. This is dangerous.”But dismissing the rivals’ concerns, a senior BJP leader said, “Netaji has made a place for himself as a model hero among Bengalis. Praising Netaji will benefit us as it will help us with Bengali Hindu voters. Because of Congress’s Gandhian attitude, Netaji’s place in Indian history was diluted. Narendra Modi and the BJP-RSS are trying to correct that. What is wrong with it?”BJP spokesperson Samik Bhattacharya said, “The Sangh is not at all a political outfit. It is above politics. The task of the Sangh is to build a strong and prosperous nation. They do this work through cultural nationalism. So, this is nothing related to politics.”
The Opposition has a new bone to pick with the Mamata Banerjee government. Effective immediately, West Bengal has announced a revised mid-day meal menu for schools run by its government, with chicken and seasonal fruits to be served weekly, from January to April.Served a googly, which it cannot bat away outright in a state with few non-veg apprehensions, the Opposition pointed out that the period of the scheme coincides with the run-up to the panchayat elections in the state.West Bengal Education Minister Bratya Basu told The Indian Express that “paucity of funds” had made them restrict the scheme’s duration to four months. “Under the caring leadership of our Chief Minister, we have constantly strived to provide maximum benefits to students, and this gesture is one more step in that direction. We have introduced chicken and seasonal fruits from our savings. We would have been very happy to continue the menu throughout the year, but that would need much more funds which, sadly, we lack,” said Basu.According to the January 3 notification issued by the School Education Department, Rs 372 crore extra will be allocated to provide for the extra chicken and fruits, which will be additional to the usual menu of rice, potatoes, pulses, vegetables, soybean and eggs. The extra money per child enrolled in the mid-day now known as PM POSHAN is expected to be Rs 20 a week, for 16 weeks. The notification put the number of beneficiaries at over 1.16 crore students in state-run and aided schools.While the state and Centre share the cost of PM POSHAN in a 60:40 ratio, the notification underlined that the additional Rs 372 crore will be paid entirely from the state’s share.The scheme comes into force immediately, with the additional items to be served in different blocks on different days of the week.The panchayat polls, which are expected to see a heated contest between the ruling Trinamool Congress and BJP, are to be held in the month of April-May. Last time, the rural elections had been marked by widespread violence.Senior BJP leader Rahul Sinha said, “Why did the state government all of a sudden feel the need to introduce chicken and fruits in the mid-day meal scheme? This means that the CM has understood that the situation is dicey and her party will not fare well in the rural polls… The government is now offering chicken to divert people’s attention from real issues. The TMC is trying to buy people’s votes in exchange for chicken and fruits.”Senior CPI(M) leader Sujan Chakraborty too slammed the state government. “It is good that the state government has increased the allotment for mid-day meals. It was a long-standing demand of the people. But has the government done this to improve the quality of the meals or just because elections are around the corner?” Chakraborty said, adding that they would have no objections if the government extended the scheme to December.State Congress president Adhir Chowdhury said it was clear that the move was taken with an eye on the panchayat polls. “But we will not protest as we want the people of Bengal to have the best of things. However, please ensure that the move is corruption-free,” Chowdhury said.Questioning the Opposition’s objections, TMC Rajya Sabha MP Santanu Sen said it should not read politics into every government move. “I would tell the CPI(M) that it should keep its mouth shut as its government destroyed the education system in the state… To the BJP, I would say that first criticise your own government’s decisions. We saw how petrol and diesel prices were (kept low) before the Uttar Pradesh Assembly polls. Before the Gujarat elections, Prime Minister Narendra Modi inaugurated projects worth crores.”Criticising the BJP’s “narrow-mindedness”, Sen added: “It indulges in this type of politics. Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee works for the people throughout the year.”The introduction of chicken in Bengal is striking because measures to get eggs into mid-day meals in other states have faced resistance by some groups. Currently, eggs are served in mid-day meals in 13 states and three UTs as part of “additional food items”, with the states/UTs picking the tab. The frequency ranges from five days a week to once a month.In Madhya Pradesh, the previous Congress government’s decision to add eggs to the menu of anganwadis was overturned by the BJP after it came to power in 2020. In Karnataka, another BJP-ruled state, the proposal to add eggs has been fiercely resisted in the past by Lingayat and Jain seers.Meanwhile, Bengal Education Minister Basu had a counter-suggestion for the Centre: “We request it to provide us more funds so that we can continue with such best practices.”
THE Opposition has a new bone to pick with the Mamata Banerjee government. Effective immediately, West Bengal has announced a revised mid-day meal menu for schools run by its government, with chicken and seasonal fruits to be served weekly, from January to April.Served a googly, which it cannot bat away outright in a state with few non-veg apprehensions, the Opposition pointed out that the period of the scheme coincides with the run-up to the panchayat elections in the state.West Bengal Education Minister Bratya Basu told The Indian Express that “paucity of funds” had made them restrict the scheme’s duration to four months. “Under the caring leadership of our Chief Minister, we have constantly strived to provide maximum benefits to students, and this gesture is one more step in that direction. We have introduced chicken and seasonal fruits from our savings. We would have been very happy to continue the menu throughout the year, but that would need much more funds which, sadly, we lack,” said Basu.According to the January 3 notification issued by the School Education Department, Rs 372 crore extra will be allocated to provide for the extra chicken and fruits, which will be additional to the usual menu of rice, potatoes, pulses, vegetables, soybean and eggs. The extra money per child enrolled in the mid-day now known as PM POSHAN is expected to be Rs 20 a week, for 16 weeks. The notification put the number of beneficiaries at over 1.16 crore students in state-run and aided schools.While the state and Centre share the cost of PM POSHAN in a 60:40 ratio, the notification underlined that the additional Rs 372 crore will be paid entirely from the state’s share.The scheme comes into force immediately, with the additional items to be served in different blocks on different days of the week.The panchayat polls, which are expected to see a heated contest between the ruling Trinamool Congress and BJP, are to be held in the month of April-May. Last time, the rural elections had been marked by widespread violence.Senior BJP leader Rahul Sinha said, “Why did the state government all of a sudden feel the need to introduce chicken and fruits in the mid-day meal scheme? This means that the CM has understood that the situation is dicey and her party will not fare well in the rural polls… The government is now offering chicken to divert people’s attention from real issues. The TMC is trying to buy people’s votes in exchange for chicken and fruits.”Senior CPI(M) leader Sujan Chakraborty too slammed the state government. “It is good that the state government has increased the allotment for mid-day meals. It was a long-standing demand of the people. But has the government done this to improve the quality of the meals or just because elections are around the corner?” Chakraborty said, adding that they would have no objections if the government extended the scheme to December.State Congress president Adhir Chowdhury said it was clear that the move was taken with an eye on the panchayat polls. “But we will not protest as we want the people of Bengal to have the best of things. However, please ensure that the move is corruption-free,” Chowdhury said.Questioning the Opposition’s objections, TMC Rajya Sabha MP Santanu Sen said it should not read politics into every government move. “I would tell the CPI(M) that it should keep its mouth shut as its government destroyed the education system in the state… To the BJP, I would say that first criticise your own government’s decisions. We saw how petrol and diesel prices were (kept low) before the Uttar Pradesh Assembly polls. Before the Gujarat elections, Prime Minister Narendra Modi inaugurated projects worth crores.”Criticising the BJP’s “narrow-mindedness”, Sen added: “It indulges in this type of politics. Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee works for the people throughout the year.”The introduction of chicken in Bengal is striking because measures to get eggs into mid-day meals in other states have faced resistance by some groups. Currently, eggs are served in mid-day meals in 13 states and three UTs as part of “additional food items”, with the states/UTs picking the tab. The frequency ranges from five days a week to once a month.In Madhya Pradesh, the previous Congress government’s decision to add eggs to the menu of anganwadis was overturned by the BJP after it came to power in 2020. In Karnataka, another BJP-ruled state, the proposal to add eggs has been fiercely resisted in the past by Lingayat and Jain seers.Meanwhile, Bengal Education Minister Basu had a counter-suggestion for the Centre: “We request it to provide us more funds so that we can continue with such best practices.”
The year 2023 will be a lot like 2022. The first week into the new year and media channels and the eco-system that sustains them are spreading the myth that Prime Minister Narendra Modi is invincible — that 2024 is already a done deal for him. The only point of debate, according to this flawed narrative, is the margin of his party’s victory. Simply put, this is a (mis)reading of the political tea leaves.The BJP can be defeated in 2024. The way to do this is to convert the 2024 Lok Sabha polls into an aggregate of state elections. Let’s look at the data: The BJP has fared poorly wherever it has faced a strong party in a region (no, I’m not using the term “regional party” because some of these are, in fact, recognised national parties). If you extrapolate the assembly results of Himachal Pradesh, Punjab, West Bengal, Tamil Nadu, Kerala, Andhra Pradesh, or Telangana to the national level you’ll find the BJP struggling to touch the 240-seat mark.Of course, he is beatable. You all know what happened in May 2021 in West Bengal. Make no mistake, the faces of the BJP campaign were Modi and Shah. The near three-fourth majority that the All India Trinamool Congress (TMC) won, immediately energised the opposition ranks, which had turned listless and despondent after the 2019 Lok Sabha elections. The Bengal win showed quite unequivocally that the BJP election machine could be made to stall by focusing on local issues and by delivering on promises made and kept to the electorate of the state.The BJP won 18 seats in West Bengal in the 2019 Lok Sabha elections. You don’t need to be a TMC partisan to wager that “the world’s largest party” will be lucky to win half-a-dozen seats from Bengal in 2024. That’s minus 12 for BJP and plus 12 for the Opposition, a net gain of 24 seats. The prognosis for the BJP in Bihar is similar.The results in these two states alone will take the BJP’s tally below the majority mark. You do not need a grand one-size-fits-all opposition alliance with a “face” at the national level. You need strategic alliances with the right parties in different states. For example, in Maharashtra, Uddhav Thackeray must be the face of the Shiv Sena-NCP-Congress alliance. In Tamil Nadu, M K Stalin and the DMK must be the lead player in a combine that includes the Congress and the communists. Akhilesh Yadav’s Samajwadi Party will have to be the pivot in Uttar Pradesh. And in Rajasthan, Karnataka, Chhattisgarh and Madhya Pradesh, Rahul Gandhi and the Congress will have to take on the BJP. It is also an important, almost necessary, condition for the Congress to win the Karnataka assembly polls in 2023. They will. A win in the southern state in 2023 will be just the tonic the Opposition needs before 2024.“Team Opposition” has the broad contours of a strategy in place for 2024. Strong competent chief minister(s) or ex-CMs versus a Prime Minister who has failed to deliver on his promises, all of which missed the self-declared deadline of 2022: Houses for all, a five trillion-dollar economy, the bullet train, electricity/water in every house and more.Let’s examine the broken promise to double farmers’ income by 2022. To achieve that, incomes needed to grow by 10 per cent every year from 2015 to 2022. Adjusted for inflation, the actual growth in farmer incomes has been just three per cent. Or take the hot air on jobs. The reality is that 22 crore people have applied for government jobs since 2014, and only seven lakh got jobs. These are not my numbers; these are figures tabled on the floor of Parliament by the Union government.Even as the faces that confront the PM will vary from state to state, the issues raised will be the same — price rise, unemployment and the lack of communal harmony — all of which add up to incompetent governance. This will be the primary messaging from the Opposition. For any kind of communication, political or brand, or public service, there cannot be two primary messages.The opposition parties would also need strong secondary messaging (don’t get me wrong when I say secondary, it is an equally important issue but has less mass appeal) which will be the breakdown of institutions: Parliament, investigative agencies and the media to name a few.So, these will be the two focus areas when the opposition parties take the BJP government head-on in 2024. There will be naysayers who say this cannot be done. I will only point them in the direction of the 2004 Lok Sabha elections. That, too, was an aggregate of state polls. Then, like now, there was no “national face” to take on Atal Bihari Vajpayee, who was at the peak of his popularity and widely expected to return to power. There’s another similarity. BJP’s “New India” slogan now is eerily similar to its “India Shining” slogan then. The people of India had then rallied to defeat the BJP. Narendra Modi would not have forgotten that.The writer, Member of Parliament and Leader, All India Trinamool Congress Parliamentary Party (Rajya Sabha)
The year 2023 will be a lot like 2022. The first week into the new year and media channels and the eco-system that sustains them are spreading the myth that Prime Minister Narendra Modi is invincible — that 2024 is already a done deal for him. The only point of debate, according to this flawed narrative, is the margin of his party’s victory. Simply put, this is a (mis)reading of the political tea leaves.The BJP can be defeated in 2024. The way to do this is to convert the 2024 Lok Sabha polls into an aggregate of state elections. Let’s look at the data: The BJP has fared poorly wherever it has faced a strong party in a region (no, I’m not using the term “regional party” because some of these are, in fact, recognised national parties). If you extrapolate the assembly results of Himachal Pradesh, Punjab, West Bengal, Tamil Nadu, Kerala, Andhra Pradesh, or Telangana to the national level you’ll find the BJP struggling to touch the 240-seat mark.Of course, he is beatable. You all know what happened in May 2021 in West Bengal. Make no mistake, the faces of the BJP campaign were Modi and Shah. The near three-fourth majority that the All India Trinamool Congress (TMC) won, immediately energised the opposition ranks, which had turned listless and despondent after the 2019 Lok Sabha elections. The Bengal win showed quite unequivocally that the BJP election machine could be made to stall by focusing on local issues and by delivering on promises made and kept to the electorate of the state.The BJP won 18 seats in West Bengal in the 2019 Lok Sabha elections. You don’t need to be a TMC partisan to wager that “the world’s largest party” will be lucky to win half-a-dozen seats from Bengal in 2024. That’s minus 12 for BJP and plus 12 for the Opposition, a net gain of 24 seats. The prognosis for the BJP in Bihar is similar.The results in these two states alone will take the BJP’s tally below the majority mark. You do not need a grand one-size-fits-all opposition alliance with a “face” at the national level. You need strategic alliances with the right parties in different states. For example, in Maharashtra, Uddhav Thackeray must be the face of the Shiv Sena-NCP-Congress alliance. In Tamil Nadu, M K Stalin and the DMK must be the lead player in a combine that includes the Congress and the communists. Akhilesh Yadav’s Samajwadi Party will have to be the pivot in Uttar Pradesh. And in Rajasthan, Karnataka, Chhattisgarh and Madhya Pradesh, Rahul Gandhi and the Congress will have to take on the BJP. It is also an important, almost necessary, condition for the Congress to win the Karnataka assembly polls in 2023. They will. A win in the southern state in 2023 will be just the tonic the Opposition needs before 2024.“Team Opposition” has the broad contours of a strategy in place for 2024. Strong competent chief minister(s) or ex-CMs versus a Prime Minister who has failed to deliver on his promises, all of which missed the self-declared deadline of 2022: Houses for all, a five trillion-dollar economy, the bullet train, electricity/water in every house and more.Let’s examine the broken promise to double farmers’ income by 2022. To achieve that, incomes needed to grow by 10 per cent every year from 2015 to 2022. Adjusted for inflation, the actual growth in farmer incomes has been just three per cent. Or take the hot air on jobs. The reality is that 22 crore people have applied for government jobs since 2014, and only seven lakh got jobs. These are not my numbers; these are figures tabled on the floor of Parliament by the Union government.Even as the faces that confront the PM will vary from state to state, the issues raised will be the same — price rise, unemployment and the lack of communal harmony — all of which add up to incompetent governance. This will be the primary messaging from the Opposition. For any kind of communication, political or brand, or public service, there cannot be two primary messages.The opposition parties would also need strong secondary messaging (don’t get me wrong when I say secondary, it is an equally important issue but has less mass appeal) which will be the breakdown of institutions: Parliament, investigative agencies and the media to name a few.So, these will be the two focus areas when the opposition parties take the BJP government head-on in 2024. There will be naysayers who say this cannot be done. I will only point them in the direction of the 2004 Lok Sabha elections. That, too, was an aggregate of state polls. Then, like now, there was no “national face” to take on Atal Bihari Vajpayee, who was at the peak of his popularity and widely expected to return to power. There’s another similarity. BJP’s “New India” slogan now is eerily similar to its “India Shining” slogan then. The people of India had then rallied to defeat the BJP. Narendra Modi would not have forgotten that.The writer, Member of Parliament and Leader, All India Trinamool Congress Parliamentary Party (Rajya Sabha)
Warning media outlets of legal action for spreading “fake news”, Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee on Thursday said the Howrah-New Jalpaiguri Vande Bharat Express was pelted with stones in Bihar and not in West Bengal.Claiming that the Vande Bharat is a “refurbished train with only a new engine”, Banerjee said legal action would be taken against those media outlets which were spreading the “fake news” that the stone-pelting incident took place in West Bengal and brought a bad name to the state.“The job of the media is to keep insulting Bengal and Bengalis. I condemn those who keep insulting us. We will find a solution to get rid of fake news that keeps being spread against Bengal,” she added.The Vande Bharat Express was on Tuesday pelted with stones for the second consecutive day after it was inaugurated by Prime Minister Narendra Modi on December 30.Eastern Railways CPRO Ekalabya Chakraborty said that the CCTV footage shows that the first incident took place in Malda and the next day in Kishanganj.“After scanning footage, it was found that Tuesday’s stone-pelting incident on Vande Bharat Express took place in Kishanganj in Bihar at 12:55pm. Efforts were underway to nab the perpetrators. The exact spot where the two incidents took place had already been identified,” he said.The first incident caused a glass door to crack, while the second damaged windows. No injuries to passengers, however, were reported in the incidents. FIRs have been lodged in both cases and an awareness campaign started to prevent a recurrence of such incidents, the official said.“The vandalism of Vande Bharat Express did not take place in Bengal. CCTV footage from the railways shows that the incident took place in Bihar. The people of Bihar may be angry as they, too, want a Vande Bharat Express for their state. However, if a few people are upset about the democracy in our country, it doesn’t mean we can insult the entire state of Bihar. I believe the people of Bihar deserve a Vande Bharat Express. Just because the BJP is not in power there anymore, doesn’t mean they should be vindictive and not allow the Vande Bharat Express in that state,” Banerjee told reporters before leaving for Sagar Island on Thursday.Calling Vande Bharat an old train with new paint, Banerjee said, “What this Vande Bharat Express is? They painted a fresh coat on an old train. Only the engine seems to be new. Many old rakes have been withdrawn if you can notice. During my tenure as the Union Railways Minister, I used to inaugurate over 100 trains in a year, while in the past 11 years, not a single new train was introduced (to Bengal), except for the Vande Bharat Express.”The CCTV cameras installed on the train showed that it was passing through Bihar when stones were pelted on Vande Bharat. “We have received information about a stone-pelting incident that took place in Kishanganj on January 3. A few men have been captured by the cameras, but none has been identified yet,” said an Easter Railway official, adding that it is still not clear who threw stones and for what purpose.Reacting to Mamata’s claim, BJP all-India vice-president and Bengal leader Dilip Ghosh said, “How would we know where the incident took place in Bihar? Two incidents have been reported on consecutive days. The first incident was reported from Malda and then from Kishanganj. The two places are very close. Can we deny that such incidents are not new to Bengal?” “Earlier, Purulia Express was pelted with stones. Such incidents are happening all over Bengal. During the protests over the Citizenship Act, the railways lost Rs 250 crore in Bengal,” added Ghosh. “Eastern Railway officials have admitted that the incident of stone pelting on the Vande Bharat took place in Bihar and not in Bengal. BJP leaders are lying to malign Bengal as their desperate attempt to do communal politics have gone futile,” tweeted Devanshu Bhattacharya, TMC spokesperson and party’s state in charge for the social media and IT cell.Demanding BJP’s apologies, another TMC spokesperson Kunal Ghosh said, “Since day one we have been repeatedly saying that Trinamool doesn’t promote or support such acts and we have condemned the incident. But BJP without knowing the facts pointed guns at the TMC intending to malign the image of the TMC and the state. We all know that the train passes Bihar’s Kishanganj. It is the railway which is saying that the stone pelting took place in Mangurjan under Kishanganj police station area. So, all BJP leaders who have been speaking on it for the past two days should apologise.”“Stone pelting incidents are going down in Kashmir while rising in Bengal,” said BJP spokesperson Shamik Bhattacharya.
West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee on Thursday claimed that the Vande Bharat Express was pelted with stones in neighbouring Bihar, and not her state.She said legal action will be taken against those media outlets that spread “fake news” that the incidents took place in West Bengal, bringing a bad name to the state.“Vande Bharat was pelted with stones in Bihar and not in West Bengal. We will take legal action against those media outlets that telecast fake news that the incident took place in West Bengal and brought a bad name to our state,” Banerjee told reporters before leaving Sagar Island.“Vande Bharat is nothing special. It is just an old train refurbished with a new engine,” he said.Banerjee concluded her two-day visit to the island to oversee the preparations for the Gangasagar Mela that begins on January 8.The Howrah-New Jalpaiguri Vande Bharat Express was on Tuesday pelted with stones for the second time, days after it was inaugurated by Prime Minister Narendra Modi.Railway authorities on Thursday claimed they have identified those who threw stones at the train.The incident sparked a slugfest between the BJP and Trinamool Congress.
Unidentified miscreants Monday pelted stones at the newly-launched Howrah-New Jalpaiguri Vande Bharat Express in north Bengal’s Malda. The incident took place in Kumarganj of Malda district when the Howrah-New Jalpaiguri Vande Bharat Express train was on the second day of its journey.According to the Railways, a door on the right side of room C-13 was damaged due to stone pelting. No one has been arrested in the incident.Prime Minister Narendra Modi on December 30 inaugurated the Vande Bharat Express virtually from Gujarat. The passenger movement started on Sunday.Eastern Railway Chief Public Relations Officer Eklavya Chakraborty told Express, “It’s a social evil. We are trying our level best to address this through regular campaigns. The Railway Protection Force (RPF) is also regularly doing such exercises to appeal to people not to throw stones at trains. It still continues in some places. Such incidents have, however, come down with regular awareness campaigns. As far as this incident is concerned, the police have been informed, they are looking into it with the help of RPF. It is a law and order issue.”Chakraborty also mentioned how at one time it was very common on local trains in the Park Circus area.The incident has sparked a massive uproar from political parties in the state.The ruling Trinamool Congress has hinted at some “conspiracy” behind the incident.“First by throwing stones and then highlighting it, the BJP may be behind all this. Could be a conspiracy. They are trying to malign Bengal. Also, in Uttar Pradesh, there is a double engine ‘Sarkar’, yet Vande Bharat has been attacked thrice. Why is there no probe by the National Investigation Agency (NIA) being demanded? Why are the BJP leaders not tweeting about it? We strongly condemn the incident and attack on Vande Bharat. It could also be some cheap politics to malign Bengal,” said Kunal Ghosh, TMC’s spokesperson.The BJP, however, alleged the involvement of the TMC in the incident. “At least they should condemn the incident. Public property is being damaged. Their (TMC’s) tone suggests its involvement,” said BJP’s national vice-president Dilip Ghosh.BJP’s West Bengal president Sukanta Majumdar blamed the TMC for the incident and alleged that it could be a revenge for raising “Jai Shree Ram” slogan during the launch programme.Amit Malviya who is in charge of BJP’s national Information and Technology Department took to Twitter to attack West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee following the incident.“Bengal desperately needs world-class infrastructure, connecting North to South. Mamata Banerjee has been an unmitigated disaster when it comes to acquiring land for critical infrastructure projects like roads and airports. Now she can’t even secure the Vande Bharat! Shame on her,” Malviya tweeted.The Congress, meanwhile, termed the incident an insult to Bengal. “If there is politics behind it then I condemn it in strong words. Train is our property. We common people pay tax, we pay for travelling on trains. Such things must be stopped,” said senior Congress leader Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury.High drama played out at the launch of the Vande Bharat Express on Friday when West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee had refused to go up on the stage after the BJP supporters greeted the Bengal CM by shouting ‘Jai Shri Ram’ upon her arrival.PM Modi flagged off the Vande Bharat Express connecting Howrah and New Jalpaiguri and a slew of other projects worth Rs 7,800 crore in the state on Friday.
Ahead of the coming Assembly elections, the poll season in the Northeast is heating up, with Union Home Minister Amit Shah dropping in for a visit to Tripura and Nagaland this week. Along with Meghalaya, the two states are scheduled to hold elections next month.The high-profile visits, following soon after Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s tour of Tripura and Meghalaya last month, signals the BJP’s early push in a region where it now is part of the ruling coalition in most states, in some form or another.In Tripura, Shah flagged off the BJP campaign with a rath yatra, its first for the state, to highlight its government’s achievements, after dislodging the CPI(M) from power after five years.Shah used his speech to make a special mention of the contribution of the Manikya royal dynasty to Tripura – an obvious gesture directed at royal scion Praydut Roy Barman Debbarma, whose TIPRA Motha is among the ruling alliance’s growing worries. The tribal party is rising from strength to strength at a time when the BJP’s tribal ally, IPFT, is beset with problems.The BJP is also fighting fissures at home, having replaced its sitting Chief Minister Biplab Deb overnight with a low-profile Manik Saha, who is having problems pulling his weight.Now, the BJP is facing the prospect of rivals Left and Congress coming together to fight it jointly, which will be a big blow to the party.In Meghalaya, where the BJP is in a ruling coalition with the National People’s Party (NPP), the ties between them are strained. The impression that the BJP is anti-Christian has been hard to shrug off, with misgivings of the community further strengthened after the surfacing of a letter by the Assam Police Special Branch, seeking information from local police stations in BJP-ruled Assam on religious conversions and the number of churches in the state.As the Opposition went to town with the letter, citing it as proof of the BJP’s “anti-Christian” sentiments, Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma – the party’s Northeast face — issued a statement distancing himself from the move.The most vocal Opposition party against the BJP in the state is the Trinamool Congress (TMC), a new entrant to the Meghalaya arena. It has a popular leader in the form of former CM and ex-Congress leader Mukul Sangma, who can help the party, especially in his home turf of Garo Hills, which sends as many as 24 MLAs to the 60-member Assembly.The TMC, however, is beleaguered by its own image problem. Many in the state see it as a “Bengali” party, a tag with severe implications in a region long roiled by anti-outsider – specifically anti-Bangladeshi – agitations.In December, West Bengal CM and TMC supremo Mamata Banerjee visited Meghalaya – her first since the party became a force to reckon with in the state. The party is expected to release its list of candidates later this week.The TMC’s rise has been at the cost of the Congress which, once a formidable force in the state, will face polls in Meghalaya this time with zero sitting MLAs. All its 17 MLAs have deserted it, with the last five joining the NPP last year and two more former leaders set to join another regional party, the United Democratic Party.Part of the government despite having only two MLAs, the BJP is lately enjoying a boost, with four prominent MLAs joining it in the last month or so.Nagaland, the other state headed for polls next month in the Northeast, will again see an election in the shadow of the long-awaited final settlement to the Naga political question. It was in hope of this that all parties here had joined hands in 2021 to form an Opposition-less government – the United Democratic Alliance.However, the Naga People’s Front (NPF), which once ruled the state, has announced that it will be contesting the election alone and against the BJP-National Democratic Progressive Party (NDPP), headed by the veteran Neiphiu Rio. Like in 2018, both parties have announced a pre-poll alliance, with the BJP set to contest 20 seats and the NDPP the remaining 40.Before the poll season begins, the ruling government has been served an ultimatum by the Eastern Nagaland Peoples’ Organisation (ENPO), representing the six remote and backward eastern districts of Tuensang, Mon, Longleng, Kiphire, Noklak and Shamator. They have threatened to boycott the elections unless their demand for a separate state called Frontier Nagaland is met.The Nagaland Cabinet earlier this week appealed to the ENPO to reconsider their demand, but the outfit remains steadfast. The ENPO representatives met with Union Home Ministry officials in Guwahati on Thursday. During his visit to Nagaland, Shah too is expected to hold talks with the ENPO.Meanwhile, news agency PTI reported that the Centre Thursday sanctioned Rs 12,882 crore – under the Ministry of Development of North Eastern Region (DoNER) – for continuation of development schemes in the region. The funds were greenlit following a Cabinet meeting chaired by PM Narendra Modi.Minister for DoNER G Kishan Reddy said the development of the Northeast was a “major priority”for the Centre.
Ahead of the coming Assembly elections, the poll season in the Northeast is heating up, with Union Home Minister Amit Shah dropping in for a visit to Tripura and Nagaland this week. Along with Meghalaya, the two states are scheduled to hold elections next month.The high-profile visits, following soon after Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s tour of Tripura and Meghalaya last month, signals the BJP’s early push in a region where it now is part of the ruling coalition in all states, in some form or another.In Tripura, Shah flagged off the BJP campaign with a rath yatra, its first for the state, to highlight its government’s achievements, after dislodging the CPI(M) from power after five years.Shah used his speech to make a special mention of the contribution of the Manikya royal dynasty to Tripura – an obvious gesture directed at royal scion Praydut Roy Barman Debbarma, whose TIPRA Motha is among the ruling alliance’s growing worries. The tribal party is rising from strength to strength at a time when the BJP’s tribal ally, IPFT, is beset with problems.The BJP is also fighting fissures at home, having replaced its sitting Chief Minister Biplab Deb overnight with a low-profile Manik Saha, who is having problems pulling his weight.Now, the BJP is facing the prospect of rivals Left and Congress coming together to fight it jointly, which will be a big blow to the party.In Meghalaya, where the BJP is in a ruling coalition with the National People’s Party (NPP), the ties between them are strained. The impression that the BJP is anti-Christian has been hard to shrug off, with misgivings of the community further strengthened after the surfacing of a letter by the Assam Police Special Branch, seeking information from local police stations in BJP-ruled Assam on religious conversions and the number of churches in the state.As the Opposition went to town with the letter, citing it as proof of the BJP’s “anti-Christian” sentiments, Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma – the party’s Northeast face — issued a statement distancing himself from the move.The most vocal Opposition party against the BJP in the state is the Trinamool Congress (TMC), a new entrant to the Meghalaya arena. It has a popular leader in the form of former CM and ex-Congress leader Mukul Sangma, who can help the party, especially in his home turf of Garo Hills, which sends as many as 24 MLAs to the 60-member Assembly.The TMC, however, is beleaguered by its own image problem. Many in the state see it as a “Bengali” party, a tag with severe implications in a region long roiled by anti-outsider – specifically anti-Bangladeshi – agitations.In December, West Bengal CM and TMC supremo Mamata Banerjee visited Meghalaya – her first since the party became a force to reckon with in the state. The party is expected to release its list of candidates later this week.The TMC’s rise has been at the cost of the Congress which, once a formidable force in the state, will face polls in Meghalaya this time with zero sitting MLAs. All its 17 MLAs have deserted it, with the last five joining the NPP last year and two more former leaders set to join another regional party, the United Democratic Party.Part of the government despite having only two MLAs, the BJP is lately enjoying a boost, with four prominent MLAs joining it in the last month or so.Nagaland, the other state headed for polls next month in the Northeast, will again see an election in the shadow of the long-awaited final settlement to the Naga political question. It was in hope of this that all parties here had joined hands in 2021 to form an Opposition-less government – the United Democratic Alliance.However, the Naga People’s Front (NPF), which once ruled the state, has announced that it will be contesting the election alone and against the BJP-National Democratic Progressive Party (NDPP), headed by the veteran Neiphiu Rio. Like in 2018, both parties have announced a pre-poll alliance, with the BJP set to contest 20 seats and the NDPP the remaining 40.Before the poll season begins, the ruling government has been served an ultimatum by the Eastern Nagaland Peoples’ Organisation (ENPO), representing the six remote and backward eastern districts of Tuensang, Mon, Longleng, Kiphire, Noklak and Shamator. They have threatened to boycott the elections unless their demand for a separate state called Frontier Nagaland is met.The Nagaland Cabinet earlier this week appealed to the ENPO to reconsider their demand, but the outfit remains steadfast. The ENPO representatives met with Union Home Ministry officials in Guwahati on Thursday. During his visit to Nagaland, Shah too is expected to hold talks with the ENPO.Meanwhile, news agency PTI reported that the Centre Thursday sanctioned Rs 12,882 crore – under the Ministry of Development of North Eastern Region (DoNER) – for continuation of development schemes in the region. The funds were greenlit following a Cabinet meeting chaired by PM Narendra Modi.Minister for DoNER G Kishan Reddy said the development of the Northeast was a “major priority”for the Centre.
Senior Trinamool Congess (TMC) leader Mukul Roy, 68, who has been keeping a low profile since his return to the Mamata Banerjee-led party from the BJP one-and-a-half years back, has returned to the spotlight now.BJP leader Suvendu Adhikari, who is the Leader of Opposition (LoP) in the West Bengal Assembly, has claimed that close on the heels of the TMC’s victory in the 2021 state polls, Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee wanted Mukul Roy as the LoP and had even conveyed this wish to then Governor Jagdeep Dhankhar, who is currently the Vice-President. Roy was then with the BJP.Speaking to reporters at Uluberia in Howrah district last Monday, Adhikari said, “Let me give you an undisclosed information. Then Governor Jagdeep Dhankhar had informed me that Mamata Banerjee met him on May 3, 2021, two days before taking oath as CM (for the third consecutive time), and said that he must pass a message to Delhi that Mukul Roy should be the Leader of Opposition. Since the BJP central leadership did not accept the proposal, the CM got bitter towards us.”Once considered as No. 2 in the TMC and Mamata’s close confidant, Roy, following his switch to the BJP in 2017, went on to become the saffron party’s top leader in Bengal. He was also appointed as the BJP’s national vice-president.Roy was a key leader behind the BJP’s Bengal strategy for the 2019 Lok Sabha polls, which saw the saffron party winning 18 of the state’s total 42 seats.In the 2021 Assembly polls, Roy contested from the Krishnanagar Uttar Assembly seat in Nadia district, apparently against his wishes as he preferred to work at the organisational level. He managed to win but the BJP lost the polls.In June 2021, one month after the TMC clinched the polls in a landslide, Roy returned to his erstwhile party. However, he did not resign as an MLA and still continues as a BJP legislator on paper.Following his return to the TMC fold, the Bengal Assembly Speaker, Biman Banerjee, named him as the head of the Public Accounts Committee (PAC), a post that is traditionally allotted to an Opposition nominee.As Roy did not resign as the BJP MLA, Suvendu Adhikari moved a disqualification petition against him before the Speaker under the anti-defection law. In February last year, the Speaker dismissed Adhikari’s plea, following which he challenged the former’s order in the Calcutta High Court.On April 11 last year, the high court set aside the Speaker’s order and restored the matter for his fresh consideration. The Speaker then again heard Adhikari’s petition seeking Roy’s disqualification, rejecting it on June 8. Later, Roy resigned from the PAC chairman’s post due to his health problem.Roy has hit the headlines now following Adhikari’s “disclosure” about Mamata’s “LoP wish” for him. Since his return to the TMC, Roy has been lying low, avoiding limelight and public activities. While the TMC leaders attribute it to his “ill health”, party sources said, “Roy has resumed his role as a party strategist, working behind the scenes.”Sources also said Roy held a meeting with Mamata at her residence in Kolkata’s Kalighat a few months ago, when the party was under intense pressure following the arrest of heavyweight TMC leaders and ministers in connection with various scams. With Panchayat polls just round the corner, Roy is likely to play a role in shaping the party’s strategy at the grassroots level, they added.The TMC rejected Adhikari’s “disclosure” as unfounded. “Adhikari’s December deadline (that the Mamata government will cease to exit by December 2022) has turned out to be a damp squib. He is thus trying to create a sensation in the media by making such baseless claims. He has lost his mind out of frustration and has become a loose canon,” charged TMC state general secretary Kunal Ghosh.The BJP also declined to comment on the LoP’s claim. “It is his (Adhikari’s) personal comment. He is the best person to tell more about it,” said a senior party leader.
Senior Trinamool Congess (TMC) leader Mukul Roy, 68, who has been keeping a low profile since his return to the Mamata Banerjee-led party from the BJP one-and-a-half years back, has returned to the spotlight now.BJP leader Suvendu Adhikari, who is the Leader of Opposition (LoP) in the West Bengal Assembly, has claimed that close on the heels of the TMC’s victory in the 2021 state polls, Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee wanted Mukul Roy as the LoP and had even conveyed this wish to then Governor Jagdeep Dhankhar, who is currently the Vice-President. Roy was then with the BJP.Speaking to reporters at Uluberia in Howrah district last Monday, Adhikari said, “Let me give you an undisclosed information. Then Governor Jagdeep Dhankhar had informed me that Mamata Banerjee met him on May 3, 2021, two days before taking oath as CM (for the third consecutive time), and said that he must pass a message to Delhi that Mukul Roy should be the Leader of Opposition. Since the BJP central leadership did not accept the proposal, the CM got bitter towards us.”Once considered as No. 2 in the TMC and Mamata’s close confidant, Roy, following his switch to the BJP in 2017, went on to become the saffron party’s top leader in Bengal. He was also appointed as the BJP’s national vice-president.Roy was a key leader behind the BJP’s Bengal strategy for the 2019 Lok Sabha polls, which saw the saffron party winning 18 of the state’s total 42 seats.In the 2021 Assembly polls, Roy contested from the Krishnanagar Uttar Assembly seat in Nadia district, apparently against his wishes as he preferred to work at the organisational level. He managed to win but the BJP lost the polls.In June 2021, one month after the TMC clinched the polls in a landslide, Roy returned to his erstwhile party. However, he did not resign as an MLA and still continues as a BJP legislator on paper.Following his return to the TMC fold, the Bengal Assembly Speaker, Biman Banerjee, named him as the head of the Public Accounts Committee (PAC), a post that is traditionally allotted to an Opposition nominee.As Roy did not resign as the BJP MLA, Suvendu Adhikari moved a disqualification petition against him before the Speaker under the anti-defection law. In February last year, the Speaker dismissed Adhikari’s plea, following which he challenged the former’s order in the Calcutta High Court.On April 11 last year, the high court set aside the Speaker’s order and restored the matter for his fresh consideration. The Speaker then again heard Adhikari’s petition seeking Roy’s disqualification, rejecting it on June 8. Later, Roy resigned from the PAC chairman’s post due to his health problem.Roy has hit the headlines now following Adhikari’s “disclosure” about Mamata’s “LoP wish” for him. Since his return to the TMC, Roy has been lying low, avoiding limelight and public activities. While the TMC leaders attribute it to his “ill health”, party sources said, “Roy has resumed his role as a party strategist, working behind the scenes.”Sources also said Roy held a meeting with Mamata at her residence in Kolkata’s Kalighat a few months ago, when the party was under intense pressure following the arrest of heavyweight TMC leaders and ministers in connection with various scams. With Panchayat polls just round the corner, Roy is likely to play a role in shaping the party’s strategy at the grassroots level, they added.The TMC rejected Adhikari’s “disclosure” as unfounded. “Adhikari’s December deadline (that the Mamata government will cease to exit by December 2022) has turned out to be a damp squib. He is thus trying to create a sensation in the media by making such baseless claims. He has lost his mind out of frustration and has become a loose canon,” charged TMC state general secretary Kunal Ghosh.The BJP also declined to comment on the LoP’s claim. “It is his (Adhikari’s) personal comment. He is the best person to tell more about it,” said a senior party leader.
PANAJI: Activists and environmentalists have begun to galvanise people to oppose the Centre’s decision to approve the detailed project report (DPR) for the Kalasa-Bandura project, which will permit Karnataka to divert water from the Mhadei river basin.Activists issued an ultimatum to chief minister Pramod Sawant, demanding his resignation if he cannot convince the Centre to withdraw the approvals granted to Karnataka. The activists have also announced that they will launch an agitation under the Save Goa Save Mhadei banner from January 16 to put pressure on the Centre. Goa’s opinion poll is remembered on January 16.“I appeal to the Goa chief minister to issue an ultimatum, and if by January 16 he cannot get the approval for the DPR withdrawn, then he must resign. He must make this bold statement,” said former ABVP member and Progressive Front of Goa leader Hrudaynath Shirodkar.The Trinamool Congress also held a token protest at Azad Maidan, where they slammed the Centre for ignoring Goa’s concerns.“Goans need to come on the road and start protesting because the BJP has betrayed the state for the sake of their party, for the sake of electoral gains in Karnataka. The Centre and the Goa government have taken Goans for granted,” said TMC joint convener Samil Volvaikar.Volvoikar said that TMC will back any organisation or NGO that launches an agitation to create awareness about this issue.Historian and heritage activist Prajal Sakhardande urged Goans and political parties to unite under Save Goa Save Mhadei to put pressure on the Centre and on the BJP. “The chief minister still has a chance to prevail on the Central government... all parties, everyone should come together now,” said Sakhardande.TMC’s South Goa chairman Jorson Fernandes said that the party will “fight to protect Mhadei river”.“Shripad Naik has said that he is ready to resign, but Sawant has not said anything like this. What is the BJP government in Goa doing? Sawant should respectfully resign on January 16 and if he does not, then we will launch an agitation,” said Shirodkar.Meanwhile, social activist Xencor Polji appealed to the Kannadigas who live in Goa to petition the Karnataka government not to go ahead with the Kalasa-Bandura project.
Panaji: The state cabinet on Monday resolved to urge the Centre to withdraw the approval granted to the detailed project report (DPR) of the Kalasa-Bhandura (canal) drinking water project on Mhadei. “An all-legislative party delegation will meet Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Union home minister Amit Shah to explain the state's stand on the Mhadei issue so that there is no injustice to the state,” Sawant said. He said that on January 5, the Supreme Court will hear the Mhadei matter.The state cabinet resolved to demand the Union government form Mhadei Water Management Authority to stop illegal diversion of water. “Even if the case is pending in the apex court, Mhadei authority should be constituted and all such DPRs should be submitted to the authority in the future. We will continuously follow up with the PM and the home minister till the authority is constituted,” Sawant said.Reiterating that Mhadei is more than his mother, the CM appealed to all people to stand united to fight the Mhadei battle.The state cabinet took five decisions on the Mhadei issue. “From day one we have opposed the diversion of water from Mhadei basin, and we are firm on it, and we have decided not to allow diversion of water out of Mhadei basin,” Sawant said this is the first cabinet decision.He said that the Mahadayi water tribunal has allowed Karnataka to take 3.9tmc water from the Mhadei basin and this has been challenged in the Supreme Court.The chief minister said that the cabinet resolved to issue notice to the Karnataka wildlife board under Wildlife Protection Act that they cannot divert flowing water in the sanctuary.Advocate general Devidas Pangam explained the Mhadei issue in detail to the cabinet ministers. Sawant said that the government has never given up on the Mhadei issue.The chief minister said, “The state will continue to fight with the Centre as well as the neighbouring state of Karnataka and also in the Supreme Court over the Mhadei issue.”He said that the state government will not compromise on the Mhadei issue with the ministry of jal shakti. “A lot of people think that the government is not serious but that is not the case. We continue to hold meetings over the issue, but only we don’t convey it to the public,” Sawant said.He said that they have asked the Centre to provide a copy of the DPR of the Kalasa-Bhandura drinking water project on Mhadei.“We have received the official memorandum and the same has been studied by the legal and technical team. After studying the memorandum, we have come to know where we can raise objections and where we can stop them. We have prepared the strategy, but it cannot be revealed in public. We will legally and technically challenge the memorandum,” the chief minister said.He said that sanctuaries in Goa and Karnataka depend on Mhadei water and people of the state even require it for drinking. Sawant said that Karnataka cannot start work as they have to take necessary permissions.Reacting to the Fatorda MLA Vijai Sardesai claim that he was summoned to Delhi by the Prime Minister to inform him about the Union government’s approval for the DPR, Sawant said that Sardesai is misleading the people and the Mhadei issue was not discussed with the PM.
