MP, 6 May 2024, Kolkata: Case against the Calcutta High Court’s verdict cancelling appointments of 25,753 teaching and non-teaching staff will be heard by the Supreme Court on May 7.
The matter was listed to be heard on Monday. According to a news agency, the Chief Justice of India (CJI) asked the counsels to prepare a sequence of arrangements amongst themselves to make orderly submissions before the bench.
Hence, the matter will be taken up for hearing on May 7. In the earlier hearing which took place on April 29, the Supreme Court stayed CBI probe with regard to the state government officials involved in approving supernumerary posts to accommodate illegal appointments and to take such persons into custodial interrogation if necessary.
However, the Apex Court turned down the prayer for stay of High Court’s direction to cancel the appointments of 25,753 candidates, which includes both teaching and non-teaching staff who were appointed in 2016.
The petition filed by the state government, West Bengal Central School Service Commission and affected employees will be heard by a Bench comprising Chief Justice of India DY Chandrachud, Justice JB Pardiwala and Justice Manoj Misra. Ever since the judgement by the special bench of Justice Debangsu Basak and Justice Md. Shabbar Rashidi, the candidates who lost their jobs and claim to have been appointed in a ‘fair’ manner have been protesting against the judgement.
They had staged a protest outside the West Bengal School Service Commission (SSC) office recently. The Commission chairman Siddharth Majumder met with 10 representatives from the protesters and explained the legal constraints pertaining to the matter.
While expressing his sympathy towards legitimate candidates who allegedly lost their jobs in the case, he assured them that the commission will do everything possible within the legal framework to assist them.
The premises are alleged to be of the domestic help of Jharkhand Rural Development Minister Alamgir Alam’s personal secretary Sanjiv Lal
A huge amount of “unaccounted” cash which was recovered by the Enforcement Directorate from premises of Sanjiv Lal, allegedly an aide of Jharkhand minister Alamgir Alam, in Ranchi, Monday, May 6, 2024.: PTI
PTI, Ranchi, 06.05.24 :
The Enforcement Directorate on Monday claimed to have recovered a huge amount of “unaccounted” cash during searches at the premises of a domestic help allegedly linked to the secretary of Jharkhand minister Alamgir Alam, official sources said.
Videos and photos shared by the sources showed officials of the central probe agency taking out wads of currency notes from large bags in a room located in a building at Gadikhana Chowk.
Some central force security personnel were also seen.
A domestic help of Jharkhand Rural Development Minister Alam’s personal secretary Sanjiv Lal is alleged to be residing at this location.
When contacted by PTI, Alam said, “I have no official information regarding this so far.” “I have been watching TV and it says the premises are linked to the official PS (private secretary) provided to me by the government,” he added.
ED sources said the note-counting machines have been deployed to count the cash to ascertain the exact amount which could range between Rs 20-30 crore.
The cash is largely in the denomination of Rs 500 and some jewellery has also been recovered, the sources said.
Alam (70), is a Congress leader and represents the Pakur seat in the Jharkhand assembly.
The searches are linked to a money laundering case against the former chief engineer of the rural development department, Veerendra Kumar Ram, who was arrested by the ED last year.
“Veerendra Kumar Ram, posted as chief engineer in the Rural Works Department in Ranchi, had generated proceeds of crime in the name of commission from contractors in lieu of allotment of tenders to them,” the agency had alleged in a statement issued last year in April after it attached assets worth Rs 39 crore of the officer.
“The proceeds of crime thus generated were used by Veerendra Kumar Ram and his family members to live a very lavish lifestyle,” it said.
The money laundering case against Ram stems from a complaint of the Jharkhand anti-corruption bureau (ACB).
MP, Kolkata, 5 May 2024 : An FIR was registered against former Justice of Calcutta High Court and BJP candidate from Tamluk in Lok Sabha elections Abhijit Ganguly for alleged vandalism, attempt to murder along with several other serious offences.
The FIR was registered on the basis of the complaint lodged by the teachers who had lost their jobs.
According to sources, on Saturday, BJP held a rally before Ganguly was going to file his nomination. However, a commotion started when the procession was passing through the place where a group of dismissed school teachers were sitting on a hunger strike near the Tamluk Hospital.
As the situation got tense with slogans and counter-slogans, a section of BJP workers allegedly vandalised the dais where the teachers were sitting. The dismissed teachers were also allegedly assaulted by the saffron party workers.
Later, a large contingent of police force brought the situation under control. It was alleged that several teachers were injured in the incident.
Later, a complaint was lodged at the Tamluk Police Station against several BJP workers, including Ganguly, based on which police have registered an FIR.
The complainants reportedly said that there will be a larger movement across the state if the culprits are not arrested soon.
PTI, Kolkata: Even as the 2024 Lok Sabha polls have started to unfold, anticipation remained high not only in the political landscape but also about the ripple effects on the economy, particularly in rural India, as experts described the elections as the most expensive one ever fought in the country’s history.
With an expenditure of a staggering Rs 1.35 lakh crore estimated by N Bhaskara Rao, who chairs the Centre for Media Studies and has been tracking election spending for 35 years, significant parts of the amount spent during the polls will reach the pockets of India’s rural population boosting sales, business houses feel.
According to a study, about 35 per cent of election expenditure in the 2019 Lok Sabha elections in India was made on campaigns and publicity.
The second highest expenditure head was payments to voters via various means – hiring workers, purchasing campaign materials, freebies and direct cash transfers in some cases. Industry leaders expect these will have a positive impact on the economy, especially in India’s countryside
He said his company aims to leverage this opportunity by monitoring rural market dynamics and adapting its product offerings and marketing strategies to align with the evolving preferences and needs of rural consumers.
“The company also plans to intensify its efforts to expand its distribution network and enhance brand visibility in rural areas to capture a larger share of the anticipated post-election market growth,” Bhajanka said. Shreeram Bagla, Managing Director of city-based snacks major Annapurna Swadisht, highlighted that rural demand for the FMCG sector as a whole had been slightly subdued during the second and third quarters of the 2023-24 fiscal.
“We are expecting a steady recovery in demand in the rural and semi-urban markets in the wake of higher spending on election-related expenses. The government seems to be laying a major thrust on boosting the rural economy. This is likely to spur consumption in villages, thereby shoring up the demand for FMCG products,” Bagla noted. Emami Ltd, another FMCG major with considerable rural dependence, also expressed a positive outlook.
“We expect the economy to bounce back on multiple counts in the backdrop of the election. First, anticipation of a good monsoon is expected to boost the rural economy. Secondly, with the softening of raw material prices, while companies are gearing up to pass on the benefits to the consumers, they will also invest more in brand building. The combination of these will definitely push the demand for the FMCG sector up,” Emami Wholetime Director & Vice Chairman, Mohan Goenka, told PTI.
Amnish Aggarwal, head of Institutional Research at Prabhudas Lilladher, while offering a nuanced perspective, pointed out that in present circumstances election spending may not be boosting rural demand in the manner it did before. Reflecting on the trends observed in past elections, Aggarwal underscored that the correlation between poll expenditure translating into a surge in rural demand is over-hyped in current times due to cash movement restrictions which are imposed with the model code of conduct.
“This direct correlation was perhaps true a decade or more ago. Factors like the anticipation of a good monsoon and inflation play pivotal roles in shaping consumer behaviour in current times compared to cash flow during polls,” he said.
Political parties, though, acknowledged that demand for vehicles goes up during poll seasons, whether sourced from rentals or new purchases for use in election activities. Automobile sales in March this year were up by 10 per cent over last year, totalling 3.7 lakh vehicles. However, a senior official of a major car company said that on account of model code of conduct-related restrictions, overall sales of both passenger and commercial vehicles were subdued in April.
Grassroots-level workers of political parties said that there has been a high purchase of snacks and beverages and certain FMCG items required for workers. FMCG products are also used as freebies for audiences brought to political rallies, they said.
A shopkeeper in Hooghly district stated, “Local political leaders become more generous during election times, and we sell more.” West Bengal’s Chief Electoral Officer confirmed that since the commencement of MCC, freebies worth Rs 57.67 crore have been seized from the state.
PTI, Srinagar, May 5, 2024 : Once a hunting ground for terrorists, the downtown Srinagar is witnessing a vibrant political revival as former chief minister Omar Abdullah orchestrated a bold move Sunday by hosting a rally for his National Conference candidate from the Srinagar Lok Sabha seat.
The region’s Hawal, which used to be a stronghold of the banned Al Umar Mujahideen (AuM) terrorist group and where kidnappings were the order of the day in early 1990s, is a completely different place now as it is abuzz with political rallies and party activities.
So much so was the enthusiasm that the security forces had a tough time managing the crowd at the NC rally hosted at a park in the Tibetan colony, just meters away from the historic Jama Masjid, a focal point for Mirwaiz Umar Farooq’s moderate Hurriyat Conference.
During his tenure as chief minister, Abdullah had made significant efforts to support unemployed youths in the downtown city by providing them with soft loans to operate roadside kiosks, aiming to prevent them from being influenced by anti-national elements and involve in activities like stone-pelting.
However, many youths lost their occupation to the massive 2014 floods, leading to a resurgence in the incidents of stone-pelting. The National Conference was voted out of power, but the floods couldn’t wash away the investment in youths Abdullah made during his tenure.
And its impact was on full display during Sunday rally as many of them turned up to show their support.
The atmosphere was electric as people filled the park and even perched on their rooftops, chanting slogans in support of the National Conference and their candidate, Aga Syed Ruhullah Mehdi.
“‘Omar Saab aagey badho, hum tumhare saath hain’ (You march ahead Omar, we are with you)” slogans rent the air as women gathered at the venue, singing traditional Kashmiri wanwun (chorus) and cheering for Abdullah.
Addressing the jubilant crowd, a visibly elated Abdullah justified his choice of Mehdi as a candidate, praising his fearlessness and ability to represent the constituency’s aspirations.
During his speech, punctuated by frequent chants from the spirited audience, Abdullah highlighted the challenges faced by the people of Jammu and Kashmir, emphasising their “silenced” voices and the presence of “outsiders” in government offices.
The people of Jammu and Kashmir are going through a very difficult time, he said. “Our lips are sealed, our voices are not heard and our government offices are filled with outsiders.” With the Srinagar Lok Sabha elections scheduled for May 13, the National Conference faces stiff competition from the PDP’s Waheed Para. The surge in political activities in a region once plagued by terrorism underlined a significant shift towards a more politically active future.
Veteran politician Farooq Abdullah held political rallies on Saturday in downtown Srinagar, signalling a resurgence of democratic processes in the region that was synonymous with violence and unrest.
The senior Abdullah held rallies in Khanyar and Ali Kadal while Jammu and Kashmir Apni Party chief Altaf Bukhari held a small rally in Fateh Kadal of downtown.
PDP’s Para has been mainly focussing on holding street meetings in the area.
This upsurge in political engagement underscores the evolving dynamics of the area, moving from a turbulent past to a more engaged and politically active tomorrow.
PTI, Etawah (UP), May 5, 2024 : Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Sunday attacked the Samajwadi Party and the Congress, saying they are contesting elections to benefit their families and their vote banks.
Addressing a Lok Sabha poll rally here in Samajwadi Party (SP) founder the late Mulayam Singh Yadav’s home turf, Modi also recalled Yadav’s 2019 speech in Parliament, where he had said that Modi was going to become the prime minister again.
“It was his blessing,” Modi said.
The prime minister said the slogans of both the SP and the Congress are “lies” and their “intentions are also not good”.
The SP and the Congress, both members of the opposition INDIA bloc, are contesting the polls in the state as allies.
“The Samajwadi Party and the Congress are contesting the elections for their future and that of their children. They work only to benefit their families and their vote banks,” Modi alleged.
He also attacked the Samajwadi Party on the issue of COVID-19 vaccines, alleging that its leaders had instigated people against the vaccines but got themselves inoculated in secret.
“Modi and Yogi are working for the future of your children.. we don’t have children,” Modi further said, addressing a Lok Sabhapoll rally here in the home district of Samajwadi Party(SP) founder Mulayam Singh Yadav, who died in 2022.
The prime minister said that he is laying the foundation to ensure that India remains a powerful nation for the next 1,000years. “Modi is doing this because irrespective of whether Modi is there or not, the country will always remain and what are these SP-Congress people doing? They are fighting elections for their future and the future of their children, “he added.
The prime minister also said that the slogans of both the SP and the Congress are “lies” and their “intentions are also not good”. “They work only to benefit their families and their vote banks,” he alleged.
“Our government started Mahatma Gandhi English Medium Schools with the objective of providing English education to the children of poor and middle class families,” Gehlot said.
Former Rajasthan Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot
SNS | Jaipur | May 4, 2024 : On the Rajasthan BJP government’s plan to convert English medium schools back to Hindi language, former Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot today said that it would be an absurd decision and against the poor and middle class families.
“Our government started Mahatma Gandhi English Medium Schools with the objective of providing English education to the children of poor and middle class families,” Gehlot said.
In his X post, Gehlot said: “If there was a need for improvement in these schools, then the present government would have made the necessary improvements, but converting English medium schools back to Hindi medium seems absurd and against the poor and middle class. Hindi is the mother tongue of all of us, but English medium gives new employment opportunities to children.”
“The previous government opened English medium schools on the demand of local residents and public representatives and these created a good environment. Hence, the BJP Chief Minister Bhajan Lal Sharma should reconsider this decision,” he opined.
The State Education Department has issued a 38 points format to the District Education Department to review the previous Congress government’s decision and submit their reports to the government, whether to revert it back to Hindi medium schools. There are about 3300 English medium government schools which are being run in the state even in villages.
A large number of BJP workers are uninterested in campaigning. The RSS cadre, extremely active here in 2014 and 2019, remains elusive — they are neither going door to door nor meeting BJP workers, a political observer said
The main entrance to the Ram temple in Ayodhya.: Picture by Piyush Shrivastava
Piyush Srivastava Ayodhya, TT, 05.05.24 : In a matter of days, the door-to-door BJP campaigners’ tone in Ayodhya has gone from preening to pleading.
“Ram ke vote deo na toh Ramji haar jaihen. BJP chhodo, ihan Ram ke badnami hoi (Vote for Ram, else Ram will lose. Not just the BJP but Ram will get a bad name),” voters of the Faizabad constituency, where Ayodhya falls, are being implored.
This is days after they were told it would be a privilege for them to “participate” in Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s inevitable triumph by voting for him.
“Modiji ko awe se kauno rok na sakat hai. Apahun ome apan yogdan do (Nobody can stop Modiji from coming to power. You too participate in it).”
Political observers believe that all isn’t well with the BJP at Hindutva’s Ground Zero, and this is why Modi is arriving on Sunday — 15 days before the polling — for
a road show.
“Normally, road shows by the senior-most leaders of a party are held three or four days before the election. But suddenly, the most powerful people in the government are visiting Ayodhya many days before polling,” a politics lecturer at a local degree college said.
Seeking anonymity, he added: “A large number of BJP workers are uninterested in campaigning. The RSS cadre, extremely active here in 2014 and 2019, remains elusive — they are neither going door to door nor meeting BJP workers.”
T.N. Tiwari, a local political analyst, said: “Amit Maurya, the Devakali Mandal BJP booth president in Ayodhya district, committed suicide on May 20, 2021, after facing police harassment during the construction of his house. BJP leaders didn’t help him and he threw himself on a railway track. Since then, many booth-level BJP workers and leaders have withdrawn from party activities.
“The euphoria of the Ram temple is subsiding, too. About 2 lakh devotees visited the temple every day after the (January 22) consecration; only 20,000 come nowadays.”
Lallu Singh of the BJP is seeking a third consecutive term from Faizabad. The BJP holds four of the five Assembly segments, but local wisdom has it that Lallu enjoys the support only of Daryabad MLA Satish Sharma.
The party MLAs from Rudauli, Bikapur and Ayodhya seem unhappy — if not with Lallu, certainly with chief minister Yogi Adityanath whom they and their peers accuse of disempowering them by wielding direct control over the bureaucracy and police.
The fifth MLA, Awadhesh Prasad of the Samajwadi Party (Milkipur), is the INDIA nominee against Lallu. The caste equations seem to be with him.
One of the reasons has been the fear generated among Dalit, tribal and OBC voters that if the BJP wins a huge majority, it would amend the Constitution to abolish reservations.
Ironically, Lallu had himself fanned these fears by purportedly declaring, at a meeting in the second week of April, that the BJP and allies needed over 400 seats “to change the Constitution”.
Lallu later claimed the video of his speech was an edited one. But the controversy forced Modi to drop his “400-plus” cry and rush to deny, along with Union home minister Amit Shah, that the BJP would ever change the Constitution.
“Losing the Faizabad seat will be a real humiliation for the BJP and Modiji because Ayodhya is part of it. This is probably why the Prime Minister has suddenly decided to hold a road show here,” Awadhesh Mishra, a BJP worker, said.
“President Droupadi Murmu rushed to Ayodhyaon Wednesday and Uttarakhand chief minister Pushkar Singh Dhami participated in a 9km road show with Lallu before the MP filed hisnomination.”
Lallu denied any sense of insecurity, saying: “The Prime Minister’s road show of May 5 was expected since long back. He’ll also offer prayers at the Ram temple.”
But the BJP’s nervousness was underlined on April 30 when the central government-appointed Ram temple trust felt the need to contradict Rahul’s claim that President Murmu had not been invited to the January 22 consecration because she comes from a tribal community.
“Rahul Gandhi’s statement is untrue, baseless and confusing. We want to remind him that respected Droupadi Murmu and former President Ramnath Kovind (a Dalit) were both invited on this occasion,” the trust said ina statement.
“Many saints and people from… the Scheduled Castes, Scheduled Tribes and Other Backward Classes were invited.”
On Sunday, Modi will worship at the Ram temple and then lead a 1.9km road show. Forty cultural groups from various states have been hired to perform on both sides ofthe road.
Before leaving the city, Bose had said in an audio statement that he smelt a “sinister plot” and that no one would be able to deter him from his “determined efforts to expose corruption and curb violence”
Kinsuk Basu, TT, Calcutta, 05.05.24 : The special enquiry team probing allegations of “physical advances” against governor C.V. Ananda Bose, as levelled by a contractual Raj Bhavan employee, has sought CCTV footage from the governor’s office.
A letter sent late on Friday night requested footage related to some of the places the young woman has mentioned in her complaint. The letter set no timeframe.
A city police officer quoted the letter as saying that the footage was required in connection with a complaint the police had received against the governor.
Among the places identified in the letter are the governor’s office and a conference room where Bose has been accused of trying to lure the complainant with the offer of a promotion, a senior police officer said.
“The footage is part of a basic enquiry about what the woman has alleged,” he added.
“Over the next few days, we will speak to some Raj Bhavan staff members as part of our preliminary enquiry into the allegations. If the CCTV footage is not made available, we will mention that in our report.”
The officer in charge of the police’s Raj Bhavan outpost handed the letter to a senior official from the governor’s secretariat, the police said.
“Since there is no specific timeframe for the enquiry, the letter sent to the Raj Bhavan doesn’t specify the time within which the footage would have to be submitted,” a senior police officer said. “We will wait a few days.”
Senior police officers did not want to comment whether they would visit the Raj Bhavan to question the staff or send summons asking them to face the enquiry team.
After the woman lodged her complaint with Hare Street police station on Thursday evening, the police made a general diary entry (GDE) and formed an eight-member special enquiry team headed by deputy police commissioner (central) Indira Mukherjee.
Bose left for Kochi on Friday. On Saturday, this newspaper tried to contact the governor over his phone several times but he remained “unreachable”.
A message to the governor has gone unanswered so far. Calls to Bose’s officer-on-special-duty at the Raj Bhavan have not elicited any response.
Before leaving the city, Bose had said in an audio statement that he smelt a “sinister plot” and that no one would be able to deter him from his “determined efforts to expose corruption and curb violence”.
On Saturday, Trinamool national general secretary Abhishek Banerjee asked why the governor had left the city if he had nothing to hide.
“I feel ashamed to talk about this. Two days ago, Bengal’s governor sexually assaulted a contractual staff who is his daughter’s age,” Abhishek alleged at a news conference.
“The next day, he left the city. If you have nothing to hide, then cooperate with the investigation. Why are you running away?”
The woman has accused Bose of making an indecent proposal to her and touching her inappropriately.
She has mentioned two alleged incidents, the first purportedly taking place at Bose’s office at the Raj Bhavan around 12.45pm on April 24. The complainant has said she managed to get out of the room.
The second alleged incident happened on May2, this time in the conference room, the woman has said.
According to Article 361 of the Constitution, no criminal proceedings can be conducted against the President or a governor during their term in office.
If a complaint is lodged against a governor, the police can submit a preliminary report to the state government, which can forward it to the President, the appointing authority of governors.
The purported sting video — whose authenticity could not be independently verified by The Telegraph — prompted Trinamool to seek an apology from the BJP national leadership, which has been citing Sandeshkhali to try and corner Mamata Banerjee in election season
Abhishek Banerjee addresses the media in Calcutta on Saturday.: PTI photo
Devadeep Purohit, TT, Calcutta, 05.05.24 :
Trinamool on Saturday flagged a viral video that appears to show a local BJP leader admitting that women in Sandeshkhali were given Rs 2,000 each to file rape and sexual abuse complaints on the instructions of Suvendu Adhikari.
The purported sting video — whose authenticity could not be independently verified by The Telegraph — prompted Trinamool to seek an apology from the BJP national leadership, which has been citing Sandeshkhali to try and corner Mamata Banerjee in election season.
With the local BJP leader in the video purportedly contending that no rape or sexual abuse had taken place in Sandeshkhali, Mamata and Trinamool national general secretary Abhishek Banerjee castigated the BJP for “maligning Bengal”. Senior BJP leaders claimed the video was fake.
The chief minister, who was in Nadia to address two poll rallies, was the first to talk about the video. “They created a big drama over Sandeshkhali…. I have been telling you that it’s a conspiracy scripted by the BJP, which has finally come out,” she said.
Her brief comments suggested she was leaving it to Abhishek, her nephew and political heir apparent, to lead the charge against the BJP in connection with the video.
“This is the nadir of shamelessness…. How low can they (the BJP) stoop? If a party can sell the dignity of women at Rs 2,000 for political gain, people should think twice before voting for them,” Abhishek said at a hurriedly convened news conference.
A short video was played before the two-hour news conference at Trinamool Bhavan, off EM Bypass. It juxtaposed, with the “sting” video’s contents, footage of Sandeshkhali-related comments by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Union home minister Amit Shah and Bengal leader of the Opposition Adhikari.
The video, played by Abhishek, sought to suggest that the attempted ED raid on local Trinamool leader Sheikh Shahjahan’s home on January 5, which brought on a mob attack and catapulted Sandeshkhali to national limelight, was politically motivated.
It also tried to establish that the local women’s subsequent allegations of rape and sexual abuse by ruling party leaders, and the April 26 arms seizure at the house of a Shahjahan aide in Sandeshkhali, were stage-managed.
“I give 48 hours to the BJP national leadership to apologise to the people of Bengal…. If they don’t, people will think that the party president, Union home minister and the Prime Minister were part of the conspiracy,” Abhishek thundered.
Late on Saturday evening, Amit Malviya, co-in-charge of the Bengal BJP, accused Trinamool of orchestrating “a fake sting on a junior functionary of the BJP”.
“TMC, instead of expressing regret over what happened in #Sandeshkhali, first tried to defend, then brazen it out and now is attempting to obfuscate,” he posted on X.
The Bengal BJP too swatted away the charge of a conspiracy. Adhikari accused Abhishek and two others of manufacturing the video with “mala fide intention”, and state unit spokesperson Shamik Bhattacharya termed it “fake” and demanded a CBI probe.
When this newspaper asked Abhishek about the origin of the purported sting video, which had gone viral on Saturday morning, he said: “I got it the way you all got it.”
Asked whether it was genuine, he said: “The onus is not on me. There are three characters (Gangadhar Koyal, mandal president, Sandeshkhali-II; Shanti Dolui, mandal president, Sandeshkhali-I; and a woman complainant of sexual abuse) in the video.
“The person who is there for 80 per cent of the time (Koyal) has admitted that it is his voice… and that it’s him in the video…. This is a testament to the video not being fake.”
Dolui appears to say in the video that the arms seized on April 26 had been brought from outside as part of a plan. The woman, whose name this newspaper is withholding since she is a sexual abuse complainant, purportedly says she had signed the complaint letter without being aware of its content.
Attempts by this newspaper to reach Koyal, Dolui and the woman failed as their cellphones were switched off.
In the evening, BJP sources released a letter Koyal had written to the CBI terming the video footage “morphed and edited”.
Koyal had earlier in the day told some television channels that he indeed featured in the video but alleged the audio had been tampered with.
“We have been saying from Day One that everything was part of a plot, and the sting video has vindicated us…. The Sandeshkhali-II mandal president can be heard saying that everything was done at the instruction of Suvendu Adhikari,” Abhishek said.
“You can hear in the video that women were brainwashed into lodging rape and sexual abuse complaints. Gangadhar said Rekha Patra (who was initially the face of the Sandeshkhali protests and later became the BJP candidate from Basirhat) took Rs 2,000 to lodge complaints…. In their complaints, they said the incidents had taken place six to seven months earlier, and therefore no medical examination can be done.”
Patra said the video was a Trinamool “tactic” and suggested that Koyal “must have been scared” into making the purported remarks in the video.
Asked whether the party would press for a probe on the basis of the video, Abhishek said he would urge the state government to bring it to the attention of the Supreme Court, which is hearing a case on Sandeshkhali.
Unlike his party colleagues, Abhishek did not want to comment on whether the video would give Trinamool an advantage in the 36 seats in Bengal where polls are yet to be held.
The chief minister claimed that though the saffron party was repeatedly saying that the BJP-led NDA will get above 400 seats in the Lok Sabha polls, it will ‘lose’ the elections
PTI, 04.05.24 : Claiming that the BJP has not been able to deliver on its promise of “acche din” (good days), West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee on Saturday alleged that the Narendra Modi-led government was turning “democracy into a jail.” She claimed that though the saffron party was repeatedly saying that the BJP-led NDA will get above 400 seats in the Lok Sabha polls, it will “lose” the elections.
Addressing an election rally here in Ranaghat Lok Sabha constituency in Nadia district, the TMC supremo asked, “Where is the acche din promised by them (BJP)?” Banerjee claimed that the BJP is planning to make “one nation, one party, one government, one leader, and send all others to jail.” She alleged that the Modi-led government was turning “democracy into a jail.” Banerjee asked whether the BJP was a washing machine, alleging that anyone accused of illegalities becomes clean if they join the saffron party.
She accused the BJP of making false claims of providing various reliefs to the people from electricity to cooking gas or free ration.
“We have delivered on promises made by us, from Lakshmir bhandar to free healthcare under the Swasthya Sathi project,” she said.
The TMC boss claimed that those who are already citizens of India were being asked to make applications for getting it again under the CAA.
Ranaghat constituency has a significant Matua population, over whose citizenship issue the BJP and the TMC have been sparring for quite a long time.
“I cannot make false promises like (Prime Minister Narendra) Modi,” the chief minister said, asserting that she makes only those incentives which she can keep.
Banerjee accused the Centre of not giving West Bengal its financial dues on account of GST collection.
Kolkata Police (KP) is exploring legal opinion from prominent lawyers and constitutional experts seeking to know about what steps should be taken against the governor C V Ananda Bose.
SNS | Kolkata | May 4, 2024 : Kolkata Police (KP) is exploring legal opinion from prominent lawyers and constitutional experts seeking to know about what steps should be taken against the governor C V Ananda Bose.
A temporary woman employee at Raj Bhavan on Thursday, lodged a molestation complaint against Mr Bose, the constitutional head in the state, with Hare Street police station alleging he ‘sexually assaulted her twice’. The incident has rocked the state prompting the ruling Trinamul Congress to come down heavily on Mr Bose amidst the ongoing seven-phase Lok Sabha elections in the state.
Mr Bose dismissed the allegation and said that he would not be cowed down by the “engineered narratives’.
On Thursday evening, soon after the complaint was lodged with police station, Indira Mukhopadhyay, deputy commissioner (DC) of police (central division), told media that they are in touch with lawyers and constitutional experts in the city seeking to know their opinions about the investigation process, particularly what should be legal steps when a constitutional head faces allegations of molestation.
Senior police officials held a meeting today at Lalbazar to discuss the issue, it has been learnt.
“No criminal cases can be framed against the President and Governors of states in our country. The complainant will land in deep trouble if the allegations brought against the Governor are not proved true,” said Tathagata Roy, former Governor of Tripura and Meghalaya.
Prominent lawyers in the city felt that no criminal procedures can be initiated against the President of India and Governors of states as per the Section 361 of the Constitution. But civil cases can be filed against Governors in connection property related disputes, they said.
“The Supreme Court in its verdict has clearly stated that any organized crime against women must be investigated with extreme importance. But in the case of the President of India and Governors, only complaints can be lodged against them. They can’t be arrested till they belong to the coveted posts,” one prominent lawyer said.
On Thursday night, Mr Bose through a statement banned the entry of the minister Chandrima Bhattacharya into the Raj Bhavan premises in Kolkata, Darjeeling and Barrackpore for making “defamation and anti-constitutional media statements” and also barred the police from conducting any investigation against him in the alleged molestation case.
In the statement, the Governor said, “Truth shall triumph. I refuse to be cowed down by engineered narratives. If anybody wants some election benefits by maligning me, God bless them. But they cannot stop my fight against corruption and violence in Bengal.”
Mr Bose left for Kochi to attend a pre-scheduled programme there after the Prime Minister left Raj Bhavan today.
On Friday, the same bench was told that the chief secretary was not the appropriate authority to grant the sanction
Tapas Ghosh And Debraj Mitra, TT, Calcutta, 04.05.24 : A Calcutta High Court bench had rebuked Bengal’s chief secretary on multiple occasions for an alleged delay in greenlighting the trial against state government officials arrested for alleged irregularities in school recruitments.
On Friday, the same bench was told that the chief secretary was not the appropriate authority to grant the sanction.
The counsel representing one of the accused told the division bench of Justice Joymalya Bagchi and Justice Gaurang Kanth that the CBI, which is probing the case, should have instead approached the governor, who appointed his client.
“The investigating agency should have obtained permission from the governor. Both Subires Bhattacharyya and Kalyanmoy Ganguly were appointed by the governor,” said the lawyer appearing for Bhattacharyya, who was the chairman of the West Bengal School Service Commission from 2014 to 2018.
Ganguly, an accused in the case, was the president of the state secondary education board from 2021 to 2022.
The CBI had submitted before the division bench that it had applied for approval — for initiating the trial against Bhattacharyya and Ganguly — from the chief secretary two years ago, but the top bureaucrat of the state had yet to give his nod.
The bench had thrice issued orders to the incumbent chief secretary, B.P. Gopalika, asking him to state why he was not issuing approval for the trial.
The chief secretary had on April 24 filed an application in the high court praying for some more time to file an affidavit stating the reasons.
That prompted Justice Bagchi to say: “The CBI had applied for permission two years ago. Why is the state hesitant? Then, I have to believe that all the accused are so influential that they can influence the government as well.”
Justice Bagchi had given the government time till May 2 for obeying the court order. “Otherwise, the state will have to face the consequences,” the court had said.
On Friday, the submission from Bhattacharyya’s lawyer prompted Justice Bagchi to say: “Actually, the CBI does not have the idea from whom it should obtain the approval. This court unnecessarily criticised the state chief secretary.”
“If the agency seeks permission from the wrong authority, what would the court do,” he said.
The bench fixed the matter for hearing on May 7 and directed the additional solicitor general to be present in the court during the hearing.
We had submitted a list of the undeserving candidates to the division bench of Calcutta High Court: SSC
Subhankar Chowdhury, TT, Calcutta, 04.05.24 :
School Service Commission, Salt Lake office.: File
The school service commission (SSC) chief on Friday said they would tell the Supreme Court that it was possible to make a distinction between the deserving and the undeserving candidates among the 25,000-odd teachers and other employees at government-aided schools whose services were terminated by Calcutta High Court.
“The commission will definitely stand by those who got their jobs through fair means. We will try to assure the Supreme Court, where a case is being heard, that it is possible to make a distinction between those who are deserving and those who are not from this list (of the 25,700 candidates),” SSC chairperson Siddhartha Majumdar told a news conference.
The briefing was convened hours after a section of the 25,700-odd teaching and non-teaching employees who stand to lose their jobs following a Calcutta High Court order on April 22 held a protest outside the SSC office in Salt Lake.
“We had submitted a list of the undeserving candidates to the division bench of Calcutta High Court. Similarly, we can hand over the list of the disputed candidates to the Supreme Court. The commission will definitely stand by those who are not guilty or those who cannot be identified as tainted. This is the stand of the commission,” Majumdar said
On April 25, Majumdar had said at a news conference that the commission had informed the high court through three affidavits that 5,300 teaching and non-teaching employees had got their jobs allegedly through unfair means.
The SSC chairman had made the comment while countering the court’s
statement that the commission did not cooperate in tracing the candidates who had got their jobs allegedly through unfair means.
On April 29, the Bengal government, SSC and the state secondary education board had submitted before the Supreme Court that the high court’s April 22 order scrapping the jobs of all 25,700 candidates who had been appointed based on their performance in the 2016 selection tests, because of possible irregularities in some appointments, violated the principles of natural justice.
Chief Justice Chandrachud then observed: “You have to demonstrate that… on the basis of material available, it is possible to segregate who all are validly and invalidly appointed; who are the beneficiaries of the frauds.”
The apex court will again hear the case on May 6.
The SSC chairperson on Friday said it was in this context that he said that they would try to assure the Supreme Court that it was possible to make a distinction between the deserving and the undeserving candidates.
“A section of those who stand to lose jobs following the Calcutta High Court order was staging a protest outside the SSC office. I told the media persons who came to the office that it was possible to make a distinction between those who are deserving and those who are not,” Majumdar told Metro later.
When this newspaper sought to know how the commission would make a distinction, an official said: “We could give the apex court a list of the candidates against whom there are no allegations so far.”
The counsel for the Bengal government had submitted in the Supreme Court on Monday that the high court judgment violated the Supreme Court ruling in the Inderpreet Singh Kahlon and Others vs State of Punjab in 2006, which said the entire selection process cannot be cancelled because of irregularities in some appointments.
The high court invalidated the appointments of 25,753 teaching and non-teaching employees at state-sponsored and aided schools because of irregularities in the State Level Selection Test, 2016
Mamata Banerjee addresses a rally at Memari in East Burdwan on Friday.: Munshi Muklesur Rahaman
Pranesh Sarkar, TT, Calcutta, 04.05.24 : Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Friday pledged that the BJP would stand by those teachers whose appointments had been cancelled by Calcutta High Court recently though they had landed jobs rightfully.
The high court invalidated the appointments of 25,753 teaching and non-teaching employees at state-sponsored and aided schools because of irregularities in the State Level Selection Test, 2016.
While promising to stand by those whose appointments were not tainted by charges of corruption, Modi said the BJP’s Bengal unit would set up a legal cell and a social media platform to assist them.
“The TMC extortionists cheated lakhs of youths in the recruitment of teachers…. You saw what kind of irregularities took place when it was found that machines got tired of counting bundles of currency notes. Many genuine teachers, who have proper documents, are also suffering because of the sin of others.… I have suggested that the Bengal BJP set up a legal cell and a social media platform to assist genuine teachers who lost their jobs,” Modi said during an election rally in Burdwan on Friday.
While addressing a rally in East Burdwan’s Raina later in the day, chief minister Mamata Banerjee tore into Modi and the BJP, holding them responsible for “eating 26,000 jobs”.
“Where were you Modi babu? You have eaten 26,000 jobs. Your party has eaten these jobs. Your party and the CPM have together eaten the jobs…. Your assistance is not required. The Bengal government has already engaged lawyers in the Supreme Court. The education department has also engaged lawyers. We would not let the youths lose their jobs,” said Mamata.
As a large number of teachers not tainted by chargesof corruption became the high court order’s collateral damage, Mamata held the Opposition, especially the BJP, responsible for the job losses.
The Prime Minister’s bid to address the concerns of genuine teachers who lost their jobs reflected the BJP’s unease with Mamata’s consistent effort to blame the saffron camp for the high court order.
“Elections have been held only in six Lok Sabha constituencies in Bengal so far and another 36 seats will go to the polls in the remaining five phases. Most of the affected teachers are residents of these 36 constituencies. So, the Prime Minister had to send a message particularly after the chief minister had vowed to stand by the teachers who lost jobs,” said a BJP leader.
Clarity on Kejriwal’s interim bail is expected to emerge on Tuesday when the court resumes hearing his appeal challenging his arrest by the Enforcement Directorate in the excise policy-linked money-laundering case
R. Balaji, TT, New Delhi, 04.05.24 : The Supreme Court on Friday hinted at releasing Arvind Kejriwal on interim bail in view of the elections and asked the Centre whether the Delhi chief minister could continue signing files from jail.
Clarity on Kejriwal’s interim bail is expected to emerge on Tuesday when the court resumes hearing his appeal challenging his arrest by the Enforcement Directorate in the excise policy-linked money-laundering case.
“We are not saying anything. We would like to consider grant of interim bail because of the elections. We may or may not grant bail. We are going to hear you. But if the hearing takes time, we may consider interim bail. We must be open to you, because neither side should be taken by surprise,” a bench of Justices Sanjiv Khanna and Dipankar Datta told additional solicitor-general S.V. Raju and senior advocate Abhishek Manu Singh.
Raju was appearing for the ED while Singh represented Kejriwal.
While indicating the possibility of interim bail, Justice Khanna asked Raju to seek instructions from the Centre on whether Kejriwal could continue signing files despite being in jail.
“Also please take instructions, because of the position he (Kerjiwal) holds, whether he should be signing official files,” Justice Khanna said.
Agencies, 3 May 2024, Bardhaman (WB): Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Friday said he has asked the West Bengal BJP unit to create a separate legal cell to provide help to “genuine teachers and candidates” who have lost jobs due to the School Service Commission (SSC) scam.
While addressing an election rally at Bardhaman-Durgapur, Modi said “Although he wants those involved in corruption by the TMC to be punished but doesn’t want the innocent to suffer.” “The corruption that the TMC has done in Bengal in school recruitment is shameful.
Due to this scam, several genuine candidates have suffered. I have asked the Bengal BJP unit on behalf of the party to create a separate legal cell and social media platform to provide help to the genuine candidates and teachers,” he said.
“BJP will support such honest candidates and will provide them legal help and will fight for them. This is Modi’s guarantee,” he said.
Modi’s remarks came a week after the Calcutta High Court declared the recruitment process of the State Level Selection Test-20TMC16 (SLST) in West Bengal government-sponsored and aided schools as “null and void,” ordering the cancellation of all appointments made through it.
Around 26,000 people have lost jobs following the court order.
