To protest against the sky-high fuel prices of recent days, Trinamool Congress and Trinamool Youth Congress are together organising a state-wide protest today. It will consist of protest marches in every district across the State, including in Kolkata.
In Kolkata, there will be a protest march from Subodh Mullick Square to Park Street, and it will be organised by Trinamool Youth Congress. In the districts, the protest rallies will be taken out on Saturday and Sunday (May 26 and 27).
It may be mentioned that the prices of petrol and diesel have touched all-time highs, having shot up in the past nine days.
The programme of protests was announced by Partha Chatterjee, Secretary General of Trinamool Congress on Wednesday.
Chief Minister and All India Trinamool Congress Chairperson Mamata Banerjee had tweeted on May 20 in this connection: “We are very concerned about the rising prices of petrol and diesel. This will certainly affect prices all around. Common people, farmers and many will suffer.”
On May 22, All India Trinamool Youth Congress Chairperson and Member of Parliament Abhishek Banerjee had tweeted: “As we witness the magic of #AccheDin on this momentous occasion, Petrol turns 80 and Diesel turns 70. Please do send in your good wishes to their custodians for being so generous and sincere in raising the two.”
On May 21, there was a protest rally in Hooghly district in this connection in which common people had joined. Now, Trinamool and its youth wing are going to organise the protest rallies all across the state.
In yet another step towards turning New Town into a green city, the Bengal Government has recently introduced air-conditioned battery-powered buses in the area. This is a first for the State. Three buses are plying in Action Area I and Action Area II and have already completed 3,000 rides. The buses are following a circular route.
These buses are covering routes which have not been covered by other buses yet. The fare for the buses is Rs 10. Like in several other countries, the buses do not have conductors; the drivers collect the fares. For their new way of functioning, the drivers were given training before the buses were introduced.
Proper signage has been put up for passengers. Stations have been set up where batteries can be recharged. The average speed of the buses varies from 40 to 50 km per hour.
There are plans to also introduce electric vehicles in New Town. This will further bring down air pollution.
In a move to ensure the overall development and promotion of the film sector in Bengal, the Government has issued a notification for setting up West Bengal Film Academy (WBFA).
As per the notification, there are 23 members in the academy, representing the film fraternity, various associations, senior officials of the Information and Cultural Affairs (I&CA) Department, etc. It is headed by the Youth Services and Sports Minister, who is the chairman.
Among the members are directors Goutam Ghosh and Shoojit Sircar, actors Prosenjit Chatterjee, Satabdi Roy and Dipak Adhikari (the latter two also Trinamool Congress MPs), producer Srikanta Mohta, presidents of bodies like Federation of Cine Technicians and Workers of Eastern India and Eastern India Motion Pictures Association, and State Government officials like the principal secretary of the I&CA Department, finance secretary, CEOs of Roopkala Kendra and Nandan, managing director of West Bengal Film Development Corporation and director of Kolkata International Film Festival.
Besides promoting development of films, WBFA will act as an umbrella body for all issues relating to the film industry, including developing infrastructure needed for the industry.
It will also ensure creation of employment opportunities in the sector and give advice on various ongoing issues, to sort out the problems faced by producers, distributors and exhibitors.
Other issues the body will deal with include extending necessary help in connection with the ongoing schemes such as group mediclaim policies and accident insurance schemes for film and television artistes and studio workers. Members of WBFA will also seek to ensure further development of Roopkala Kendra, West Bengal Film Development Corporation Limited, Cinema Centenary Building and other related institutions.
Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee yesterday spoke out against the proposed change in the allocation of services to candidates who clear the all-India civil services examination, describing it as “very dangerous”. The examinations are conducted by the Union Public Service Commission (UPSC).
“What I have come to know about the (proposed changes for) civil servants is very dangerous. They (IAS and IPS officers) used to come through the merit list. Now, if you think that whoever will be an IAS or IPS because of a particular recommendation, then don’t you think it is a constitutional crisis?” Mamata Banerjee told reporters.
“It’s a constitutional breakdown,” she said, adding, “There must be a limit to everything.”
The Centre is considering a major change in the allocation of services to the successful candidates in the civil services examination.
The Prime Minister’s Office (PMO) has asked the Ministry of Personnel to explore if the allocation of services to the probationers can be done after the completion of the three-month foundation course, according to an official communique. At present, the allocation is done on the basis of the ranks obtained in the civil services examination.
Cyber crimes are increasing day by day. Posts in poor taste, provocative posts, hacking others’ accounts, etc. on social media and other cyber crimes like banking frauds, etc. are on the rise here, as in so many places across the world.
To combat such online crimes originating in Bengal, the State Government has decided to firm up its cyber crime fighting capabilities. For a start, it is being planned to set up cyber crime police stations in the districts.
Right now there is a cyber crime setup at the police headquarters in Lalbazar, Kolkata. However, having only one such unit hampers proper investigations of such crimes.
The State Police Department is now carrying on a study on which districts to set up the cyber crime-fighting units in, depending on where most crimes emanate from. Gradually such units will be set up in all the districts.
A group of police personnel are given special training on how to handle such crimes. Officers to operate from these district-based cyber crime police stations would be selected from this group. The computers in the police stations would be installed with the special software.
Plans are on to open some police stations this year itself. Budget requirements are being prepared. The Police Department would send the proposals to the Government soon.
Bengal chief minister Mamata Banerjee expressed deep concern over the sharp rise in petrol and diesel prices, saying it will affect common people.
“We are very concerned about the rising prices of petrol and diesel. This will certainly affect prices all around. Common people, farmers and many will suffer,” Mamata Banerjee said on her official Twitter handle.
It must be mentioned that while the price of petrol stood at Rs 76.57 a litre in Delhi on Monday, diesel hit Rs 67.82 a litre, reflecting a rise of 33 paise and 25 paise through Sunday respectively.
The price of petrol stood at Rs 79.24 in Kolkata, Rs 84.4 in Mumbai and Rs 79.47 in Chennai, as per the Indian Oil Corporation. As far as diesel is concerned, the price rose to Rs 70.37 in Kolkata, Rs 72.21 in Mumbai and Rs 71.59 in Chennai.
We are very concerned about the rising prices of petrol and diesel. This will certainly affect prices all around. Common people, farmers and many will suffer
On the occasion of the seventh anniversary of Trinamool coming to power, Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee greeted the people Bengal and reiterated her commitment towards working for the betterment of the people.
She posted on her Twitter page: “On May 20, 2011 the first Maa, Mati, Manush Government took oath of office. It has been seven years and we continue to be committed to working for the betterment of the people.”
On May 13, 2011, the people of Bengal gave a historic mandate, ousting the Left Front out of power. Mamata Banerjee took oath as the Chief Minister of Bengal on May 20, 2011 at 1:05 PM. To read more about the historic day, click here.
Shortly before 1 PM, Mamata Banerjee entered the Raj Bhavan. Earlier in the morning, she had visited the Kalighat temple and took blessings of her mother, now late Gayatri Devi. Alighting at the north gate of the Raj Bhavan, she walked in, amidst cheers and slogans from the people waiting outside in thousands.
At 1.05 PM, Mamata Banerjee took oath as the first woman Chief Minister of West Bengal. History was created.
Mamata Banerjee takes oath as Bengal CM
Mamata Banerjee and her cabinet took oath in the presence of some 3,000 people that included her party workers and relatives of the victims of violence in Nandigram and Singur. This has perhaps been one of the most crowded swearing-in ceremonies of a chief minister. Along with her, 35 MLAs from Trinamool Congress took oath as ministers of the two-tier ministry. Four of the Trinamool Congress MLAs were sworn in as Ministers of State.
Mamata Banerjee takes oath
Clad in a simple white sari and wearing a tricolor uttariya (long scarf) that has by now become her trade mark, Mamata Banerjee took the oath in Bengali in the name of God, which was administered by Governor M.K. Narayanan.
Some hours earlier, Ms Banerjee had set off from her humble Harish Chatterjee Street house on a journey to change Bengal`s course. Thousands of supporters had already lined the route she would take to Raj Bhavan, holding puja thalis and blowing conch shells. Many were barefoot, as if had come to worship a deity.
In Ms Banerjee’s para, the atmosphere was Puja-like. When she emerged from the door, wearing a crisp off-white saree with a blue zari border, a chant of “Didi…Didi” went up. Her car was ready to take her to Raj Bhavan, but the Iron Lady of Bengal walked into the crowd, much to the dismay of her bodyguards from the Special Security Unit. She touched as many hands as she could, smiled, and folded her hands in humility. Someone passed her a microphone.
At exactly 12.55 PM, the Chief Minister-in-waiting walked into Raj Bhavan. She greeted Governor M K Narayanan and took the sheet of paper she was to read from.
The historic march from Raj Bhavan to Writers’
Trailed by a sea of supporters, Mamata Banerjee walked the 1 km from Raj Bhavan, where she took oath as the first non-Left Chief Minister in 34 years, to Writers’ Building on Friday, May 20, 2011. Euphoric, swelling crowds — nearly 2.5 lakh — thronged the kilometre-long road to Writers’ Buildings. “Democracy has to be with the people,” she said. “I saw the crowds and asked the governor’s permission to walk to Writers’ Buildings.”
Her first day at Writers’ Building
Bureaucrats and security officers escorted Mamata Banerjee up the same flight of stairs along which she had been dragged down in 1993. In the corridor, she suddenly cut her brisk stride and turned towards a balcony. She stood there for a while and waved to the delirious crowd. A bodyguard swiftly crouched before her, hanging on to the low guard rails to protect her from the mad scramble of photojournalists. With a final wave, Ms Banerjee walked off purposefully to the CM`s chamber. It was 4.44pm.
It was from there that Ms Banerjee had been hauled out 17 years ago. Then a firebrand Congress worker, she had been agitating outside former CM Jyoti Basu’s office, insisting he meet a woman who had been allegedly raped by CPM workers. As the police yanked her out, Banerjee swore to set foot in Writers’ Buildings only after the Left was ousted. On the afternoon of 20 May, she kept her vow.
The first Cabinet Meeting
On her first days as chief minister, the people’s leader broke all protocol. She refused a bullet-proof car, declined the privilege of free passage, instructed police to halt her black car at traffic signals, worked in office until 12.35 AM the day she was sworn in.
People greet Mamata Banerjee on 20 May, 2011
After the swearing-in, Mamata Banerjee chaired her first Cabinet meeting at around 5 PM: Singur topped the agenda, then came her first press conference as CM around 8 PM. Then she sat in her office, allotting ministries to her Cabinet colleagues. The CM left office at 12:35 AM on Saturday.
Calling the political chaos in Karnataka as a ‘constitutional crisis’, West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee raises question on the alleged “horse-trading” in the State.
“In Karnataka,this is a constitutional crisis. The governor is a constitutional post. he cannot act like a political guide. Why he is not calling the Congress-JD(S) when they have already submitted letter with the adequate numbers. A governor should act abiding by the Constitution and not by his personal choice. I endorse all Opposition leaders’ views in this regard. I support Mayawati Ji, Stalin, Chandrababu Naidu and Akhilesh’s opinion on this issue,” said Bengal chief minister Mamata Banerjee.
Hinting at the Karnataka crisis, she said: “Of late, there are so many instances of horse trading. If this becomes a rule, a bad precedence will be set in the country. It will not only destroy democracy, but the country as well.”
Trinamool Congress supremo Mamata Banerjee, reacting to the Panchayat election results on Thursday evening, said that despite the tie-up between the Opposition parties in some places, including with the Maoists, “The Trinamool has won 90% of the seats where elections were held. This shows how strong we are at the grassroot level.”
“We had candidates in many seats that were uncontested. But the Supreme Court will decide on that. In today’s results, that include the re-polling in about 600 booths which, keep in mind, has not happened before, show that this has been a contest where the CPI(M), Congress, BJP and Maoists have fought together. Even then, Trinamool has won in 90% seats.
“There has been violence and some incidents have taken place. But Bengal panchayat elections are very political. They have been so from the early Left Front rule. We wanted peaceful polling but incidents have taken place, and which are related to both sides. It must be remembered that 10 Trinamool workers have also died. However, a lot of disrespect has been shown, and remarks made that are unconstitutional. We have kept quiet.
“Why did the BSF interfere in the border districts of Bankura, Purulia and Jhargram, bordering the BJP-ruled Jharkhand, and Murshidabad and Malda, bordering Bangladesh? Voting had to be stopped. A lot of money has come in from Assam and Jharkhand. All these will end democracy in the country. The Tripura elections have opened our eyes.
“The Opposition said the filing of nominations was prevented. But over 28,000 Opposition candidates had filed. Then why all these lies? Whenever an incident happened, action was taken. It is very sad for those who have died. We will look after the shahid families, whichever party they may be from.
The presiding officer (of a booth in Raiganj) left early, saying he had a headache. The train driver said his train knocked down a person at the spot where his body was found. The CID is probing the incident. But why are so many accusations flying around? If there was no democracy, then voting would not have taken place for so many seats.
“The BJP-Congress tie-up lost in Murshidabad. It was expected. They will go to any extent. Can you believe that the Maoists are working with the BJP? Lots of injustice have taken place. We want peace. For those who lost, I will say, let us work together.”
She also said monetary help will be provided “in whatever way we can” to the families of those who have lost their lives. On the horse-trading in Karnataka, Mamata Banerjee said, “I will not complain against the BJP or against a particular situation. In general, the situation is bad. Goa, Manipur, and now Karnataka are going that way. Please do not violate the Constitution. Why did the Governor not call Kumaraswamy even after he produced the list of 116 MLAs? This is a constitutional crisis. The Governor cannot decide on the basis of political choice. Democracy must be protected. I spoke with Mayawati ji and Chandrababu Naidu on this. I appeal to the President to please guide the country.”
“There may be differences between political parties. But we must all work for the nation. If regional parties can come together, I will be the happiest,” she concluded.
