Kolkata Feb 19 PTI At least 281 fresh COVID-19 cases 38 less than the previous day were reported in West Bengal on Saturday which pushed the tally to 2013075 a health department bulletin saidTwelve fresh fatalities took the toll to 21119A total of 1985308 people have recovered from the disease so far including 1357 in the last 24 hours The recovery rate stood at 9862 per cent and the positivity rate at 079 per cent Bengal currently has 6648 active cases down by 1088 since Friday the bulletin saidKolkata registered 38 fresh cases and North 24 Parganas 46 infectionsAs many as 35591 samples have been tested for COVID-19 over the past 24 hours raising the total number of such examinations to 23964132 the bulletin added PTI SUS RMS RMS

Kolkata Dec 24 PTI Veteran politician Mukul Roy who returned to the TMC after having spent over three years in the BJP made a faux pas on Friday not his first in the recent times as he stated that the saffron party would win handsomely in the upcoming elections to 111 civic bodies of Bengal The TMC embarrassed by his gaffe refused to attach much importance to the ailing leaders statement Roy during his visit to Bolpur in Birbhum district stunned everyone when he said The BJP will emerge victorious everywhere in the upcoming municipal polls As others looked at him in disbelief Roy went on to tell reporters The TMC is BJP and vice versa He was then led away by TMCs Birbhum district president Anubrata Mondal who was visibly upset Later Partha Chatterjee the secretary general of the TMC said Mukul Roy is ailing and that was probably the reason for his incoherent statements He is not a functionary of our party Lets not attach importance to what he says Chatterjee further said if Roy thinks he wont be able to discharge his responsibility as PAC chairman due to his health conditions he may inform the speaker In September Roy during a press meet had made a similar gaffe as he said that the saffron party will win the bypolls He immediately corrected himself and said that he meant that the TMC would be victorious in the by-elections PTI SUS RMS RMS

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