A view of the Parliament building in New Delhi.
| Photo Credit: The Hindu

Ahead of the Monsoon Session of Parliament which begins on July 22, the Union government has called for an all-party meeting ahead of the Monsoon Session of Parliament, to be held at 11 a.m. on July 21. The Trinamool Congress (TMC) will skip the meeting, saying that July 21 is observed as Martyrs Day in Bengal in honour of 13 colleagues who were “unlawfully killed in a police firing on the same day in 1993”. 

This will be the first such meeting to be attended by newly-appointed Parliamentary Affairs Minister Kiren Rijiju and Leader of Opposition Rahul Gandhi. 

Also Read: President Droupadi Murmu prorogues both Houses of Parliament

The all-party meeting comes ahead of the presentation of the first Union Budget to be presented to the 18th Lok Sabha. The Opposition is expected to present its wishlist at the meeting, as will the Janata Dal (United) and Telugu Desam Party, the BJP’s key allies in the ruling NDA.

The TMC conveyed its inability to attend the meeting in a letter to from its Rajya Sabha Parliamentary leader Derek O’Brien to Mr. Rijiju. “For 30 years now, July 21 has been observed as Martyrs Day in Bengal in honour of our 13 colleagues who were unlawfully killed in a police firing on the same day in 1993,” Mr. O’Brien said, adding that all TMC MPs would be in West Bengal on the day and would not be able to attend the meeting. 

New Delhi:

The West Bengal government has filed a petition in the Supreme Court challenging Governor CV Ananda Bose’s refusal to give assent to eight bills. The state’s counsel, Astha Sharma, urged the court to list the petition for immediate consideration.

The controversy arose after Governor’s rejection of these bills without citing any reasons, prompting the Trinamool Congress-led government to argue that this action violates Article 200 of the Constitution. According to the state’s submission, denying approval to bills without providing grounds undermines democratic governance.

“The Governor’s oversight poses a threat to democratic governance and infringes upon the rights of the state,” argued the state’s lawyer.

Responding to the development, the Chief Justice stated that the Supreme Court will consider the matter.

Under fire over the chilling incident of mob justice in north Bengal’s Chopra, the ruling Trinamool Congress has said it has a zero tolerance policy on such crimes and launched a counterstrike by drawing parallels with BJP-ruled states and the previous CPM regime in Bengal.

“Trinamool Congress as a party and our government do not support what has happened in Chopra. Police have registered a case suo motu and arrested the main accused. The victim has been provided police security and if anyone else is involved, he won’t be spared,” said Dr Santanu Sen, senior Trinamool leader and former Rajya Sabha MP.

Launching a counter-attack on rivals, the Left and the BJP, he said many such incidents happened when the CPM was in power in Bengal. “But we never saw a CPM leader come out and say it was wrong. Similar incidents also keep happening in BJP-ruled states. But we have never heard a BJP leader say it’s wrong. This can only happen in Bengal because the Trinamool Congress has a zero tolerance policy and we don’t just say it, but we do it,” he said.

A shocking video in which a man is seeing thrashing a woman and another man in public as a crowd watches has triggered massive outrage and scathing criticism of the Mamata Banerjee government. The BJP and the CPM have targeted the Trinamool government and drawn parallels between the state’s law and order situation and a ‘kangaroo’ court.

The Opposition parties have alleged that the main accused, Tajemul, has links with local Trinamool MLA Hamidur Rahman. The MLA has denied any connection with the accused. He has said it was a village matter and not related to the party.

The woman in the video, it is learnt, had eloped with a man following an extramarital affair. The MLA described her as “characterless” while admitting that the “punishment was excessive”.

Main Opposition BJP has torn into the Trinamool Congress over the issue. BJP spokesperson Gaurav Bhatia told the media today that the West Bengal is now under “Taliban rule”. “Whether it is Sandeshkhali or poll violence or rape or murder, it is Mamata Banerjee’s responsibility. The state home ministry is under you and law and order has been razed, you must resign,” he said.

Mr Bhatia said the accused, Tajemul, is a Trinamool leader. “He is a habitual offender. He believes in quick justice, kangaroo court justice and he calls it insaf sabha.”

CPM, too, has raised the matter strongly. CPM state secretary and former MP Mohammed Salim tweeted yesterday, “Not even #KangarooCourt! Summary trial and punishment handed out by d @AITCofficial goon nicknamed JCB. Literally bulldozer justice at Chopra under @MamataOfficial rule.”

Mr Salim also said the man who shot the video has now been ousted from his home. “Such is the TMC’s rule in the liberated zone of Chopra under the supervision of @WBPolice,” he said. The CPM leader alleged that Tajemul is also an accused in a murder of a Left leader.

In a swipe aimed at both Trinamool and BJP, he said that the “Suvendu model” continues in Bengal. “Murderers remain at large, travesty of justice continues in Bengal. Courtesy: @MamataOfficial & @abhishekaitc Continuation of @SuvenduWB model,” he said.

Kolkata:

The Opposition in West Bengal has launched a scathing attack on the Mamata Banerjee-led government over a chilling video of a man beating up two people, including a woman, on a street as a crowd watches.

Opposition parties CPM and BJP have said the video is from Chopra in north Bengal’s Uttar Dinajpur district. The incident reportedly took place over the weekend. 

In the video, a man is seen repeatedly hitting a woman with sticks as a small crowd watches in silence. She screams in pain, but the assault continues. He then turns to a man and starts hitting him. Most members of the crowd, instead of trying to stop the assault, appear to be helping the assailant. At one point, the man grabs the woman by her hair and kicks her.

“Will Mamata Banerjee Act?” Left, BJP Flag Bengal ‘Street Justice’ Video https://t.co/YxNdkqHMA8@mickygupta84 reports pic.twitter.com/Vy0HTIegc3

— NDTV (@ndtv) June 30, 2024

According to CPM and BJP leaders, the assailant is local strongman Tajemul who has links with the Trinamool and is known to deliver “instant justice” for local disputes. It is not clear why the man and the woman in the viral video were being assaulted. Local police have said they have registered a case and are looking for the accused.

The Trinamool Congress has said that the accused, despite whatever his political affiliations are, “will not be spared”.

“What the BJP is saying is immaterial because they are politically bankrupt, they will say whatever they want to say. It’s a heinous crime. The Trinamool Congress doesn’t want to know who this guy is or what his political affiliations are. Whoever this guy is, the police are looking for him. The strictest arm of the law will be meted out to him. He will not be spared. He will be made an example as soon as he gets caught,” said Trinamool spokesperson Riju Dutta.

Main Opposition BJP has said this is the “ugly face of Mamata Banerjee’s rule in West Bengal”.

This is the ugly face of Mamata Banerjee’s rule in West Bengal.

The guy in the video, who is beating up a woman mercilessly, is Tajemul (popular as JCB in the area). He is famous for giving quick justice through his ‘insaf’ sabha and is a close associate of Chopra MLA Hamidur… pic.twitter.com/fuQ8dVO5Mr

— Amit Malviya (@amitmalviya) June 30, 2024

“The guy in the video, who is beating up a woman mercilessly, is Tajemul… He is famous for giving quick justice through his ‘insaf’ sabha and is a close associate of Chopra MLA Hamidur Rahaman,” Amit Malviya, head of the BJP’s IT cell and the party’s co-incharge for Bengal, said in a post on X. “India must wake up to the reality of Sharia Courts in TMC run West Bengal. There is a #Sandeshkhali in every village and Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee is a curse for women. There is no semblance of law and order in Bengal. Will Mamata Banerjee act against this monster or defend him like she stood up for Sheikh Shahjahan?” He also flagged the issue to the National Commission for Women.

The BJP leader’s post referred to the Sandeshkhali row during which sexual harassment, land grab and extortion allegations surfaced against local Trinamool leaders. Subsequently, a section of women alleged that the sexual harassment charge is untrue and that false complaints were filed in their names. Latching on to such statement, the Trinamool accused the BJP of cooking up an issue.

The video from Chopra was also flagged by CPM state secretary and former MP Mohammed Salim. “Not even #KangarooCourt! Summary trial and punishment handed out by d @AITCofficial goon nicknamed JCB. Literally bulldozer justice at Chopra under @MamataOfficial rule,” he said in a post.

Not even #KangarooCourt ! Summary trial and punishment handed out by d ⁦@AITCofficial⁩ goon nicknamed JCB.
Literally bulldozer justice at Chopra under ⁦@MamataOfficial⁩ rule. pic.twitter.com/TwJEThOUhi

— Md Salim (@salimdotcomrade) June 30, 2024

Mr Salim also said the man who shot the video has now been ousted from his home. “Such is the TMC’s rule in the liberated zone of Chopra under the supervision of @WBPolice,” he said. The CPM leader alleged that Tajemul is also an accused in a murder of a local Left leader.

In a swipe aimed at both Trinamool and BJP, he said that the “Suvendu model” continues in Bengal. “Murderers remain at large, travesty of justice continues in Bengal. Courtesy: @MamataOfficial & @abhishekaitc Continuation of @SuvenduWB model,” he said.

Kolkata:

Two newly-elected Trinamool Congress legislators, namely Sayantika Banerjee from Baranagar and Reyat Sarkar from Bhagawangola, ignored the invitation from West Bengal Governor CV Ananda Bose to go to Raj Bhavan and participate in the swearing-in ceremony.

Instead, the duo sat on a demonstration within the state Assembly premises and demanded that the Governor come there to administer the oaths.

Both carried posters saying, “Waiting for the arrival of Hon. Governor for oath” and also their certificates of election.

“I don’t know if I will be able to declare myself a legislator even after getting elected. I do not know whether I will be able to provide services to the people whose votes got me elected. The Governor should make it clear who will administer our oath and that should be intimated to the Assembly, which is supposed to be our workplace as MLAs,” Banerjee said.

“We want to take oath as MLAs. Hence we are waiting with our election certificates and other relevant documents. The Governor should ensure that we are able to participate in the oath ceremony,” Sarkar said.

The development creates grave uncertainty regarding the participation of Banerjee and Sarkar in the proceedings of the House as MLAs.

Raj Bhavan authorities have made it clear that as per constitutional provisions the Governor has the last word with regard to the oath ceremony and if any legislator participates in those proceedings without the Governor’s clearance, it can invite penalties.

The Speaker of the West Bengal Assembly has already said that if necessary he would draw the attention of President Murmu to the matter.

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

New Delhi:

The Trinamool Congress has decided to support Congress’s K Suresh in the rare election for Lok Sabha Speaker today, according to sources. The Mamata Banerjee-led party had yesterday said it was not consulted before K Suresh was fielded against NDA candidate Om Birla and had termed the decision “unilateral”.

Ms Banerjee’s nephew and Trinamool MP Abhishek Banerjee yesterday said, “We were not contacted about this, there was no discussion. Unfortunately, this is a unilateral decision.” Mr Suresh, however, clarified later that Trinamool’s Derek O’Brien and Kalyan Banerjee attended an INDIA bloc meeting last evening and “everything cleared up”.

Mr Birla, a three-time MP and Speaker in the last Lok Sabha, is clearly a frontrunner in this election. Seven MPs have not taken oath yet and the Wayanad seat in Kerala is vacant. This means 535 MPs are eligible to vote today, and 268 is the majority mark. The NDA candidate has the support of 293 MPs and four MPs from YSR Congress Party. The BJP, sources said, is reaching out to other MPs to cross the 300-mark.

The Opposition, on the other hand, has forced a contest to make a political point. Eight-term MP K Suresh has the support of 233 MPs (including Trinamool’s 29), 35 less than the majority mark. 

This is only the third election for the Lok Sabha Speaker’s post after Independence. The Speaker is generally chosen with consensus. This time, the government had reached out to Opposition parties for their support. Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge responded that it will support the NDA candidate if the Deputy Speaker is appointed from the Opposition benches. 

The government, however, made it clear that they are not considering a Deputy Speaker post, or the Opposition’s claim to it, for now. Parliamentary Affairs Minister Kiren Rijiju criticised the Congress for setting conditions. “We appealed to them for support for the Speaker but they said that they would support it but that they wanted the post of Deputy Speaker. We told them that the process of election for both posts is different. The process for choosing the Speaker is conducted before the Deputy Speaker. So it is not right to combine both.”

Congress’s Rahul Gandhi, who is now the Leader of the Opposition, said, “Rajnath Singh called Mallikarjun Kharge and asked him to extend support… entire Opposition said we will support but convention is Deputy Speaker should be from our side. Rajnath Singh said he would call back… but he has not yet…PM is asking for cooperation but our leader is getting insulted.”

It must be noted that the Deputy Speaker’s post, traditionally given to an Opposition MP, was vacant in the last Lok Sabha. In the one before that, the BJP had named its ally AIADMK’s M Thambi Durai.  

New Delhi:

West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerje’s Trinamool Congress has remained the shaky spot in the united Opposition front over the election of the Speaker. The party, which started the day with the complaint that they were not consulted about fielding a candidate, ended it by expressing its disapproval of the Congress decision and keeping the alliance on tenterhooks over its support to K Suresh.

At a meeting of the INDIA bloc at Congress chief Mallikarjun Kharge’s house on Tuesday evening, Trinamool expressed its reservation about the decision to go for a contest, sources said. On whether it would support K Suresh against the BJP candidate Om Birla, the party said they would convey their decision by 9 am today.

Sources said the party had argued that some of their members could not take oath and some Opposition MPs are in jail. So a contest at this point will only put then NDA strength on display.

The Congress’s eleventh-hour snap decision to field Mr Suresh and force a contest, had got it on the wrong side of Trinamool, which called the move “unilateral”.

Several hours and explanations later, the party thawed and attended the Opposition meet — only to express its reservations.

Ahead of the meeting, Congress’s Rahul Gandhi had spoken to Trinamool’s second-in-command Abhishek Banerjee and Mr Suresh had called the party to seek support.

The Congress said there was no time for consultation as they had decided to field a candidate just 10 minutes before the deadline. The part was irked by the BJP refusal to give the Opposition the post of the Deputy Speaker, or admit their claim to it.

This morning, the government, while seeking consensus for Om Birla, made it clear that they were not considering a Deputy Speaker post for now.

Congress’s Rahul Gandhi, who has accepted the responsibility of being the Leader of the Opposition, said, “Rajnath Singh called Mallikarjun Kharge and asked him to extend support… entire Opposition said we will support but convention is Deputy Speaker should be from our side. Rajnath Singh said he would call back… but he has not yet…PM is asking for cooperation but our leader is getting insulted.”

The Trinamool — which never had the best of relations with the Congress — had put its membership from the INDIA bloc on hold in the run-up to the polls after a dispute over seat sharing in Bengal.

After the election, they came back to the fold and today was the first day after the results, when unease crept into the alliance.

It was not Trinamool alone. Sources said after the meeting that alliance leaders had underscored that they were not informed about Sonia Gandhi’s decision to appoint her son Rahul Gandhi as the Leader of the Opposition.

The Trinamool Congress on Friday wrote to the Election Commission demanding action against BJP candidate Abhijit Gangopadhyay over his “misogynistic” comments against West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee.

A video circulating online purportedly shows the High Court judge-turned-politician targeting the Trinamool chief. However, the BJP has claimed that the video was fake and used by Trinamool to “malign” the party.  “This is a ploy by the TMC to release fake videos and malign the BJP. But that won’t make any difference in the elections,” BJP spokesperson Samik Bhattacharya told news agency PTI on Thursday.

In its letter, the Trinamool Congress hit out at the “very shameful and egregious statement” made by the BJP leader and alleged that comments showed the Tamluk candidate’s “misogynistic mindset”.

“Mr. Gangopadhyay’s vulgar and uncouth remark(s)/comment(s) are completely beyond the grounds of decency and morality. They not only lack decorum but also exhibit a blatant disregard of the only lady Chief Minister, Smt. Mamata Banerjee,” the letter read.

The letter also alleged that BJP candidates were making “indecorous and degrading statements” against women to garner votes.

The Trinamool Congress demanded that the poll body issue orders to initiate criminal proceedings against the Mr Gangopadhyay and ban him from attending public meetings or rallies. The letter also sought directions to be issued to BJP candidates, barring them from making “personal, objectionable and disgraceful” remarks.

The purported video triggered a row on Thursday after the Trinamool Congress alleged that the clip was another example of BJP’s “anti-women” stance amid the Sandeshkhali row.

In a press conference, Trinamool leader and West Bengal minister Shashi Panja said the party will take legal action against Mr Gangopadhyay. “He is a candidate and a former judge. He must be aware of the legal matters than most of us. Can a candidate use such words?” she said. 

Voting for the remaining constituencies of West Bengal will be held on May 20, May 25, and June 1. The votes will be counted on June 4.

Bhadohi:

Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Thursday said the Samajwadi Party and the Congress are trying out “Trinamool politics” in Uttar Pradesh, terming it the politics of appeasement and harassment of Dalits and women.

Attacking the INDIA bloc partners at an election rally in Bhadohi, where the opposition has fielded a Trinamool Congress (TMC) candidate, PM Modi said they were conducting a trial of West Bengal’s “TMC politics” in Uttar Pradesh.

“It is difficult for the Samajwadi Party and Congress to even save their deposit, so they are doing a political experiment in Bhadohi,” he said.

“Trinamool Congress politics means the murder of Hindus, harassment of Dalits and adivasis, and atrocities on women. So many BJP leaders were killed there and Trinamool MLAs say that they will kill Hindus by drowning them in the river Ganga,” PM Modi said.

“You know the kind of politics the TMC does in West Bengal,” the Prime Minister said.

The PM said the party’s politics included a “poisonous arrow of appeasement”, calling Ram temple “impure”, banning Ramnavami celebrations, sheltering Bangladeshi intruders and “vote jihad” – a term used by a Samajwadi Party candidate.

Under the previous Samajwadi Party government in the state, terrorists got special treatment and the government was kind towards the Students’ Islamic Movement of India (SIMI).

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

Kolkata:

The West Bengal BJP on Wednesday said it has approached the Election Commission (EC) demanding the cancellation of nominations of two Trinamool Congress candidates on the grounds of serious defects in their paper.

Speaking to media persons on Wednesday afternoon, BJP State General Secretary Jagannath Chattopadhyay said that the first one is Trinamool Congress candidate from Kolkata-Dakshin, Mala Roy, who is also the sitting MP from the constituency.

“Besides being an MP she is also the chairperson of Kolkata Municipal Corporation (KMC). This office is deemed to be an ‘office of profit’. She had filed her nomination this time without resigning from that post. Even if she says that she is not drawing any salary as the chairman of KMC, she will not be out of the ambit of that ‘office of profit,” Mr Chattopadhyay said.

The second candidate of Trinamool Congress, whose cancellation of nomination has also been demanded by the state BJP, is the ruling party candidate from Basirhat Lok Sabha in North 24 Parganas district, Haji Nurul Islam, who had been the Trinamool Congress MP from the same constituency from 2009 to 2014.

According to Mr Chattopadhyay, anyone filing the nomination and who had been in any government, legislative or parliamentary position before, has to produce the “no dues certificate” from the government for the last 10 years along with his nomination.

“However, Haji Nurul Islam has not submitted that ‘no dues certificate’. If you remember our first candidate for Birbhum Lok Sabha constituency, Debasish Dhar, a former Indian Police Service officer, got his nomination cancelled because he also could not produce that ‘no dues certificate’ from the state government, following which we had to change our candidate,” Mr Chattopadhyay said.

He said that already the BJP has approached the EC pointing out these deficiencies in the nominations of Ms Roy and Mr Islam. “We will go to the extreme point in the matter including the Supreme Court of India,” Mr Chattopadhyay said.

Till the time the report was filed, there was no reaction from Ms Roy, Mr Islam or any other Trinamool Congress leader on the issue.

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