Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi and West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee paid tributes to Swami Vivekananda on his 122nd death anniversary, highlighting his teachings on social progress and unity. Both leaders reiterated their commitment to fulfilling Vivekananda’s vision for a prosperous and progressive society.
West Bengal Governor CV Ananda Bose has called for an emergency cabinet meeting after claiming the state is facing a financial breakdown. He has also sought a white paper on the state’s finances from the Mamata Banerjee-led TMC government, citing concerns about the state’s public finance. This comes after a meeting with Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman and follows recent controversies involving Bose and Banerjee.
Prominent events unfold today, including a thanksgiving event in Amethi addressed by Rahul Gandhi and Priyanka Gandhi Vadra, coinciding with the commencement of Congress’s ‘Dhanyawaad Yatra’ in Uttar Pradesh. West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee chairs a high-level administrative meeting, while a Jharkhand court summons Rahul Gandhi in a defamation case. Additionally, Mumbai’s coastal road’s northbound section opens to motorists, and Punjab launches a campaign to combat child labor.
West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee has demanded the removal of Prime Minister Narendra Modi from power, calling on political parties not to support a government led by him. She has also made public appeals to members of the Bharatiya Janata Party and Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh to revolt against Modi’s leadership. Banerjee believes that only by ousting Modi can the country be safe and secure. She has reached out to opposition leaders like Akhilesh Yadav, Uddhav Thackeray, and Sharad Pawar to form a united alliance against Modi.
West Bengal Governor C.V. Ananda Bose has strongly condemned the killing of Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) worker Rathibala Arhi in Nandigram, Purba Medinipur district. Governor Bose has termed the incident as state government-sponsored violence and has directed the state government to submit an action taken report to him. The killing has sparked violent protests by BJP workers in Nandigram.
Union Home Minister Amit Shah has accused West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee of allowing infiltrators to change the state’s demography, compromising national security for the sake of vote-bank politics. Shah made these allegations at a poll rally in Kanthi, East Midnapore district, asserting that the Trinamool Congress (TMC) will disintegrate and the Mamata Banerjee government will bid farewell after the BJP wins 30 Lok Sabha seats in the state.
The Congress has strongly condemned the defacing of posters of party president Mallikarjun Kharge in Kolkata. The party’s general secretary (organisation) K.C. Venugopal has issued a stern warning, calling it an act of gross indiscipline. The incident has sparked a political crisis within the West Bengal Congress, with state chief Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury questioning the loyalty of Trinamool Congress supremo Mamata Banerjee to the opposition alliance. Kharge has asserted that Banerjee remains an ally, but Chowdhury has expressed his disagreement.
Former Bengal Minister and current Leader of Opposition Suvendu Adhikari has repeatedly praised the Mamata Banerjee government’s Lakshmir Bhandar scheme, despite his opposition to most of her policies. He has promised to increase the scheme’s payout three times to Rs 3,000 per beneficiary if elected. Union Home Minister Amit Shah has also pledged to increase the benefit by Rs 100. The scheme, which provides a monthly cash incentive to women below 60, has over 2.11 crore beneficiaries and is considered a game-changer for the Trinamool Congress. The BJP’s focus on Lakshmir Bhandar is seen as an attempt to win over women voters, who constitute nearly 50% of the electorate in Bengal.
The Trinamool Congress (TMC), led by Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee, is facing electoral challenges in the ongoing Lok Sabha elections from the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and the Left-Congress combine. Internally, the party is grappling with a divide between the old guard and the new leadership. The demand for fresh faces has been growing, but the TMC has been conservative in its ticket allocation, with senior leaders like Saugata Roy and Sudip Banerjee being fielded in key constituencies. This has led to criticism and accusations of inaccessibility and complacency. The debate over experience versus youth within the party has intensified with the rise of Abhishek Banerjee, Mamata’s nephew and MP. Despite his calls for a retirement age in politics, Mamata remains the driving force in the TMC, making key decisions on ticket distribution. The party has also nominated young candidates like Debangshu Bhattacharya and Sayoni Ghosh. The challenge for both Mamata and Abhishek Banerjee is to maintain unity within the party and prevent public disputes, as the BJP and the Left-Congress seek to make gains in West Bengal.
West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee has demanded the resignation of Governor CV Ananda Bose amidst allegations of molestation against him. Bose had released CCTV footage from Raj Bhavan in an attempt to clear his name, but Banerjee has called the footage edited and shocking. The contractual employee who made the allegations has objected to the public screening of unedited footage that allegedly disclosed her identity without her consent. She has also criticized Bose for not providing the footage to the police at the outset of the investigation.
