Inform me if anyone tries to extort money in TMC's name: Mahua Moitra

 There is no need to be afraid of anyone, no matter how influential the person is; the law will take its own course, said TMC MP Mahua Moitra

TMC MP Mahua Moitra Thursday asked people in her constituency to inform her if anyone tries to extort money using the name of the ruling party. Moitra, the Trinamool Congress MP from Krishnanagar, also urged people to come forward and break the nexus of corruption without any fear.

Our honourable chief minister has repeatedly said that any kind of extortion by using the name and position of the party would not be tolerated. If anyone in the name of giving jobs tries to extort money, please lodge a complaint in writing to the police or at my office, she wrote on her Facebook page.

There is no need to be afraid of anyone, no matter how influential the person is; the law will take its own course. So please come forward and let us break this nexus of corruption, she said. Her comments came a day after Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee ordered the police department to take action against those accused of extortion and fleecing people, without considering their political affiliation.

MPs unite against Facebook over ‘political bias’, seek action against execs

The meeting was attended by 13 MPs of the BJP and four from opposition parties

Facebook was subject to tough questioning by Members of Parliament at a meeting of the Standing Committee attached to the Ministry of Information and Technology, on Wednesday. The meeting was attended by 13 MPs of the BJP and four from Opposition parties. Almost all members criticised the US-based social media giant for political bias.

The BJP MPs wanted to know why 2.6 million pages of BJP-related posts were taken down, erased, or tampered with by the company. BJP MP Nishikant Dubey who has aggressively questioned the practices at Facebook, lashed out at the organisation, along with Anil Agarwal (BJP), Sanjay Seth (BJP) and Mahua Moitra (Trinamool Congress).

As proceedings of Parliamentary committees are covered by Parliamentary privilege, very little information was forthcoming from Facebook on how the organisation defended itself. Those who attended the meeting on its behalf were Ajit Mohan, vice-president of the company, and S Purohit, the legal advisor. Facebook said its deposition would be submitted in writing to the MPs.

Unconfirmed reports suggest some MPs also voiced the demand that executives in Facebook India should be stripped of their positions. Another meeting, for which Facebook will be summoned, is on the cards.Two activists of net neutrality — journalist Paranjoy Guha Thakurta, also the author of The Real Face of Facebook in India, and Nikhil Pahwa, founder of digital news portal Medianama — also addressed the Standing Committee.

‘Shoot the traitors’ slogan raised by group going to Shah’s rally in Bengal

The men shouted the slogan while they were passing the Maidan Market in Esplanade en route to the rally venue Shahid Minar ground

The West Bengal BJP unit on Sunday came under fire after a group of people holding the party flag allegedly raised the incendiary “desh ke gaddaron ko, goli maro…” (shoot the traitors) slogan on their way to a rally of Union Home Minister Amit Shah. The men shouted the slogan while they were passing the Maidan Market in Esplanade en route to the rally venue Shahid Minar ground.

There has been a controversy over raising of such slogans in BJP rallies during Delhi polls and demonstrations in favour of the Citizenship (Amendment) Act (CAA) due to allegations that they provoke violence. The state BJP leadership, however, denied involvement of any party worker in the incident and termed it as the “handiwork of the TMC (Trinamool Congress)”. The slogan shouting BJP supporters came close to Congress and Left Front members who chanted “Go Back Amit Shah” on the other flank of the Jawaharlal Nehru Road, but a showdown was averted as a large number of police personnel posted nearby intervened and took control of the situation.

When contacted, a senior Kolkata Police officer declined to comment on the incident but said strict action will be taken against anybody trying to disrupt law and order in the city. “No arrest has been made in this connection till evening,” he said. When asked for a reaction on the incident, state BJP vice-president Subhas Sarkar said no party workers were involved in this sloganeering. “It was a mega rally in Kolkata. We feel that it was the handiwork of the TMC to malign our party,” Sarkar said.

TMC loses 2 MLAs, 50 councillors to BJP in ‘first of seven phases’

With these defections, TMC loses hold over two assembly constituencies and three municipal bodies in West Bengal

Days after the Trinamool Congress lost a few of its recently held Lok Sabha seats to the Bharatiya Janata Party, two of its MLAs and more than 50 councilors abandoned to the national party on Monday. One MLA of the Communist Party of India-Marxist (CPI-M), as well, escaped. The BJP said mass migration of Trinamool pioneers to the BJP will occur in “seven stages” — this being the first.

While the TMC lost Subhrangshu Roy (Bijpur MLA) and Tusharkanti Bhattacharya (Bishnupur MLA), the CPI-M saw the takeoff of Debendra Nath Roy, an administrator from Hemtabad. Roy’s dad Mukul Roy, who was once considered as a nearby comrade of TMC supremo and Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee, had joined the BJP in 2017. A previous railroads serve, the senior Roy, before, had been addressed by the CBI regarding the Saradha chit reserve trick. His child was suspended from the TMC on Monday for hostile to party exercises.

The director and the bad habit executive of the sheets of the Naihati, the Halishahar and the Kanchrapara districts, alongside more than 50 councilors, as well, joined the BJP. A bunch of TMC pioneers at the Panchayat level likewise changed their loyalty. “Amid the decision crusade, Prime Minister Narendra Modi had said that 40 MLAs from West Bengal are in contact with us and Derek O’Brien (TMC pioneer in the Rajya Sabha) had tweeted that it won’t occur. Today, more than 50 councilors and three MLAs have joined the BJP,” said the BJP’s West Bengal in-control Kailash Vijayvargiya. They joined the BJP at its home office in Delhi.

“Much the same as the seven-stage Lok Sabha decision, we will have joining of pioneers from the TMC to the BJP in seven stages. Today was only the main stage,” he said. “This is the finish of Mamata’s oppression. Our all the best with her that she remains till 2021, however in the event that her kin continue leaving her, at that point I can’t support her.”

West Bengal panchayat polls: Supriyo calls for President's rule; updates

Voting for the West Bengal Panchayat polls 2018 began at 7 am on Monday and will continue until 5 pm. The counting will take place on May 17. Catch the latest developments here

 

 

The single-phase West Bengal panchayat election is underway amid tight security. Several reports of clashes have emerged from various districts in which dozens of people have been injured. Further, violence broke out in North 24 Parganas, Burdwan, Coochbehar, and South 24 Parganas districts, killing three people and injuring at least 21.The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and Communist Party of India (Marxist) (CPM) have blamed the ruling Trinamool Congress (TMC) of violence during the ongoing West Bengal Panchayat election. Union Minister and BJP leader Babul Supriyo on Monday demanded President's rule in the state, while CPM General Secretary Sitaram Yechury urged the state election commission (SEC) to act in a way to restore faith in the election process.Amid the violence, the election witnessed 41.51 per cent voter turnout until 1 pm.It is the last major election in the state before next year's Lok Sabha elections.With 40 of the 42 Lok Sabha seats located in the districts, political parties are viewing Monday's polls as a warm-up match ahead of the 2019 general elections.The three-tier panchayat polls are being held in the state after a protracted legal battle in the Kolkata High Court and the Supreme Court involving the state election commission, the TMC, and opposition parties.In North 24 Parganas, a Communist Party of India (Marxist), or CPM, worker and his wife were charred to death after their house was torched on Sunday night. There are allegations that TMC workers were behind the attack.Incidents of violence were also reported from Bhangar, where a media vehicle was torched and a camera broken. Subsequently, the media was prohibited from entering the area.Furthermore, Bhangar locals blocked the roads, alleging that TMC workers were capturing the polling booth.The counting will take place on May 17.

Here are the top developments on the panchayat polls currently underway in West Bengal:

1) Bengal govt is a shameless govt, says Union Minister Babul Supriyo: Demanding President's rule in the state, Supriyo said he was not surprised by all the incidents that have taken place since morning. "Bengal government is a shameless government, you cannot expect them to follow any kind of constitutional behaviour," Supriyo said.1) TMC worker shot dead: A TMC worker named Arif Gazi was on Monday shot dead in Kultali area of South 24 Parganas district, news agencies reported

2) Deaths in Nadia, North 24 Parganas district: A person named Taibur Gayen on Monday was killed and two others were injured after crude bombs were hurled at them, allegedly by TMC supporters, reported Hindustan Times. The news portal also reported the death of twenty-seven-old Sanjit Pramanik in Santipur of Nadia district due to bullet injuries received during clashes.

3) BJP candidate from Bilkanda attacked with a knife: BJP's Bilkanda candidate Raju Biswas was injured after being attacked with a knife, allegedly by TMC workers, news agencies reported.

4) Voting stopped in Shikarpur in Jalpaiguri: The state election commission has stopped voting in a booth in Shikarpur in Jalpaiguri district where ballot boxes were set on fire

.5) Violence across West Bengal: Violence was reported from various parts of West Bengal as the polling for the single-phase panchayat election was underway on Monday.Within less than two hours after the polling began, the state election commission received complaints of violence from at least four districts from different parts the state and asked the police to take action, officials said.

READ MORE PANCHAYAT ELECTION