Economy of the country is in doldrums: Mamata Banerjee

Like every year, Trinamool organised the annual Sanhati Dibas rally at Mayo Road today. Speaking on the occasion, Mamata Banerjee took on the Centre on the issue of sagging economy, unemployment and rising prices of essential commodities.

She said, “Prices of onions are skyrocketing. They are busy in Hindustan-Pakistan fights. Will that yield onions for people? It is astounding that the Finance Minister stands up in the House and says she does not eat onions. Whose subject is price rise? It’s the Centre’s responsibility.”

She also said, “Few months ago they wanted to know from the States how many tonnes of onions we need. We asked for 200 metric tonnes per week. They sent us 20 metric tonnes only. Out of which, 10 metric tonnes turned out to be of bad quality. They think they can take Bangla for granted.”

She wondered why the Centre had not taken any measures before-hand to augment onion production. Bangla Government has started onion cultivation in Purulia, Bankura, Murshidabad, she said.

The CM added, “The economy of the country is in a slump. The country will become bankrupt in future. People will become bankrupt. If the economy of the country prospers, people also prosper.”

She added, “People’s money is no longer safe. If you keep your savings at home, they will usurp it in the name of demonetisation. If you keep your money in the bank, there is no guarantee for its safety.”

Our ideology is our shield: Mamata Banerjee

Like every year, Trinamool observed Sanhati Dibas at Mayo Road today. This day is observed as Sanhati Dibas since 1992.

Speaking on the occasion, Mamata Banerjee said, “We can never forget the riots of 1992. The riots ravaged the entire country. We had pledged back then that we will observe December 6 as Sanhati Dibas to foster communal harmony among people.”

She added, “We have never supported politics of riots. We have a responsibility towards the people. We have the support of people from grassroots level.”

She also said, “We can never sacrifice our ideology at the altar of politics. Trinamool was formed on January 1, 1998. Till date we have never taken any anti-people, anti-Constitution, anti-India action.”

We can sacrifice our lives, but not our ideals, she maintained.

Bangla means Business, opine foreign diplomats

The Bangla Government, under Mamata Banerjee, has been actively projecting the State as an ideal investment destination. Continuing the ride of development, the government is going to organise ‘Bengal Business Conclave’ in Digha on December 11-12 where many foreign investors will be present.

As part of the preparations for the upcoming Bengal Business Conclave, a meeting was recently held between FICCI and West Bengal Industrial Development Corporation. It was attended by representatives of 35 foreign countries.
Representatives of a number of countries have informed that their countries wish to set up business councils in the state. Representatives of countries like Poland and Czech Republic have shown interest in coal blocks of Deocha Pachami. France has shown interest in sales and marketing of handicrafts of Bangla. The former FICCI president has lauded the Bangla CM for her efforts.

Bangla has a unique geographical location. The sincere approach by the state government along with the 12.58% growth in infrastructural economy has been a plus point for the State for making investments.

Statewide protest for JEE in Bangla: Didi

A meeting of the expanded working committee of Trinamool Congress took place at Trinamool Bhavan today. Various issues were discussed. After that, the party Chairperson spoke to the Press:

She said that the Supreme Court verdict in the Ayodhya case was expected next week, and she hoped that there would be no untoward incidents. The unity of the country must not be affected.

About holding the national-level Joint Entrance Examination in Bengali, she said that it was a just demand as many students across the country would benefit. There is no problem with holding the examination in Gujrati, she said, but the benefit of writing the examination in a student’s regional language must be given to all students.

On the above issue, the party would hold protest marches across all blocks on November 11 from 2pm to 3pm. Trinamool Yuva Congress would participate too. She said other parties would be invited to join the movement.

In the context of education, she said that the BJP has been changing a lot of things. Even National Education Day would be celebrated after a leader of their choice, rather than the educationist Maulana Abul Kalam Azad.

Trinamool would continue to make people aware about the various issues regarding the NRC and Citizenship Amendment Bill (CAB) as the party does not want the secular fabric of the country to be torn. Trinamool does not support the NRC.

She said that sometimes it is being said that refugees from Bangladesh would be given citizenship through CAB. But according to the pact between Indira Gandhi and Mujibur Rahman, they are already citizens and have all the necessary documents for that purpose.

She extended her best wishes to all for various festivals. November 10 is Nabi Dibas and November 12 is the 550th birth anniversary of Guru Nanak. She will participate in the programme organised by the Sikh community at the Maidan on November 11 and will visit a gurdwara in Siliguri on November 12.

On November 13, she will visit the Ras Mela in Cooch Behar. There is a meeting with Trinamool workers the next day. She will return to Kolkata on the 15th. From November 18 to 20, there are party programmes in Malda, Murshidabad and Dakshin Dinajpur districts. The Bangladeshi Prime Minister is coming to Kolkata on November 22 to watch the cricket match at Eden Gardens. Mamata Banerjee will be there too.

Let the JEE be held in regional languages too: Didi

Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee wrote a Facebook post today stressing on the need for setting questions in regional languages in the all-India Joint Entrance Examination.

Given below is her post:

Our country is India, which is home to so many religions, cultures, languages, creeds and communities. However, maligning all regions and regional languages is the intention of the government at the centre.

Joint Entrance Exams so long were conducted in English and Hindi languages. Surprisingly, now only Gujarati language has been added.

Such a step is not at all praiseworthy. I love Gujarati language. But, why have other regional languages been ignored? Why injustice is being meted out to them?

If Gujarati has to be there, then all regional languages including Bengali must be there. Unless this issue is decided gracefully, there will be strong protests all around as sentiments of people who speak other regional languages would be deeply hurt due to this injustice.

We want unity, not divisiveness: Mamata Banerjee at Kali Pujo inaugurations

Like every year, this year too Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee has inaugurated several Kali Pujos. Yesterday, she inaugurated one in Siliguri. Today she inaugurated several Kali Pujos in Kolkata.

Speaking at the inauguration programmes, she gave a strong message of unity and harmony. She also urged everyone to exercise caution while bursting firecrackers.

Highlights of her speech:

In Bangla, we celebrate all festivals together, irrespective of religion, colour and creed.

I hope on October 27, Kali, the goddess of light, lights up everyone’s hearts with goodness.

Be cautious while bursting fire crackers. Our joy should not become a cause of concern for others.

Let Mother Kali keep everyone safe and happy. Let ‘mangal pradeep’ light up people’s homes.

Let us all work together to establish Bangla as the best in the world. Bangla shows the way for unity and communal harmony.

We want to live together in harmony. We do not want divisions, we want unity. We do not want war, we want peace. We want to the victory of good over evil.

Chief Minister stresses more awareness about schemes at Uttarkanya admin meeting

Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee is currently on a tour of North Bengal. A day after she participated in a Bijoya Sammilani celebration at Siliguri Police Line, she held an administrative review meeting at Uttarkanya today at which officials from the districts of Jalpaiguri, Alipurduar and Cooch Behar took part. She repeatedly reminded the officials to build greater awareness about the various schemes and projects that the State Government has undertaken for them.

Highlights of her meeting:

1. The news media must play a constructive role.

2. You have to ensure that people are getting job cards under the 100 Days’ Work Scheme, farmers are getting money under crop insurance and women from eligible families are getting Swasthya Sathi health insurance cards.

3. Voters’ lists must be verified carefully. If a necessary document has been lost, a police complaint must be lodged. Documentary proof for including names in the voters’ lists include driving license, Aadhaar card, PAN card, Swasthya Sathi card and others. Seniors officials like BDOs, BLROs, SDOs, DMs and others must help the people by issuing proper instructions.

4. A lot of names get missed out during the national census. I am asking the officers to ensure that no person in Bangla gets left out. Duplicated inclusions must be removed.

5. There will be no NRC in Bangla. Implementation depends on the State Government. There is no question of setting up detention camps.

6. Ration card is a valid identity proof in its own right. If there are mistakes on it, they must be corrected. There is no connection with NRC regarding this.

7. Till date, Rs 2,500 cr has been spent on disaster relief.

8. The State’s voters’ lists will be updated through special camps to be organised from November 5 to 30.

9. You have to ensure that people are getting money from crop insurance claims. Work in this regard will start from November 1. Under the Krishak Bandhu Scheme, 40 lakh farmer families in the State have been included.

10. It must be ensured that members of scheduled castes, scheduled tribes, Adivasis and other backward castes face no problem getting caste certificates.

11. Under Swasthya Sathi, 4.89 lakh names have been included, 25,000 have benefitted, Rs 13 crore has been disbursed.

12. Under 100 Days’ Work Scheme, out of five lakh eligible people, two lakh have been provided jobs.

13. People working in roadside tea shops and dhabas and petrol pumps are being trained as ‘pathasathis’ to help people involved in road accidents. For this purpose, they would be given phones.

14. People must be made aware about the human milk bank, Madhur Sneha and Cord Blood Bank.

15. Many young women work under the MSME scheme, Bangla Haat. This would be linked to Biswa Bangla stores.

16. People have earned a total of Rs 15,000 crore during Durga Puja because of festival-related work.

17. Through the leather complex in Kolkata, Karmadiganta, five lakh youths would get jobs.

18. After the opening of Bhorer Alo Flyover, it would be possible to reach Siliguri in half an hour from Gajoldoba.

19. You have to ensure that the tea industry remains in good health. Members of various merchants’ chambers of commerce have to work together to ensure that. Tahe State Government will make land available in and around tea gardens to start horticultural practices.

20. It may not be possible to have a Silicon Valley here, but the place can easily become another Swiss Valley.

21. I am appealing to the young generation to come forward to take up internships in different government projects. The process to make this possible would soon be started in various universities.

Unity displayed across Bangla during Durga Pujo highly appreciable: Mamata Banerjee

Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee today addressed police officials at a Bijoya Sammilani programme held at Siliguri Police Line. She extended her greetings to all present and their families. She was highly appreciative of the unity and festive spirit displayed during Durga Pujo celebrations across the length and breadth of Bangla.

She said that when eight to 10 crore people were on the streets visiting Durga Pujo pandals, night after night, she was busy ensuring that no untoward incident took place. She kept a track of all the clubs that organised the pujos.

Since Kali Pujo is on a Sunday, and Chhath Pujo on November 2, she said amid cheers from the audience that she had given additional state holidays during that week. Pubali, Rajbanshi, Kamtapuri, Gurumukhi, Hindi and Urdu have been given the status of official language, she added.

North Bengal has seen a lot of development, she said, mentioning the airports at Balurghat and Cooch Behar, the Jalpaiguri Circuit Bench, and the highway connecting the districts of Siliguri, Jalpaiguri and Alipurduar to Nepal and Bhutan.

Regarding NRC, she assured everyone that no such thing would be introduced in Bangla. “I would ensure that,” she said.

Mamata Banerjee highlighted the religious and cultural diversity of Bangla. Be it Kazi Nazrul Islam or Rabindranath Tagore or Panchanan Barma, Swami Vivekananda, Sri Ramakrishna, Ishwarchandra Vidyasagar or Raja Rammohan Roy, Netaji Subhas Chandra Bose or Birsa Munda, Matangini Hazra or Pritilata Wadedar – Bangla has always been the land of glorious traditions and path-breaking action.

She said that the Central Government was busy playing the game of dividing people on communal lines, which goes against the spirit of India. This was apparent even for the NRC implemented in Assam.

The Chief Minister also highlighted the pathetic condition the country’s economy was in, and contrasted it with the comparatively better state of things in Bangla. While there was over 45 per cent unemployment in the whole country, in Bangla there has been an increase in employment by 40 per cent. Several other indicators showed that the State was performing better than others.

She said someone had mockingly said that Bangla could no longer produce scientists and yet, just three days later, the Nobel Prize in Economics was awarded to a son of the State. She concluded by saying that Bangla would one day show the world the way towards progress.

From declassification of Netaji files to Subhas Utsab – Bangla Govt keeping the legacy of Netaji alive

On September 18, 2015, Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee had released all the 64 classified files related to Netaji, which were in the possession of the Kolkata Police and the West Bengal Police. The files are being kept at the Kolkata Police Museum on APC Road.

Not only that, Mamata Banerjee has been exhorting the Centre and many foreign countries as well to release all secret files related to Netaji.

The CM had also announced the State Government’s decision to digitise these files. In the future the government plans to declassify files of the post-independence era too, the chief minister had said.

Netaji Subhas Chandra Bose continues to inspire all of us.

On January 15, 2016, the Chief Minister had inaugurated a plaque, commemorating the 75th anniversary of the ‘Great Escape’, as the great leader’s escape in 1941 from house arrest (in Netaji Bhawan) is called, and a statue of Netaji at Netaji Bhawan.

Bangla CM releases handbook citing state’s achievements in eight years

Bangla Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee released a handbook on October 16, 2019. The book highlights the achievements of the State Government over the last eight years. The handbook has been named ‘Two Zero Eleven – Two Zero Nineteen’.

The book showcases how the economy of Bangla has improved, despite the slump in the national economy. From the 2.5 fold increase in GSDP to the 11 fold rise in capital expenditure, for physical infrastructure creation, or the 3.9 times decrease in revenue deficit – the handbook highlights Bangla’s performance in every sphere.

It may be mentioned, in the last eight years, the planned expenditure of Bangla has increased six fold, agriculture budget has increased by nine times, social sector spending has increased by four times, school education budget by nine times, higher education budget by six times.

Since assuming office in 2011, Mamata Banerjee has been working tirelessly to put Bangla on the course of development. The data presented in this handbook is testimony to the fact that the State is on the fast-track of development now.