Kolkata Mar 20 PTI BJP supporters on Sunday blocked traffic on the busy national highway 12 connecting north and south Bengal protesting alleged bomb attack on the vehicle of party MP Jagannath Sarkar on the previous night Sarkar alleged that a country-made bomb was hurled at his vehicle at Haringhata area in Nadia district when he was travelling to his village home in Santipur on Saturday night but it missed hitting the car since it was moving at a high speed Our party supporters have resorted to road blockade on the national highway and other roads in Nadia to protest the bomb attack on my car Sarkar told reporters The blockades were removed later by the police an official said Claiming that such attacks will not succeed in intimidating him the Ranaghat MP who has been given the charge of overseeing the partys campaign for the April 12 Ballygunge assembly constituency byelection alleged that the ruling Trinamool Congress was behind the incident He claimed that his car was travelling at around 100 kmph when a bomb burst behind his vehicle No other party would do it I am sure that the ruling party people are behind the attack Sarkar said Denying the allegation TMC leader Jaiprakash Majumdar claimed that no such attack had taken place on the MPs car on Saturday night He is making up the allegation to get central security for himself Majumdar who recently joined the TMC after having been suspended from the BJP for alleged anti-party activities said PTI AMR RG RG

Kolkata Jan 24 PTI The ongoing feud in West Bengal BJP intensified on Monday after it suspended its senior leaders Ritesh Tiwari and Jaiprakash Majumdar who were earlier show caused for violating the party discipline A statement issued by the West Bengal BJP unit said Tiwari and Majumdar have been temporarily suspended till the partys disciplinary committee completes its investigation under instructions of BJP state president Sukanta Majumdar Reacting to his suspension an infuriated Tiwari told a news channel that a coterie of leaders who had joined BJP in recent times are acting as agents of TMC and are harming its interests The show cause was given to me with malafide intentions I have been a loyal BJP worker for more than 35 years I have neither any grievances against the party nor against the state president But a few leaders are acting as agents of Trinamool Congress and are trying to capture the party My fight is against them and I will not stop till these leaders are ousted from BJP he said Virtually throwing out a challenge to the BJP state leadership Tiwari said Let them expel me from the party if they can Some people who had joined the party after the 2019 Lok Sabha poll are calling the shots and are insulting old timers Let them first prove where I said anything against the party Continuing his tirade against the state BJP he said I was served a show cause notice without doing anything that too by a disciplinary committee which was itself dissolved a few days ago When contacted Majumdar declined to comment but said he will clear his stand on the issue in a press conference on Tuesday The two senior BJP leaders who were dropped from the new office bearers committee last year were on Sunday issued a show cause notice by the state unit Both were vice-presidents of the state unit in the previous committee and Majumdar was named one of the spokespersons in the new state committee announced a month ago Tiwari was not included in the committee Earlier in the day Majumdar had told reporters that Tiwari and he had been served the show cause notice on Sunday The two leaders had participated in a meeting convened by union minister Shantanu Thakur an influential leader of the sizeable Matua community in the state over a week ago in Kolkata They were present when Thakur the union minister of state for ports shipping and waterways castigated a section of the state leaders who had allegedly overlooked 90 per cent loyal BJP leaders including backward caste members while forming the new committee The union minister had held a picnic with several disgruntled BJP leaders in his Bongaon constituency a few days ago He told reporters on Sunday that several disgrutled leaders of the party are in touch with him So how many can the party show cause BJP adversary TMC took a dig at the ongoing tiff in the saffron camp The BJP is a sinking ship in West Bengal They were thinking of conquering Bengal in the state poll in 2021 but cannot keep their own house in order TMC MP Sougata Roy said PTI PNT KK KK KK

Kolkata Jan 24 PTI BJP Monday suspended its senior West Bengal leaders Ritesh Tiwari and Jaiprakash Majumdar who were show caused on January 23 for violating the party discipline A statement issued by the West Bengal BJP unit said Tiwari and Majumdar have been suspended till the partys disciplinary committee completes its investigation under instructions of BJP state president Sukanta Majumdar Reacting to his suspension an infuriated Tiwari told a news channel that a coterie of leaders who had joined BJP in recent times are acting as agents of TMC and are harming its interests The two senior BJP leaders who were dropped from the reconstituted office bearers committee last year were on Sunday issued a show-cause notice by the state unit PTI PNT KK KK KK

Kolkata Dec 20 PTI A scuffle broke out between BJP activists and the police outside the partys headquarters here on Monday after the saffron camp workers were stopped from taking out a rally to protest against the alleged violence during the Kolkata Municipal Corporation elections The opposition BJP had demanded cancellation of the violence-marred civic body polls held on Sunday and announced that it would conduct protest programmes across the state and organise a rally in the city during the day The city police put up barricades outside the BJP office since morning The police said the saffron party didnt have permission to take out the rally As the protesters started the march they were stopped outside the party office leading to a scuffle between the police and the activists The police detained several party workers and leaders Whenever the BJP wants to take out any rally we are denied permission by citing COVID norms We had announced yesterday that we would protest against the violence in the civic polls partys state vice-president Jaiprakash Majumdar said The Left parties and the Congress also staged protests near the State Election Commission office here against the alleged violence in the civic body polls Sporadic incidents of violence including hurling of bombs at two booths marred the KMC elections even as over 63 per cent of the nearly 405 lakh voters exercised their franchise PTI PNT BDC BDC

Kolkata Nov 30 PTI BJP veteran Tathagata Roy who had stirred controversy by criticising the selection of party candidates in West Bengal assembly election did so afresh on Tuesday by saying that many workers at the lower level have been planted by the firm of poll strategist Prashant Kishor to work for ruling Trinamool Congress and that he had been informed of it by some committed grassroot activists BJP was quick to criticise Roy saying such unfounded comments were an insult to the grassroot workers of the party Roy posted on Twitter in Bengali I have got this information from a diehard BJP worker He says it is unbelievable but true that several members of PKs as Prashant Kishor is called team had called an educated youth in his locality to join BJP but work for Trinamool Congress at a monthly emolument of Rs 13000 I think there can be many such people at the lower level of BJP who are getting monthly wages from PK It will be very difficult to ensure BJPs win in the state until these elements are identified he said in the microblogging site Reacting sharply to Roys allegations BJP state vice-president Jaiprakash Majumdar said He Roy is a spent force He has only perfected the art of regular tweets but the party doesnt attach much importance to what he says Majumdar asserted that Roys comments have no basis and such comments will only insult the struggle fight and sacrifice of lower level BJP workers who have held the partys flag high despite violent attacks by the goons of Trinamool Congress When asked for his comment TMC spokesman Kunal Ghosh said We are being flooded with pleas by both lower level BJP workers and leaders for inducting them into our party Roy had earlier flagged the issues of TMC turncoats joining BJP and those having no political experience being given tickets in the state poll He had also blamed former state party president Dilip Ghosh and its Bengal minder Kailash Vijayvargiya for the poll debacle PTI SUS KK KK KK

Kolkata Nov 28 PTI Two weeks after quitting the BJP as part of which she unsuccessfully contested the assembly polls from Behala West actor-turned-politician Srabanti Chatterjee on Monday attended a TMC function in South 24 Parganas district and heaped praise on West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee Basanti MLA Shyamal Mondal who was present at the felicitation programme told reporters later that Chatterjee was invited to the function as a celebrity Mondal also said that the actor has pledged her support to the development initiatives of the TMC supremo Chatterjee during the programme stated We are all inspired by the development work of Bengals daughter Mamata Banerjee We are motivated by her leadership skills She also said that she would continue to work for people in Bengal under Didis rule Reacting to the development BJP state vice-president Jaiprakash Majumdar said people like her join a party for benefits and desert it when they realise their interest will not be served She can only offer lip service and work for people in reality he claimed We are happy to get rid of such opportunists Majumder said Chatterjee had announced her decision to resign from the BJP on November 11 citing lack of initiative and sincerity on the part of the saffron party to further the cause of West Bengal as a factor that prompted her to take the decision The 34-year-old actor had been maintaining distance from the BJP after it failed to unseat the Mamata Banerjee-led party from power in the state despite a high-pitched campaign West Bengal industry minister and Srabantis rival in the assembly polls Partha Chatterjee said recently that if she made an appeal for induction in the TMC it will be considered PTI SUS RMS RMS