Kolkata Apr 26 PTI The Jute Commissioners Office JCO which is under attack from various quarters for unavailability of raw materials at the price fixed by the government on Tuesday said it continues to safeguard farmers interests but cannot allow illegitimate gains for a section of players in the industry by revising the price capThe JCO which looks after orderly development and promotion of the industry in India also stated that no decision was made as of now to alter the raw jute price fixed at Rs 6500 per quintal amid allegations that mills are not getting the golden fibre below Rs 7000 per quintal amid the bumper crop of 90 lakh bales in the 2021-22 seasonNo farmer or farmers body has complained about price fixation If relaxed it will have illegitimate gain for a certain section of the industry Jute Commissioner Moloy Chakraborty told a press conference hereHe denied allegations of neglect of West Bengals jute industryBJP MP Arjun Singh whose constituency Barrakpore has 20 jute mills had on Monday slammed the central government for neglecting the states jute industry He also supported ruling TMC supremo and Chief Minister Mamata Banerjees demand for removal of the price cap on raw jute to current market-driven prices to support farmersThere is a lot of misinformation around Almost 95 per cent of farmers are marginal and they have already diluted their produce The majority of the raw jute is now with traders and middlemen Chakraborty saidHe said that the raw jute price was fixed at Rs 2000 over and above the minimum support price MSP of Rs 4500 per quintal and it is quite reasonable for the farmersTo a question on de-hoarding of the golden fibre the jute commissioner said it is up to the state agencies to step up their action State enforcement officials claimed that the JCO has not been able to provide a verified jute traders list yetAfter Chakrabortys press conference Arjun Singh claimed that the JCO painted an untrue picture to satisfy his bosses by ruining the future of millions of workers and farmers Several jute mills have downed shutters in the past few months reportedly due to unavailability of raw jute at the price fixed by the JCOThe claim that the state government had earlier accepted Rs 6000 per quintal rate is false as it was temporary because the price had shot up to Rs 9000 per quintal due to Amphan calamity in 2020 the BJP MP asserted in a statementEarlier this month Trinamool Congress Chief Whip in the Rajya Sabha Sukhendu Sekhar Ray sought the intervention of the Centre to resolve the jute crisis claiming that 60000 workers have lost their jobs following the closure of 15 jute mills PTI BSM PNT NN NN

New Delhi Apr 26 PTI Poll strategist Prashant Kishor on Tuesday declined the Congress offer to join the party and evolve its poll strategy and said more than him the party needs leadership and collective will to fix deep-rooted structural problems through transformational reformsKishor was asked by Congress president Sonia Gandhi to join the party and be a part of the Empowered Action Group-2024 and take care of its election strategy for upcoming pollsCongress chief spokesperson Randeep Surjewala said Kishor has declined the offer and the party appreciates his efforts and suggestionsKishor had made a detailed presentation before top Congress leaders which was discussed at length by senior leadership of the party after which an offer was made to himWithin a few minutes of the Congress saying that Kishor has declined the offer he took to Twitter and said the party needs a collective will to fix deep-rooted structural problems through reformsI declined the generous offer of Congress to join the party as part of the EAG and take responsibility for the elections In my humble opinion more than me the party needs leadership and collective will to fix the deep rooted structural problems through transformational reforms Kishor said in a tweetKishor was keen to join the Congress and had desired to do so without any expectations He had also made a presentation to the party on which its top leaders deliberated upon during the last weekFollowing a presentation and discussions with Prashant Kishor the Congress president constituted the Empowered Action Group-2024 and invited him to join the party as part of the group with defined responsibility He declined We appreciate his efforts and suggestions given to the party Surjewala said on Twitter announcing that Kishor has declined the offerSources said the reason for his not joining the Congress was the pact signed by his company I-PAC with the Telangana Rashtra Samithi TRS for the Telangana assembly elections and that was viewed by the Congress leadership as conflict of interestKishor has been engaged by Mamata Banerjees TMC in West Bengal as well as Nitish Kumars JD-U in Bihar for election management PTI SKC SRY

Kolkata Jan 25 PTI The infighting in Bengal BJP deepened on Tuesday with suspended BJP leader Jaiprakash Majumdar slamming the party leadership for undermining old-timers and giving more prominence to new-comers while lauding chief minister Mamata Banerjees street fighter capabilities Majumdar who along with Ritesh Tiwari was suspended for allegedly violating party discipline hit out at the state leadership accusing it of compromising with Trinamool Congress and having a tacit understanding with Prashant Kirshor-run consultancy I-PAC He also ridiculed the state BJP calling it a team run by a team of rookies with no chance against a seasoned politician like the feisty TMC boss Old-timers and seasoned leaders have no place in the state unit Leaders from others parties agents of the TMC are now calling the shots The BJP faced defeat in the assembly polls as leaders were running it from other states who vanished after the defeat At present too the BJP is being run by a few outsiders This will prove to be fatal for the BJP in the state Majumdar said while addressing a press conference along with Tiwari At the same time in the course of the press meet Majumdar lauded Banerjee as a street fighter and said the state BJP depended more on running to courts on every issue rather than organizing street protests against the TMC Mocking the state BJP president Sukanta Majumdar and state general secretary organization Amitabha Chakraborty for lack of political experience he said it appears Bengal BJP is a team of rookies playing against Lionel Messi-led Argentina and that too after only three days of practice The entire country considers Mamata Banerjee a national-level leader with great maturity and political wisdom We might have political differences but we have to accept the truth the BJP leader said For good measure Majumder fulminated there was no review of partys debacle in assembly polls Whenever the cause of defeat was sought to be analyzed our leaders avoided any reference Even the mike was turned mute during a zoom meeting Both Majumder and Tiwari were show-caused on Sunday and were temporarily suspended from the party till the investigations against them were over 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 Discontent had been brewing ever since the state leadership had omitted several Matua leaders from various sub-committees The union minister had held a picnic with several disgruntled BJP leaders in his Bongaon constituency a few days ago 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 What crime have I committed by standing by the side of Shantanu Thakur a union minister when he is speaking to the press How can that be construed as anti-party activity or breaching discipline he questioned Majumdar who had joined BJP from Congress in 2014 said he has never said anything against the party I would like to know under which rule of the party constitution both of us were suspended This is not only unethical but also violates the party discipline he said While reacting to the allegations West Bengal BJP president Sukanta Majumdar said the party is not bound to inform Majumdar under which rule the action was taken against the duo There is no such rule in the party constitution which forces us to inform them under which rule action was taken Secondly all the steps have been taken following the party rules and regulations he said However senior BJP leader Tathagata Roy came out to support the duo and said it seemed it was pre-decided that both would be suspended Something seems to be rotten in the party Without giving any scope of defending themselves the two leaders were suspended This is unprecedented I have known Ritesh for a long time he is a dedicated party worker for more than three decades Roy who has been lashing out at the state leadership since the West Bengal poll debacle said The ruling TMC lost no time in taking a dig at the ongoing tiff in the saffron camp The BJP is a sinking ship in West Bengal When we used to say that outsiders are running BJP we were questioned Now BJP leaders are saying the same thing It is proven that outsiders call the shots in BJP he said PTI PNT SUS JRC JRC

Kolkata Jan 21 PTI Maverick TMC MLA Madan Mitra who is popular among a cross section of netizens for his regular Facebook live shows has announced on the networking site that he would be deactivating his profile for five months in accordance with the instructions of his party leadership The move came days after Mitra took to social media to air his grievances against the partys style of functioning The former transport minister a loyalist of TMC supremo Mamata Banerjee went live on Facebook on Thursday and said I am deactivating my Facebook and Instagram accounts from today till June 30 No there has not been any complaint against me to Facebook authorities by anyone No waning of my popularity My TRP instead is on the rise But I am quitting as I have been asked by the party higher-ups to leave Facebook for some time I will obey the order the Kamarhati MLA who has a huge fan base on social media said Last week TMC Secretary General Partha Chatterjee had asked party members to refrain from making public statements and social media posts on their grievances He also said that the members could approach the partys disciplinary committee if needed Mitra shortly after took to Facebook and sought to know where exactly does the disciplinary committee operate from as the partys Harish Chatterjee street office here at Chief Minister Mamata Banerjees residence was off limits owing to the security protocol and its national general secretary Abhishek Banerjee was busy with all-India activities A top TMC leader said Mitra has been taken to task by the disciplinary committee for going against the partys diktat and told to stay off social media for the time being PTI SUS RMS RMS

Kolkata Dec 21 PTI West Bengals ruling TMC gained control of the 144-member Kolkata Municipal Corporation on Tuesday clinching nearly 72 per cent of votes in a ringing endorsement for the party seven months after its landslide win in the state assembly polls Mamata Banerjees party won 134 seats to post a hat-trick of wins decimating a frail challenge from the opposition BJP the Left Front and the Congress officials said The BJP which lost much of its steam after the assembly poll defeat managed to win just three wards a senior State Election Commission official said The Congress and the CPIM-led Left Front bagged two wards each and Independents threeThe Left Front despite the mauling finished second to the TMC in terms of vote share Chief Minister and TMC supremo Mamata Banerjee who has been trying to expand her partys footprint beyond her native state saw in the victory a leg-up for her national ambitions I want to dedicate this triumph to the people of the state and Maa Mati Manush mother land and people - TMC slogan for many years Several national parties like the BJP Congress and CPIM fought against us but they were all defeated This is a victory of a daughter of the soil This victory will show the way in national politics in days to come a visibly pleased Banerjee told reporters outside her residence The TMC had swept all the 16 assembly segments in the city in the assembly polls and the BJP was its main challenger The saffron party was second after the TMC in the assembly elections in all the wards constituting the 16 seats in terms of vote share Riding the momentum of its massive victory in the state polls and the recent UNESCO Intangible Heritage tag for Kolkatas Durga Puja the TMC bagged about three-fourths of the votes polled The TMC bagged 7195 per cent of the votes polled whereas the Left Front and the BJP bagged 1113 and 894 per cent each The Congress clinched 447 per cent of the votes and Independents 325 per cent The TMC got 22 per cent votes more than the 2015 KMC polls and increased its vote share by 11 per cent compared to the April-May assembly electionsThe BJP which garnered six per cent less votes compared to the last KMC polls saw a sharp decline of 20 per cent vote share compared to the assembly polls in the KMC area seven months back when it had bagged 29 per cent votes Although the Left lost the chief opposition status to BJP in the KMC in terms of number of seats won it got a bigger share of the electoral pie by way of votes than the saffron camp and bagged seven per cent more votes than what it had polled in the Assembly elections The Lefts vote share however was 13 per cent less than the last KMC pollsSeveral high profile candidates of the TMC including former Mayor Firhad Hakim former deputy mayor Atin Ghosh and others like Mala Roy Debashis Kumar Tarak Singh and Paresh Pal won by impressive margins The highest victory margin was recorded by TMC candidate Faiz Ahmed Khan in ward no 66 He won by a whopping 62045 votes followed by TMCs Ananya Banerjee who emerged victorious by a margin of 37661 votes from ward no 109 Kajari Banerjee the sister-in-law of Mamata Banerjee also won from ward no 73 BJPs sitting councillor and former deputy mayor Mina Devi Purohit won for the sixth consecutive time TMC national general secretary Abhishek Banerjee also thanked the people of Kolkata for the huge mandate People of Kolkata have once again proven that politics of HATE VIOLENCE have NO PLACE in BENGAL I thank everyone for blessing us with such a huge mandate We are truly humbled and shall always remain committed in our goals towards YOUR BETTERMENT Thank you Kolkata he tweeted Senior party leader and former Kolkata Mayor Firhad Hakim described it as victory of the partys developmental work in the last decade in the city Our development efforts since 2010 was enough to ensure this victory Right now we will focus on improved civic services including environmental issues We will strive to make the city Covid-free in the near future Hakim a minister in the Banerjee cabinet said The BJP however termed the results a reflection of the reign of terror that the TMC has unleashed This result was expected because free and fair polls didnt take place in the absence of central forces BJP leader Shamik Bhattacharya said However senior CPIM leader Sujan Chakraborty saw a silver lining in the results as in most of the wards the Left has emerged the main opposition Had the elections been fair our results would have been much better he said Over 63 per cent of the nearly 405 lakh voters had exercised their franchise on Sunday The TMC has been in power in KMC since 2010 In the last KMC polls in 2015 it had won 124 seats whereas the Left Front bagged 13 The BJP and the Congress had secured five and two seats respectively The newly elected TMC councillors will meet on December 23 to elect the citys next mayor In the 145-year history of Kolkata Municipal Corporation nationalist leaders like Deshbandhu Chittaranjan Das Netaji Subhas Chandra Bose and Bidhan Chandra Roy also a former chief minister graced the mayors chair in pre-Independent India Hakim was the first Muslim mayor of the city since Independence PTI SUSSCH PNT RBT SK NN NN

Kolkata Nov 29 PTI Former Kolkata Municipal Corporation KMC mayor Firhad Hakim and Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjees sister-in-law Kajari Bandopadhyay on Monday filed their nomination papers as TMC candidates for elections to the civic body on December 19 Hakim who is contesting from ward number 82 said I wont be seeking votes during my campaigns I will be renewing my bond with people I am sure of victory Banerjee filed her papers from ward number 73 Meanwhile a high-level meeting was held at the State Election Commission SEC headquarters during which it was decided the EVMs will be kept in individual strong rooms in all 144 wards one of its officials said The SEC has also emphasised that all COVID-19 protocols should be followed during electioneering and polling in line with the health ministrys directives the official added PTI SUS RMS RMS

Kolkata Nov 28 PTI The BJP on Monday released its list of candidates for elections to the 144-ward Kolkata Municipal Corporation KMC to be held on December 19 Addressing a press meet BJP vice-president Pratap Bandyopadhyay said the party wanted to field both old-timers and new faces after taking into consideration their track record and support base We have fielded 50 women and 48 young people There are school teachers professors doctors apart from an ex-colonel and five advocates on the list The party chose the ones who have a clean image and proven track record Bandyopadhyay said To a question party spokesperson Shamik Bhattacharya who was also present at the meet said The BJP is ready to fight the civic polls We had decided on 75 per cent of the names two-and-half months back Talking about the petition the saffron party has filed before Calcutta High Court seeking elections to all municipal bodies in the state in a single phase Bhattacharya said it would wait for the judiciary to take a call on the matter We will go by whatever the judiciary decides People of other municipalities too had not been able to vote for the last couple of years despite the term expiry of the boards he added Bhattacharya further said that the BJP doesnt believe in family-driven politics unlike some other parties and the selection process went through a transparent and fair process He was probably referring to the TMC which has fielded candidates who share ties with the top leaders notable among them being party supremo Mamata Banerjees sister-in-law Kajari Banerjee No personal likes or whims influenced our decision Bhattacharya added Earlier in the month the ruling TMC the CPIM and the Congress have announced the names of candidates for KMC elections PTI SUS RMS RMS

New Delhi Nov 29 PTI These are the top stories at 115 pm NATION DEL22 PM-LD SESSION Benchmark should be how Parliament functioned not how forcefully it was disrupted PM Modi New Delhi Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Monday said the benchmark for assessment should be how Parliament functioned and not how forcefully it was disrupted as he asserted that the dignity of the House and the Chair should be maintained PAR10 LS-FARM LAWS Lok Sabha passes bill to repeal three farm laws New Delhi A bill to repeal the three contentious farm laws against which farmers have been protesting for over a year was passed by the Lok Sabha within minutes of introduction on Monday PAR13 PAR-JOSHI-REPEAL BILL Bill to repeal farm laws to be brought in RS today itself Joshi New Delhi Bill to repeal the three farm laws will be brought in Rajya Sabha on Monday itself Parliamentary Affairs Minister Pralhad Joshi said PAR14 RS-LD ADJOURN RS proceedings adjourned till 2 pm amid opposition sloganeering New Delhi The proceedings of the Rajya Sabha were adjourned till 2 pm on Monday amid sloganeering by opposition parties on various issues including those related to farmers PAR7 LS-LD ADJOURN Lok Sabha adjourns till noon amid Opposition din over farmer issues New Delhi Lok Sabha proceedings were adjourned till noon on Monday amid din as Opposition members sought to raise the issue of deaths of farmers during their protests against three farm laws on the first day of the Winter Session DEL20 CONG-PROTEST Congress leaders raise slogans against govt in Parliament complex over farm laws issue New Delhi Congress MPs led by party chief Sonia Gandhi and former president Rahul Gandhi on Monday staged a protest in Parliament complex over the issue of farm laws DEL19 RAHUL-FARMERS Sunrise in Parliament should be in name of farmers today Rahul Gandhi New Delhi Sunrise in Parliament must be in the name of farmers today Congress leader Rahul Gandhi said on Monday ahead of the winter session of Parliament DEL9 VIRUS-LD CASES India reports 8309 new Covid cases active cases decline to 103859 New Delhi With 8309 people testing positive for the coronavirus infection in a day Indias tally of COVID-19 cases rose to 34580832 while the active cases have declined to 103859 the lowest in 544 days according to the Union Health Ministry data updated on Monday CAL1 MG-INTERVIEW-MUKUL SANGMA TMC to expand political base across Northeast ahead of 2024 LS polls Mukul Sangma Shillong Meghalaya TMC leader Mukul Sangma said that Mamata Banerjees party is looking forward to expanding its political base across the Northeast ahead of the 2024 Lok Sabha elections By D Banjop Mukhim BUSINESS DEL23 BIZ-LSQ-BITCOIN No proposal to recognise Bitcoin as a currency FM New Delhi The government has no proposal to recognise Bitcoin as a currency in the country Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman said in a reply to the Lok Sabha on Monday FOREIGN FGN17 UN-INDIA-FARM-LAWS UN human rights expert welcomes Indian govts decision to repeal farm laws United NationsGeneva A top UN human rights expert has welcomed the Indian governments decision to repeal the three controversial farm laws expressing hope that any subsequent action on reforming the agriculture sector will be informed by the countrys human rights commitments and taken through meaningful consultations with farmers communities and unions By Yoshita Singh PTI KJ

Panaji Oct 25 PTI Trinamool Congress leader Babul Supriyo on Monday expressed confidence that his party will do very well in the Goa Assembly elections due early next year Several TMC leaders including Supriyo and party MPs Mahua Moitra and Saugata Roy have arrived in Goa ahead of West Bengal Chief Minister and TMC head Mamata Banerjees visit to the state scheduled on October 28 The TMC has already announced its decision to contest the Assembly elections in Goa The forthcoming Goa Assembly poll is an important election and the TMC will do very well in it Supriyo told reporters This Goa is one place in India which should see a lot of development to make it more tourist-friendly said Supriyo who joined the TMC last month after quitting the BJP He said Goa is known for its culture tradition music and wonderful beaches A lot more can be done here he added Last month former Goa chief minister Luizinho Faleiro joined the TMC while state Independent MLA Prasad Gaonkar has also extended support to the Mamata Banerjee-led party The TMC last week appointed Faleiro as its vice president The party has been inducting several local leaders in its fold ever since it announced its intention to contest the Goa Assembly polls Elections to the 40-member House in the state are due in February 2022 PTI RPS GK GK

Kolkata Sep 23 PTI The Calcutta High Court on Thursday allowed the Election Commission EC to file an affidavit regarding the contents of the notification issued by it for the Bhabanipur bypollThe court was hearing public interest litigation that urged it to step into the poll process in the constituency as the EC allegedly mentioned that a constitutional crisis would arise if the by-election to Bhabanipur was not held which the petitioner claimed the poll body cannotThe advocate representing the EC sought a short adjournment to file an affidavit regarding the contents of two paragraphs of the notification issued for the election in view of the arguments raised by Bikash Bhattacharya the senior counsel for the petitionerA division bench comprising Acting Chief Justice Rajesh Bindal and Justice Rajarshi Bharadwaj adjourned the hearing in the PIL till Friday when it will be taken up againThe West Bengal government had during an earlier hearing on September 13 submitted that the chief secretary of the state had only written to EC requesting that the bypoll be held and the commission had accepted the requestIt had submitted that the state has no role in the decision to hold the bypoll and that it is the sole preserve of the ECBypoll to Bhabanipur was necessitated following the resignation of Trinamool Congress MLA Sovandeb Chattopadhyay to facilitate Chief Minister Mamata Banerjees election to the assemblyBanerjee lost in Nandigram as per the results of the assembly election declared by the EC in MayAccording to the constitutional provision a person has to get elected within six months of taking oath as a chief minister or a minister She took oath as chief minister for the third consecutive term on May 5 PTI AMR SOM SOM