Kolkata:

The tussle between Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee and Governor CV Ananda Bose was tarnishing the image of West Bengal, state Congress president Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury said on Sunday.

Speaking to reporters on the defamation suit filed by Bose against Banerjee at Calcutta High Court, Mr Chowdhury said the allegations made by the chief minister were stunning and an investigation should take place.

“The CM should provide evidence to back her claims. Let there be a proper investigation,” he said.

Instead of making allegations, an impartial inquiry must be initiated into the claims by both sides, and appropriate action be taken as per law, he said.

“These allegations and counter-allegations are tarnishing the image of West Bengal. This is nothing but a shameful episode,” Mr Chowdhury said.

(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)

Kolkata:

Senior Congress leader Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury rubbished reports that he has resigned as the president of the West Bengal Pradesh Congress Committee.

According to the Congress’ constitution, presidents of all state units have become temporary chiefs after Mallikarjun Kharge was elected as the party’s national chief.

“I am the provisional president of the state Congress. Since the day Mallikarjun Kharge became the All India president, no other state in India has had a president,” Mr Chowdhury said.

He said it was surprising that the media were cooking up stories that he had resigned.

According to the organisational structure of the Congress, when the All India President changes, the new chief appoints presidents to the regional units.

Mr Kharge became Congress president in 2022. But keeping in mind the Lok Sabha polls of 2024, the party did not change the presidents in any state.

Meanwhile, AICC general secretary Ghulam Ahmad Mir, who was in Kolkata to review the party’s performance in Bengal in the just-concluded general elections, also indicated that someone other than Mr Chowdhury could be named as the new president of the party in the state.

“New faces are coming to the organisation all over the country. But who will be made the provincial president in Bengal will be decided after talking to everyone,” he said following the review meeting on Friday.

(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)

Kolkata:

The Congress’ Bengal boss, Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury, on Thursday weighed in on the ‘is she, isn’t she’ debate over Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee’s membership of the INDIA opposition bloc.

Responding to her “… will provide outside support (if the group wins the election)” comment Wednesday, Mr Chowdhury declared, “I don’t trust her… she left the alliance. She can also go towards the BJP.”

“What she will do from outside (the alliance) or inside… I don’t know. That you have to ask her,” the Congress leader told reporters, “But I don’t trust her. She left the alliance… she could even run to BJP.”

Mr Chowdhury – there is little love lost between him and Ms Banerjee, a fact underlined by the latter yesterday explicitly stating “… INDIA alliance doesn’t count Bengal Congress…” – also said, “Whatever complaints she has (about the bloc) she should have raised earlier, when it was created.”

#WATCH | West Bengal: On CM Mamata Banerjee’s remarks “will support INDIA bloc from outside to form govt at Centre”, Congress MP Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury says, “I don’t trust her. She left the alliance and ran away. She can also go towards the BJP… They were talking about… pic.twitter.com/F3unHSUfD6

— ANI (@ANI) May 16, 2024

Mr Chowdhury further pointed out the apparent U-turn came after polling for nearly 70 per cent of all Lok Sabha seats, with the opposition bloc claiming big advances in its bid to oust the ruling BJP.

“They (referring to the BJP) were talking about destroying Congress and that Congress would not get 40 seats… but now (what) she is saying means Congress and INDIA are coming to power,” he said, appearing to suggest Ms Banerjee’s about-face followed a realisation the BJP will likely be defeated.

A day earlier Ms Banerjee – who had put her membership of the bloc on hold after public spats over seat-sharing deals – declared she would provide “outside support” in the event of an election win.

READ | Mamata Banerjee Redefines INDIA, Says Will Provide “Outside Support”

“We will give leadership to INDIA and help… from outside. We will form a government so our Bengal mothers and sisters… and those who work in 100-days job scheme do not face problems,” she said.

This afternoon, at a poll rally in Tamluk, Ms Banerjee underlined her position, saying, “I am very much part of INDIA… it was my brainchild. We are together at national level and will continue to be together.”

Ms Banerjee did, though, make it clear – yesterday and today – that she does not see the Congress’ state unit and the CPM, as allies. The Congress and the CPM, which is also part of the INDIA bloc, are allied in Bengal (but rivals in Kerala), but have fielded candidates against the Trinamool.

The Bengal Chief Minister has frequently attacked the Mr Chowdhury-led Congress unit, and the CPM, as having unofficially joined the BJP. “They are not with us… they are with the BJP here.”

Earlier this year, as the Congress was scrambling to confirm seat-share deals with INDIA allies ahead of voting for the 2024 Lok Sabha election, Ms Banerjee – seen as one of the group’s more cantankerous members – refused to play ball, insisting she would not give up more seats to that party than necessary.

READ | “No Tie-Up With Congress”: Mamata’s Bengal Twist Stuns INDIA Bloc

She pointed to the Congress’ abysmal record in the 2019 election – in which it won just two of 42 seats – and insisted her party had the best chance to defeat the BJP in the state.

Bengal has 42 Lok Sabha seats, of which the Trinamool won 22 last time and the BJP got 18, and Ms Banerjee reasoned the Congress simply did not have the clout to stop the saffron party in the state.

After a tension-filled few weeks in January and February, Ms Banerjee walked away from the bloc.

READ | “Even With Binoculars…”: Trinamool Sources On Congress’ 5-Seat Demand

Sources then told NDTV they could not find a third seat for the Congress “even with binoculars”.

This was after Ms Banerjee and the Congress’ Delhi unit failed to advance seat-share talks, and she hit out at what she said was a personal snub from Rahul Gandhi’s ‘Bharat Jodo Nyay Yatra’.

The Congress then said the opposition “cannot imagine INDIA without Mamataji“.

READ | “Cannot Imagine INDIA Without Mamataji“: Congress On “No Tie-Up” Jab

Amidst all this back-and-forth, Mr Chowdhury continued to attack the Trinamool, declaring Ms Banerjee – a former member of the Congress – owed her state success to the party’s “mercy”. In fact, Mr Chowdhury was fiercely opposed to the idea of an alliance with Ms Banerjee and the Trinamool.

READ | Behind INDIA Jolt, Adhir Ranjan’s Obstinacy, Trinamool’s Regional Card

The battle for Bengal is one of several headline points, with the BJP keen on continuing to make inroads into the state after its success in the 2019 general election and the 2021 state poll. Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Home Minister Amit Shah, and Ms Banerjee have all gone head-to-head on the campaign trail, with frequent sharp attacks on contentious topics like the citizenship law.

The state will continue to vote in each of the three remaining phases. Results are due on June 4.

With input from agencies

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New Delhi:

Congress leader Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury’s “we have Proto Australoids… Mongoloid… Negrito (in India)” comment – referring to now-outdated racial and anthropological groupings of humankind – triggered a fresh row Thursday, a day after Sam Pitroda’s “North Indians look like white (people)… South Indians look like Africans” remark spawned a furious pushback from the BJP and accusations of disrespecting Indians based on skin colour.

“We have Proto Australoids, Mongoloids, (and) Negrito class of people. Hai to hai (It is how it is) … in the demography of our country, regional features are different. What someone said (referring obliquely to Mr Pitroda’s comment) is his opinion…” Mr Chowdhury said.”But it is true some people are white…and some are dark.”

Mr Chowdhury’s statement – seen as an attempt to defend Mr Pitroda after his racist remarks – has been slammed by the BJP, with Shehzad Poonawalla also dredging up the row over the Bengal Congress boss’ comments about President Droupadi Murmu in July 2022. 

READ | Congress Leader’s Written Apology To President For ‘Rashtrapatni’ Remark

“It shows the words are from Sam Pitroda and the soch (way of thinking) is of the Congress. Calling Indians ‘Negrito’… Is this justifying comments by Uncle Sam (a jibe at the United States-based Mr Pitroda)? Is this why they did not sack him? Will they sack Adhir… who in the past said ‘rashtrapatni’ for Droupadi Murmuji?” Mr Poonawala raged.

Adhir Ranjan crosses the limits

In defending Sam Pitroda he calls Indians (Negro or Negrito/Negrita )
Safed, Kala !

Both words are offensive https://t.co/YSzE7DaJAX

It shows that the words are Sam Pitroda but soch is of Congress

Calling Indians as Chinese / African/… pic.twitter.com/9v0Uf0ChEd

— Shehzad Jai Hind (Modi Ka Parivar) (@Shehzad_Ind) May 9, 2024

The Congress has not yet responded to Mr Chowdhury’s comment.

On Wednesday an excerpt from Mr Pitroda’s interview with The Statesman was circulated online, in which he described India as a “… diverse country… where people in the East look like Chinese… people in the North look like, maybe, white (people) and people in the South look like Africans”.

READ | “South Indians Look Like Africans…”: Sam Pitroda Embarrasses Congress Again

The Congress distanced itself from the remark – which followed another equally controversial comment by Mr Pitroda about inheritance taxes – but not before it drew a furious response from Prime Minister Narendra Modi, who said the country “won’t tolerate disrespect on the basis of the colour of skin”.

READ | PM’s Retort To Sam Pitroda’s Racist Flub, BJP Leaders’ ‘Look Indian’ Posts

Repeating his “shehzade (prince)” barb for Mr Gandhi, he said, “Shehzade, you will have to answer. The country will not tolerate the disrespect of our countrymen on the basis of the colour of skin…”

READ | Sam Pitroda Quits After Landing Congress In New Mess Over Racist Remark

Hours after the comment Mr Pitroda quit as chief of the Congress’ overseas unit. Party comms boss Jairam Ramesh said the resignation was “of his (Mr Pitroda’s) own accord”.

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Kolkata:

Hitting out at West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee for not contesting in partnership with the INDIA bloc partners in her state, senior Congress leader Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury questioned why the Trinamool Congress (TMC) supremo had not put any condition regarding him when she was striking the alliance.

“Why did not Mamata Banerjee put a condition in the beginning that if Adhir Chowdhury is in, she will not be in the INDIA bloc? Why did she not say that because of Adhir Chowdhury she was forced to leave INDIA bloc?” Mr Chowdhury said, speaking at a joint press conference with Communist Party of India (Marxist) leader Biman Bose on Sunday.

Claiming that he was made into a sacrificial goat for the failure of the INDIA bloc in West Bengal, the West Bengal Congress chief questioned why Ms Banerjee did not speak about her opposition to him (Adhikari) earlier, especially when everyone is aware of his criticism of the TMC chief.

“I have always been critical of Mamata Banerjee. Then why did she not think of it earlier? Time and space dimension is a crucial aspect of political assessment. What is the time when the incident is taking place. And why Adhir Chowdhury is being made a sacrificial goat? Everyone knows about my opposition to Mamata Banerjee,”  Mr  Chowdhury said.

Mr Chowdhury claimed that Ms Banerjee is “surrendering: herself to the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) to protect her nephew and party General Secretary Abhishek Banerjee from the central investigative agencies.

“You (Mamata Banerjee) are surrendering yourself to PM Modi to defend Khokababu (Abhishek Banerjee) from ED, CBI…Bengal’s Khokababu is now being washed in Modi’s washing machine just like 25 other opposition leaders were forgiven by Modi’s CBI, ED, Income Tax after they joined his party,” the Congress leader said.

Speaking about Mamata Banerjee’s earlier alliance with the National Democratic Alliance (NDA), Adhikari said, “If you look at our country’s political history you may notice that in 1999, Mamata Banerjee had joined hands with BJP. She was also a Minister in their government.”

He also blamed the Chief Minister for the BJP’s increasing footprint in the state during Mamata Banerjee’s tenure.

“Secondly, the party which floursihed the most while Mamata Banerjee was in power in Bengal is BJP. In 2011, there were only 400-450 RSS branches in West Bengal. Today, the number has gone up to 12-13 thousand. So who helped the BJP?” he said.

The state Congress chief also said that both the TMC and the BJP gain if there is polarisation of votes in the state.

“In 2021 elections, only the BJP and the TMC profited. They wanted to spread the fear of CAA, NRC. They want the polarisation of votes in Bengal because only these two parties profit from it,” he said.

Continuing to establish the relation between Ms Banerjee and the BJP, he said that the Chief Minister is an “opportunist” leader.

“The relationship between Mamata Banerjee and the BJP is well known. In Delhi, Mamata Banerjee was one of the tallest speakers at an RSS convention…Mamata Banerjee reasons that not all leaders in the BJP are communal. She says that Lal Krishna Advani, Atal Bihari Vajpayee and Rajnath Singh are not communal. The rest of them are communal…She is just an opportunist leader,” the Congress leader said.

On Mamata Banerjee’s position about her association with the INDIA bloc, Adhikari said, “She wants to oppose INDIA bloc in Bengal but when it comes to forming the government, she will again take a different stand and be part of the INDIA bloc…She is a politician who may be called persona non grata in political jargon.”

Though the TMC is part of the INDIA bloc, it does not have a seat-sharing arrangement with the other parties in the alliance, like Congress and the Left parties in the state.

In the 2014 Lok Sabha elections, the TMC won 34 seats in the state, while the BJP had to settle for just 2 seats. The CPI (M) won 2 seats, while the Congress bagged 4.

However, the BJP came up with a much-improved showing in the 2019 polls, winning 18 seats against the TMC’s 22. The Congress’s tally dropped to just 2 seats, while the Left scored a blank.

(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)

Lokpal orders CBI probe into charges against Mahua Moitra

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Congress poll panel clears Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury, Kharge’s son-in-law as Lok Sabha candidates

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New Delhi:

Bureaucrats Sukhbir Singh Sandhu and Gyanesh Kumar have been chosen for the two vacant posts in the top panel of Election Commission of India, Congress’s leader in Lok Sabha Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury told the media this afternoon.

Mr Chowdhury was part of the panel chaired by Prime Minister Narendra Modi to select two Election Commissioners to assist Chief Election Commissioner Rajiv Kumar as the poll body prepares for the upcoming Lok Sabha election. Besides the Prime Minister and Mr Chowdhury, Union Home Minister Amit Shah was on the panel.

The Congress leader hit out at the Centre over the law that replaced the Chief Justice of India by a Union Minister on the selection committee. “The Chief Justice of India should have been on this committee,” he said, adding that the law brought last year had reduced the meeting to a “formality”. “The government is in the majority on the panel. What they want happens.”

The Congress leader said he was given 212 names for scrutiny last night. “I had asked for a shortlist so that I can examine the candidates. But I did not get that opportunity. I reached Delhi at midnight and the meeting was at noon today. I was given 212 names, how can someone examine so many candidates in a day? Ten minutes before the meeting, I was given a shortlist of 6 names,” he said.

“It was fait accompli that the chosen two will be selected. However, I tried to intervene in an appropriate manner so as to bolster the institution. That’s why, before my arrival in Delhi, I sought a shortlist. They gave me a list of all candidates, numbering 212. Now you can imagine if, in a single night, it is humanly possible for me to examine 212 names and find out the most competent person among them,” he said.

The Congress leader said he had given a dissent note, questioning the procedure of selection.

Mr Chowdhury also referred to Arun Goel’s resignation as Election Commissioner, which has sparked a row. “When Mr Goel was appointed, the Supreme Court had made a ‘lightning speed’ remark. He came with a lightning speed and left with digital speed,” he said.

Mr Sandhu and Mr Kumar are retired IAS officers of the 1988-batch. While Mr Sandhu is from the Uttarakhand cadre of IAS, Mr Kumar is from the Kerala cadre.

Mr Sandhu has earlier held key government positions, including the Chief Secretary of Uttarakhand and chairman of the National Highways Authority of India. Mr Kumar has served as secretary in the Ministry of Parliamentary Affairs and the Amit Shah-led Ministry of Cooperation.

The two officers have been chosen for the Election Commissioner posts a day before the Supreme Court hears petitions challenging the selection process.

In the current process, a search committee led by the Law Minister prepares a shortlist. Then, a selection panel led by the Prime Minister and comprising the Leader of the Opposition in Lok Sabha and a Union Minister makes the final choice.

The Supreme Court had in March last year ruled that the panel must have the Prime Minister, the Chief Justice of India and the Leader of the Opposition in Lok Sabha. But the Centre thereafter brought a law to replace the Chief Justice by a Union Minister. The change has tilted the process in the favour of the Centre.

The Association for Democratic Reforms and Congress leader Jaya Thakur have challenged the process in Supreme Court and the matter will be heard tomorrow.

Murshidabad (West Bengal):

West Bengal state Congress president Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury on Monday challenged Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee to contest from the Berhampore Lok Sabha seat in the upcoming polls and defeat him.

He went a step further, daring her and her nephew Abhishek Banerjee to contest from Berhampore adding that the loss of Trinamool Congress (TMC) candidate will denote the defeat of the chief minister.

Mr Chowdhury stated, “I challenge Mamata Banerjee to engage in the electoral battle from Berhampore and emerge victorious against me. 

Alternatively, if she opts not to participate, she should nominate Abhishek Banerjee or announce that if the Congress candidate wins that would mean defeat of TMC supremo. She can employ all available resources to secure a victory, while I rely solely on the people’s support. Let’s see who wins.”

This comes after Trinamool Congress, fielded former cricketer Yusuf Pathan from the Behrampore seat. Mr Chowdhury has been a Member of Parliament from Behrampore, which has a Muslim majority population, since 1999.

Mr Chowdhury also alleged that Mamata Banerjee will never go against Prime Minister Narendra Modi. Notably, earlier on Sunday TMC announced to contest all the 42 seats from West Bengal, a move that widened the cracks within INDIA bloc ahead of upcoming Lok Sabha polls.

“Didi is clear that she would not directly contest against PM Modi and BJP. She would never do anything to embarrass the Prime Minister of the country. If the INDIA bloc is broken then PM Modi would be most happiest person and Didi would never do anything to go against him. When the PM came to Raj Bhavan, Mamata Banerjee went to meet him,” he alleged.

He further alleged that whatever happened in Sandeshkhali was only the tip of an iceberg and alleged that the entry was barred in the area so that the truth does not come out.

The Congress leader also claimed that West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee’s main aim is to defeat Adhir Chowdhury at any cost, even if it means BJP wins.

“Adhir Chowdhary must be defeated at any cost. Mamata Banerjee has no problem if the BJP wins instead, that’s why Yusuf Pathan was nominated from here,” he said.

In the previous Lok Sabha polls, the TMC won 22 seats, while the BJP sprung a major surprise, winning 18 seats. The Congress won the remaining two seats.

In 2019, the BJP-led National Democratic (NDA) won a total of 303 seats, leaving the grand-old party behind at 52 seats.
The Lok Sabha polls are expected to be held in April-May this year.

(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)

New Delhi:

The absence of the words “socialist, secular” in English copies of the Constitution distributed to MPs yesterday has provoked a massive controversy a day after the special session officially moved to parliament’s new building.

The opposition has called it an “attack” on the Constitution.

Reacting to the charge, Law Minister Arjun Meghwal said the copies featured the “original version” of the Preamble of the Constitution. “When the Constitution came into being, it did not have the words ‘socialist, secular’. These words were included in the 42nd amendment of the Constitution in 1976,” he pointed out.

The comment fueled more protests as the opposition accused the government of sneaking in a big change without following due process. The Hindi copies of the Constitution, however, had the correct version, which raised questions about whether the “change” was inadvertent or deliberate.

“The new copies of the Constitution that were given to us, the one we held in our hands and entered (the new Parliament building), its Preamble doesn’t have the words ‘socialist secular’,” Congress leader Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury said, questioning the intentions of the ruling BJP.

“We know that the words were added after an amendment in 1976, but if someone gives us the Constitution today and it doesn’t have those words, it is a matter of concern. Their intention is suspicious. It has been done cleverly. This is a serious matter and we will raise this issue,” he said.

“I doubt their intentions as their heart does not seem to be clear on this,” added Mr Chowdhury, the leader of the Congress in Lok Sabha.

Binoy Viswam of the CPI-M called the omission a “crime”.

Copies of the Constitution were distributed in a gift bag handed to MPs on the opening day of the new parliament building.

The preamble of the Constitution originally described India as a “sovereign, democratic republic”.

During the Emergency imposed by the Indira Gandhi-led Congress government, several changes were pushed through the 42nd amendment, and this included adding the words “socialist” and “secular” between “sovereign” and “democratic” and changing “unity of the nation” to “unity and integrity of the nation”.

In 1978, many of the changes were reversed but the amended preamble stayed.

In 1994, the Supreme Court said “secularism” is part of the basic structure doctrine, which means that certain basic characteristics cannot be erased.

Once an amendment is notified, the old Constitution should cease to be printed, opposition leaders said. Any change to the Constitution, therefore, would be tampering, they asserted.

New Delhi:

The leader of the Congress in the Lok Sabha, Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury, raised concerns over the alleged attack on the constitution by saying that new copies of the Constitution that were handed to the politicians on the opening day of the new Parliament building don’t have the words ‘socialist secular’. 

“The new copies of the Constitution that were given to us today (19th September), the one we held in our hands and entered (the new Parliament building), its Preamble doesn’t have the words ‘socialist secular’,” he said while speaking to ANI on Tuesday.   

He further added, “We know that the words were added after an amendment in 1976, but if someone gives us the Constitution today and it doesn’t have those words, it is a matter of concern.”

He alleged, “Their intention is suspicious. It has been done cleverly. It is a matter of concern for me.”

Mr Chowdhury said, “I tried to raise this issue, but I did not get an opportunity to raise this issue.”

Earlier While speaking in the Lok Sabha at the new Parliament complex on the second day of the five-day special session on Tuesday, Congress leader Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury said that nobody should try to create an unnecessary rift between ‘India’ and ‘Bharat’ as there is no difference between the two as per the Constitution of India.

“This Constitution is no less than the Gita, Quran, and Bible for us. Article 1 says, “India, that is, Bharat, shall be a Union of States…” It means that there is no difference between India and Bharat. It will be better if nobody tries to unnecessarily create a rift between the two,” he said.  

The controversy was triggered after the invitation for the G20 dinner was sent out in the name of the President of ‘Bharat’ and not India.  

The debate started after Union minister Dharmendra Pradhan shared on X, formerly Twitter, a G20 dinner invite in which Droupadi Murmu was described as ‘President of Bharat’.

(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)