Mamata Banerjee says allegations of EVM tampering must be probed

Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee on Monday demanded a probe into the alleged tampering of EVMs in the recently-concluded assembly elections.

“You can’t win elections every time by hijacking EVMs. I didn’t contest but had I done so, I would have counted from one to ten. Those who had contested the elections, should have demanded a probe,” she said.

“I think there should be a probe. Even the ones that were used in the polls, they should be subjected to a sample survey,” Mamata Banerjee said at a public rally in Kharagpur.

The Trinamool Congress Chairperson also slammed the central government’s decision to lower the interest rate in small savings scheme by 0.1 percent. “This is why chit funds flourish. There are no chit funds in our regime. One day CPI-M, Congress and BJP will have to answer for them,” she said.

 

ইভিএম কারচুপির অভিযোগের তদন্ত হোক, চান মুখ্যমন্ত্রী

সোমবার খড়্গপুরের এক জনসভায় ইভিএম কারচুপির অভিযোগের তদন্ত চাইলেন মুখ্যমন্ত্রী মমতা বন্দ্যোপাধ্যায়।

“ইভিএম কারচুপি করে সব সময় জিততে পারবে না বিজেপি। আমি (উত্তরপ্রদেশ বিধানসভা নির্বাচনে) লড়িনি। যারা লড়েছে তাদের আগেই তদন্ত চাওয়া উচিত ছিল,” তিনি বলেন।

“আমার মনে হয় তদন্ত হয় উচিত,” বলেন মমতা বন্দ্যোপাধ্যায়।

এদিন, স্বল্প সঞ্চয় প্রকল্পর সুদের হার কমিয়ে দেওয়ায় কেন্দ্রকে আক্রমণ করেন মুখ্যমন্ত্রী। তিনি বলেন এর ফলে চিট ফান্ড বাড়বে। “আমাদের সময় কোনও চিট ফান্ড তৈরী হয়নি। সিপিএম, বিজেপি, কংগ্রেসকে মানুষের কাছে জবাব দিতে হবে,” বলেন তিনি।

Nadimul Haque speaks on the crackdown on meat-sellers across the country

FULL TRANSCRIPT

Sir, the Constitution guarantees us certain freedoms. We are all one. The Prime Minister talks of ‘Sabka Saath, Sabka Vikas’ but sirf kehne se nahin, karke dikhana hoga. We have to do it, to make it meaningful. The Government has to be for all. We need to safeguard our Constitution and allow it to guide us”.

The Constitution of India grants us Fundamental Rights which guarantees civil liberties. Our right to Freedom incorporates the right to practice any profession or occupation of our choosing to earn a respectable living and lead a life of dignity.

Sir, the recent events happening in states across the country paint a worrying picture of the lack of inclusiveness in our country. Reports have been pouring in of meat shops being shut down at a moment’s notice not only in Uttar Pradesh, but in Jharkhand, and other States also.

If the aim was to shut down illegal slaughterhouses, it could have been done in a proper manner. Most of the shopkeepers and butchers come from the backwards section of society, and have followed these professions for generations. They may not know the legal technicalities. The Government could have raised an awareness campaign, or at the very least afforded them some time to upgrade their shops and abattoirs as per legal norms. We are talking about 25 lakh people losing their livelihood, their families without any means to sustain themselves. This arbitrary crackdown on butchers and meat sellers is an encroachment on their right to earn a living.

The sudden clampdown on abattoirs has resulted in widespread economic and social distress in the Rs 15000 crore industry. Meat sellers have gone on strike, resulting in a huge shortage of meat and prices skyrocketing. 14% of GDP of Uttar Pradesh is also at stake.

The strike has in turn also affected other industries like leather (tanneries), export and hotels. This is leading to a huge economical loss. Reports are circulating of how even tigers and lions in zoos are being fed chicken meat, which they are refusing to eat. The government should have drawn a road map and assessed the impact of such a drastic move before implementing it.

The duty of a responsible government should be to safeguard the rights and freedoms guaranteed by our Constitution to all citizens. Otherwise, we will eventually turn into a Police State. What people do for a living or what their preferred food item is, cannot, and should not, be dictated by the State. I would urge you to look into this matter urgently and take the necessary steps to ensure equality for all as enshrined in our Constitution.

 

Sir I want to end with a couplet

 

Tere bandish ka jawab nahin.

Parathe khao, kebab nahi

Munh se niwale kyun chhin lete ho,

Koi mare ya jeeye, saath nahi

 

Mamata Banerjee expresses concern over recent happenings in Uttar Pradesh

Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee today expressed her concern over the recent happenings in Uttar Pradesh. She said that “people are afraid & many are scared about differences over caste, creed & religion.”

The Chief Minister reiterated that “we are all one”. She posted on Twitter: “A government has to be for all. ‘Sabka Saath, Sabka Vikas’ sirf bolna nahi hain, karna hain. We have to do it, to make it meaningful.”

Mamata Banerjee added that “we must all safeguard the Constitution and allow it to guide us.”

 

উত্তর প্রদেশের সাম্প্রতিক ঘটনায় উদ্বেগ প্রকাশ মুখ্যমন্ত্রীর

উত্তর প্রদেশের সাম্প্রতিক কিছু ঘটনায় উদ্বেগ প্রকাশ করলেন মুখ্যমন্ত্রী মমতা বন্দ্যোপাধ্যায়। তিনি বলেন, মানুষ আজ ভীত। জাতি, ধর্মের ভেদাভেদের কারণে অনেকেই আতঙ্কিত। মনে রাখতে হবে আমরা সবাই এক।”

তিনি টুইটারে বলেন, “সরকারের দায়িত্ব সকলের পাশে দাঁড়ানো। ‘সবকা সাথ, সবকা বিকাশ’ শুধু বললেই হবে না, কাজে করে দেখাতে হবে।”

মুখ্যমন্ত্রী আরও বলেন যে সবার উচিত সংবিধানের গরিমা রক্ষা করা যাতে আগামী দিনে সংবিধান আমাদের পাথেয় হতে পারে।

Ratna De Nag speaks on the need for subsidies for potato growers

FULL TRANSCRIPT

Thank you very much Sir.

Potato growers in Bengal and some other States like Uttar Pradesh and Bihar are facing difficulties as their produce is sold at half the price. With the result they are incurring huge losses; they are not deriving any profit in spite of toiling in the farm to produce potatoes. There is an urgent need to provide subsidy to the potato growers as the Union Government extended subsidy to the rice growers.

To give an example how potato growers is undertaking hard times: 1 bigha of land = 1600 square yards; whatever they are spending they are not able earn profit. On the other hand they are losing Rs 2000 to Rs 10000. If efforts are not taken by the Central Government they would find it difficult to make both ends meet.

I would like to ask the Union Government to make measures to come to the rescue of the potato growers at this hour of despair and helplessness.

 

Bengal leads among States in Clean Ganga Mission

The West Bengal Government has another reason to smile. A recent meeting held in Delhi shows that Bengal tops in executing the clean Ganga mission schemes among the five states through which the Ganges flows. The other four states are Uttarakhand, Uttar Pradesh, Bihar and Jharkhand.

The meeting was held by officials of the ministry of water resources to review the performance of the five Ganga states in implementing National Ganga River Basin Authority (NGRBA) schemes.

According to officials, the data shows that Bengal, which also has the highest number of sanctioned projects, has completed 23 out of the 30 sanctioned projects that are being implemented in 24 towns across the state, with a sanctioned cost of Rs 1352 crore.

Uttarakhand comes next, completing two projects out of the 16 sanctioned projects being implemented in 11 towns there, with a sanctioned cost of Rs 251.21 crore. Uttar Pradesh is yet to complete any of the 15 sanctioned and ongoing projects. Bihar is implementing 12 schemes and Jharkhand one.

It was discussed in the meeting that a more Ganga-centric multi-pronged strategy would be followed to prevent river pollution.

Selected stretches will be properly monitored with CCTVs to check activities on the river side and the quality of water.