QKolkata: Bengal BJP Split Over Mukul Roy; CID Notice to Ritabrata
Read The Quint’s compilation of top stories from Kolkata.
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1. Mukul Roy Quits All TMC Posts with "Heavy Heart"
Mukul Roy on Wednesday said he was ending his 19-year association with the Trinamool Congress with "a heavy heart and heavy pain" but stopped short of directly attacking party chief Mamata Banerjee.
Roy who quit from Rajya Sabha on Wednesday dropped broad hints at new political innings with the BJP. The former railway minister said he would take leave from politics for a few days and decide on his future after Diwali.
"Citing the good of the nation or so-called secularism, sometimes Trinamool is with the BJP, sometimes with the Congress. The party was formed to fight the Congress rule. If we now think that the country cannot survive without the Congress, the two parties should merge," said Roy.
(Source: The Telegraph)
2. BJP Bengal Unit Divided Over Inducting Mukul Roy
The BJP’s West Bengal unit appears divided on the issue of inducting former TMC MP Mukul Roy into the party, with some lauding his organisational skills and others expressing concern over the corruption charges that he faces.
Roy resigned on Wednesday from the Rajya Sabha and quit the Trinamool Congress (TMC), which had last month suspended him for six years for “anti-party activities”. State BJP president Dilip Ghosh lauded Roy as a “good organiser” and said he had made a “big contribution” to the growth of the TMC in Bengal.
“Nothing has been decided as of now as we are yet to take a call on this. But his departure from the TMC is good news for all of us who are fighting against the misrule of the TMC,” he said.
(Source: The Indian Express)
3. Gurung Loses Union Loyalty
The Gorkha Janmukti Morcha-affiliated union of casual staff at the Gorkhaland Territorial Administration on Wednesday dissolved its central committee dominated by pro-Bimal Gurung leaders.
The development was attributed to the realisation of the Janmukti Astai Karmachari Sangatan's central committee members that they would not be able to do much with Binay Tamang at the helm of the GTA.
One of the main demands of the union was that jobs of over 6,000 casual employees be made permanent. Sources said members of the union would hold a meeting in Darjeeling on Friday and a new central committee was likely to be formed with pro-Binay Tamang leaders.
(Source: The Telegraph)
4. Police Serves Notice To Ritabrata Banerjee After Woman Files Complaint
The West Bengal Police on Wednesday served a notice to expelled CPM leader Ritabrata Banerjee after a complaint by a woman that he had been intimate with her by promising marriage.
The notice asked Ritabrata Banerjee to turn up before CID officers on Friday, Additional Director General of Police, CID, West Bengal, Rajesh Kumar told news agency Press Trust of India.
The woman, who is a resident of Balurghat, has lodged a complaint at Balurghat police station in south Dinajpur district alleging that Ritabrata Banerjee had established physical relationship with her by promising marriage.
(Source: NDTV)
5. Dengue Second Spring in Deluge
Dengue continues to sting Calcutta and the heavy rainfall last Monday could make the outbreak worse if the civic authorities don't take "enough preventive measures", warn public health experts.
Hundreds of patients with dengue are undergoing treatment in hospitals across Calcutta. More than 140 dengue patients were admitted to the state-run Infectious Diseases Hospital in Beleghata on Wednesday alone.
Medica Superspeciality Hospital had 40 patients with dengue at last count while AMRI Salt Lake had 24, including four in a critical condition. Belle Vue Clinic had 14 patients, six less than Tuesday's figure.
(Source: The Telegraph)
6. Mamata Blames Centre for Unrest in Darjeeling Jhargram
West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee on Wednesday held the Centre responsible for the Darjeeling unrest and said the state government would not tolerate any rumour-mongering that might endanger peace.
Speaking at an administrative meeting held here this afternoon, she requested the people in the hills and the former Maoist stronghold of Jangalmahal not to pay heed to any form of instigation or rumours.
"There was peace in the (Darjeeling) hills. Due to Delhi's instigation, the peace was disturbed for a few days but peace has returned to the hills again," Banerjee alleged.
"I will request everybody not to pay heed to any form of rumours. You people have to protect the peace of Jangalmahal, I'm with you as your friend," she added.
In an apparent reference to the BJP, she accused the saffron party of creating differences in the country.
(Source: PTI)
7. Congress Logs in: To Scale up its Presence on Social Media Kolkata
The Congress is working on ways to woo the youth in West Bengal on social media sites, a move party leaders said would help it counter the BJP and Trinamool Congress's campaigns on the Internet.
The state unit of the Congress has been recruiting social media coordinators for each assembly, down to every booth, and is planning workshops for workers and leaders on the use of such websites.
The party has lagged behind the Trinamool Congress, the Left Front and the BJP when it comes to the use of social media sites for political campaigns in the state, West Bengal Congress social media coordinator Anupam Ghosh said.
"We have got clear directions from our party vice president Rahul Gandhi that we need to increase our social media presence in the state," Ghosh told PTI.
(Source: PTI)
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