Phone was tapped, says Mamata; not true, says centre

Kolkata: After pulling out of the UPA government over differences on the Centre's recent decision to hike diesel prices and allow Foreign Direct Investment in retail, West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee today hinted that the central government was tapping her phones.

"If you have the central government in your hand you can get the phones tapped. It has happened with me before. My number had three copies. When I would go to Nandigram or Midnapore, I could not use my number as it was being used in Kolkata," said Banerjee in Kolkata.

She said that she had filed police complaints then against the misuse of her phone.

"I have been in the central government and I am aware about all these methods. There is no need to make me open my mouth," added Banerjee.

Home Minister Sushil Kumar Shinde has, however, denied this, saying Mamata Banerjee's phone was 'never' tapped.

(With inputs from Indo-Asian News Service)

Mulayam Singh Yadav talks of mid-term polls again, doesn't discount him becoming PM

Kolkata: Mulayam Singh Yadav has sewn up his election game plan in Kolkata and says those elections can happen before 2014. And though he has clearly taken a lead in cobbling together a non-Congress and non-BJP alternative, he insisted today that any Third Front would take shape only after the next Lok Sabha elections.

Mr Yadav has made no bones about the fact that after his party's spectacular showing in the Uttar Pradesh Assembly elections, he is eyeing a bigger role for his party at the Centre. Asked if he was in the running for being the next Prime Minister, the veteran politician said, "I am not in line, but I am not a sadhu-sant (saint) either.

The Samajwadi Party, he said, would fight elections alone. "The Third Front can happen only after the polls. It will depend on the situation," Mr Yadav said. He also refused to say who of the two West Bengal rivals, the Left and Mamata Banerjee, would be part of such a Front, merely stating that, "We will keep good relations with all parties." Mulayam Singh Yadav has for years had political affinity with the Left parties and has joined hands with them on several issues like FDI in retail and the coal allocation scam in recent times.

But the Yadavs, Mulayam and son, Akhilesh, have also indicated during the Kolkata sojourn that they are willing to explore new equations. Mr Yadav said today that he had the greatest regard for Ms Banerjee and described a meeting between her and son Akhilesh yesterday as "very good talks." After the meeting Mr Yadav junior had said, "After coming to Kolkata, I would not have felt good not meeting Didi. It was necessary to meet her." Just a few months ago, the Congress managed to blunt a growing closeness between Mr Yadav and Ms Banerjee ahead of the Presidential elections. Ms Banerjee partners the Congress at the Centre, but that relationship has been at breakpoint for some time now. 

A common political imperative binds Mamata Banerjee and Mulayam Singh Yadav - both would like early elections to consolidate on their big wins in their respective states. In the first flush of victory and from a position of strength they know that they are likely to do much better now than after two years, when the honeymoon period is well over and anti-incumbency factors set in. Ms Banerjee swept the Assembly elections in West Bengal last year; Mr Yadav's Samjawadi Party won UP early this year.     

What Mr Yadav was startlingly unambiguous about today was where exactly he stood in his equation with the Congress, that leads the UPA government at the Centre.

"Let me make it clear, the Samajwadi Party does not support the UPA government. The Samajwadi Party is against communalism. If the Congress is weakening and needs support against communalism, we may provide that support." Not words of comfort for the ruling party which depends heavily on Mr Yadav to bail it out at crucial moments. Mr Yadav's assertion today that "the situation is such there may be elections earlier than 2014," makes it worse.

For three days in Kolkata, where his party is holding a convention, Mr Yadav has appeared determined to prove he's on a different team. Yesterday he had slammed the Congress for financial scams, especially the coal swindle that has forced the government on the defensive amid allegations of entrenched corruption. This after referring to his Samajwadi Party as the opposition on Monday.

That distancing from the Congress continued today when he said that both the national parties - the Congress and the BJP have weakened and are plagued by issues. He said that he would not field a candidate in Congress president Sonia Gandhi's constituency Rae Bareli as a return of favour for the Congress not contesting against his daughter-in-law Dimple in the Kannauj by-election a few months ago, but would not promise the same in Amethi, Rahul Gandhi's constituency. His party colleagues had made things rather awkward yesterday by saying that they saw little political ability in Rahul Gandhi.  Today Mr Yadav wished Mr Gandhi much luck.

(With PTI inputs)

Mulayam Singh Yadav talks of mid-term polls again, says he has high regard for Mamata Banerjee

Kolkata: Mulayam Singh Yadav has sewn up his election game plan in Kolkata and says those elections can happen before 2014. And though he has clearly taken a lead in cobbling together a non-Congress and non-BJP alternative, he insisted today that any Third Front would take shape only after the next Lok Sabha elections.

Mr Yadav has made no bones about the fact that after his party's spectacular showing in the Uttar Pradesh Assembly elections, he is eyeing a bigger role for his party at the Centre. Asked if he was in the running for being the next Prime Minister, the veteran politician said, "I am not in line, but I am not a sadhu-sant (saint) either.

The Samajwadi Party, he said, would fight elections alone. "The Third Front can happen only after the polls. It will depend on the situation," Mr Yadav said. He also refused to say who of the two West Bengal rivals, the Left and Mamata Banerjee, would be part of such a Front, merely stating that, "We will keep good relations with all parties." Mulayam Singh Yadav has for years had political affinity with the Left parties and has joined hands with them on several issues like FDI in retail and the coal allocation scam in recent times.

But the Yadavs, Mulayam and son, Akhilesh, have also indicated during the Kolkata sojourn that they are willing to explore new equations. Mr Yadav said today that he had the greatest regard for Ms Banerjee and described a meeting between her and son Akhilesh yesterday as "very good talks." After the meeting Mr Yadav junior had said, "After coming to Kolkata, I would not have felt good not meeting Didi. It was necessary to meet her." Just a few months ago, the Congress managed to blunt a growing closeness between Mr Yadav and Ms Banerjee ahead of the Presidential elections. Ms Banerjee partners the Congress at the Centre, but that relationship has been at breakpoint for some time now. 

A common political imperative binds Mamata Banerjee and Mulayam Singh Yadav - both would like early elections to consolidate on their big wins in their respective states. In the first flush of victory and from a position of strength they know that they are likely to do much better now than after two years, when the honeymoon period is well over and anti-incumbency factors set in. Ms Banerjee swept the Assembly elections in West Bengal last year; Mr Yadav's Samjawadi Party won UP early this year.     

What Mr Yadav was startlingly unambiguous about today was where exactly he stood in his equation with the Congress, that leads the UPA government at the Centre.

"Let me make it clear, the Samajwadi Party does not support the UPA government. The Samajwadi Party is against communalism. If the Congress is weakening and needs support against communalism, we may provide that support." Not words of comfort for the ruling party which depends heavily on Mr Yadav to bail it out at crucial moments. Mr Yadav's assertion today that "the situation is such there may be elections earlier than 2014," makes it worse.

For three days in Kolkata, where his party is holding a convention, Mr Yadav has appeared determined to prove he's on a different team. Yesterday he had slammed the Congress for financial scams, especially the coal swindle that has forced the government on the defensive amid allegations of entrenched corruption. This after referring to his Samajwadi Party as the opposition on Monday.

That distancing from the Congress continued today when he said that both the national parties - the Congress and the BJP have weakened and are plagued by issues. He said that he would not field a candidate in Congress president Sonia Gandhi's constituency Rae Bareli as a return of favour for the Congress not contesting against his daughter-in-law Dimple in the Kannauj by-election a few months ago, but would not promise the same in Amethi, Rahul Gandhi's constituency. His party colleagues had made things rather awkward yesterday by saying that they saw little political ability in Rahul Gandhi.  Today Mr Yadav wished Mr Gandhi much luck.

(With PTI inputs)

Two Kolkata school girls dead after alleged joint suicide

Kolkata: Two teenaged girls were found dead in the courtyard of an 18-storey apartment block in a posh housing complex in the southern fringe of Kolkata on Tuesday, police said.

Police suspected that Sabiba Chandana and Neha Panjari, both aged 15 and students of class IX of the same school, committed suicide by jumping from the roof of the building. However, no suicide note was found.

"A scream sound came at 6 am, it was heard by the guard. When he came here, he found that the dead bodies of two girls was lying here... police investigation is going on," said Sujay Chandra, Deputy Commissioner, South, Kolkata Police.

While Sabiba was a resident of the housing complex off EM Bypass under East Jadavpur police station, Neha had come to visit her, police said.

The incident occurred 11 days after a woman and her two daughters jumped to death from a 36-storey building in a suspected suicide pact. According to police, they were suffering from depression after the recent death of the woman's husband.

(With inputs from PTI)

Four found dead, with throats slit, in Kolkata house

Kolkata: Four people, including a septuagenarian woman, were found dead with their throats slit at a house in Behala on the southern fringes of the city on Thursday night.

The alarm was raised by a physiotherapist who came to the house on Biren Roy Road (east) area to see one of the victims - Gouri Bhattacharjee, aged around 75, at 8 pm. He alerted the neighbours when he found the front door of the house open.

Police said besides the bodies of Mrs Bhattacharjee and her 50-year old son, her nurse and a domestic help were also found dead with throats slit in the same house. While the bodies of the mother and the son were discovered on the first floor of the house, the maid was found locked in a kitchen on the ground floor and the body of the nurse was discovered in the dining room.

Police are yet to find any clue on the assailants and their motive. Though sources say, the attackers could be professional killers. According to reports, there were no signs of burglary as nothing looked missing from the house.

Mayor Sovan Chatterjee, who visited the spot, said it was apparently a case of murder from the way the bodies were discovered with deep gashes on throats. Commissioner of Police RK Pachnanda, who inspected the place, said the matter was being investigated.

(With inputs from PTI)

West Bengal: Vice-Principal allegedly hits student, nine stitches on his head

Kolkata: The Vice-Principal of Don Bosco School, in Bandel, West Bengal, has been arrested for allegedly assaulting a student of Class 4 so badly that he needed nine stitches on his head.

The student, Ishan Das, had taken a can of foam spray to school. He was holding the can in his hand when the Vice-Principal Subir Mondal seized it and allegedly hit the boy's head with the can. Shocked teachers of the school rushed the profusely bleeding boy to a hospital nearby where he was given the stitches.

Ishan's parents immediately filed a police complaint. The police at once arrested Mr Mondal.

From: NDTV

Doctors passing off heart attack as dengue: Mamata Banerjee

Kolkata: West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee is in the thick of a controversy yet again, this time for her comments on the doctor community. "Often what doctors are doing is, they just write... without confirming dengue they are writing anything... someone dies of heart failure, they write dengue. They are not even trying to diagnose. It has become easy. Not all but some doctors. So everyone is earning a bad name," Ms Banerjee said at a press conference today.

Ms Banerjee's government has been often accused of being intolerant. The Kolkata Police allegedly ordered the stop of sale of the book titled 'Musalmander ki Koronio' (What Muslims Should Do), authored by IPS officer Nazrul Islam, that reportedly criticises the state government for failing to improve the condition of Muslims in the state. On Friday, police raided the office premises, sales counter and godown of Mitra and Ghosh, the publishers of the book. The cops also allegedly closed the counter where the book was being sold.

But the author himself has refused to be drawn into the controversy, having maintaining a stoic silence so far.

While most say that there is barely anything in the 102-page Bengali book that could ruffle feathers, parts of it have certainly raised eyebrows. A case in point being the book questioning the Trinamool government's policy to pay stipends to Imams and its stress on madrasa education instead of modern education for Muslims. The book also criticises politicians for using terms like khuda hafiz (goodbye) and inshallah (God Willing) incorrectly.

Hence, the police action against the publishers of the book has sparked an outrage, with several questioning the government's censorship policies. "Now you are in power, if I just criticise you or I want to say something to you for revision of your statement or policies, it that a crime? I can't understand that," noted writer Sunil Gangopadhyay said.

The incident has re-ignited the debate on the Trinamool government's alleged highhandedness, with several having slammed Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee for her autocratic style of functioning. The arrest of Ambikesh Mahapatra, a professor in Kolkata's Jadavpur University, in April for circulating a cartoon lampooning the chief minister had generated a lot of criticism for her government. Last month, a man named Shiladitya was arrested after he asked the Chief Minister a question at a public rally at Belpahari in the state. Ms Banejee had reacted angrily to the question; pointing to him, she claimed he was a Maoist and ordered the police to arrest him.

Now, Mamata Banerjee accused of targeting former top cop's book

Kolkata: Often accused of being intolerant, the Mamata Banerjee-led government in West Bengal is in the thick of a controversy yet again, this time for targeting a book written by an IPS officer that carries a veiled criticism of the current dispensation.

The Kolkata Police has allegedly ordered the stop of sale of the book titled 'Musalmander ki Koronio' (What Muslims Should Do), authored by Nazrul Islam, that reportedly criticises the state government for failing to improve the condition of Muslims in the state. On Friday, police raided the office premises, sales counter and godown of Mitra and Ghosh, the publishers of the book. The cops also allegedly closed the counter where the book was being sold.

"Thursday they called and told me not to sell the book. When they called me on Thursday, they said they would collect the books on Friday and not to sell the books," said Sabitendra Nath Roy, the book's publisher.

But the author himself has refused to be drawn into the controversy, having maintaining a stoic silence so far.

While most say that there is barely anything in the 102-page Bengali book that could ruffle feathers, parts of it have certainly raised eyebrows. A case in point being the book questioning the Trinamool government's policy to pay stipends to Imams and its stress on madrasa education instead of modern education for Muslims. The book also criticises politicians for using terms like khuda hafiz (goodbye) and inshallah (God Willing) incorrectly.

Hence, the police action against the publishers of the book has sparked an outrage, with several questioning the government's censorship policies. "Now you are in power, if I just criticise you or I want to say something to you for revision of your statement or policies, it that a crime? I can't understand that," noted writer Sunil Gangopadhyay said.

The book, though, has its share of detractors. Several local dailies have slammed both Mr Islam and his supporters, alleging that the book could provoke riots.

The latest incident has re-ignited the debate on the Trinamool government's alleged highhandedness, with several having slammed Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee for her autocratic style of functioning. The arrest of Ambikesh Mahapatra, a professor in Kolkata's Jadavpur University, in April for circulating a cartoon lampooning the chief minister had generated a lot of criticism for her government. Last month, a man named Shiladitya was arrested after he asked the Chief Minister a question at a public rally at Belpahari in the state. Ms Banejee had reacted angrily to the question; pointing to him, she claimed he was a Maoist and ordered the police to arrest him.

From: NDTV

Man beheaded on train in West Bengal

Kolkata: A passenger in West Bengal was beheaded today when it was entering Bazarshaw station in Murshidabad district.

Khokon Ghosh's head was cut off by a group of men in a compartment packed with other passengers. The killers managed to escape after murdering the 37-year-old.

Eyewitnesses have told the police that there were seven or eight attackers.

The police believes the man who died may have been murdered over a business dispute.

The train is now parked at a station near where the assailants disembarked, while the police hunts for the killers.

(With inputs from PTI)

West Bengal government to honour President Pranab Mukherjee with 'civic reception'

Kolkata: The West Bengal government has decided to hounour President Pranab Mukherjee with a "civic reception" next month, a senior Trinamool Congress MP said on Thursday.

"Civic reception for honorable President Pranab Mukherjee by West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee... (on) 14th September at Netaji Indoor stadium," Trinamool Congress MP Kunal Ghosh tweeted.

The relationship between two political stalwarts from West Bengal had reached an all-time low after West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee opposed Mr Mukherjee's candidature for the presidential poll.

Ms Banerjee instead proposed former president APJ Abdul Kalam's name for the post. However, after Mr Kalam decided against contesting, Ms Banerjee said she would extend her support to the former Finance Minister, adding that she wishes she "could have voted for Mr Mukherjee with a smile on her face, but that is not the case."

From: NDTV

Mamata Banerjee's government denies permission for CPM meet

Kolkata: In an unprecedented move, Mamata Banerjee's government has denied permission to a CPM meeting, which was scheduled to be addressed by former Chief Minister Buddhadeb Bhattacharya. The reason given by Ms Banerjee's government is that the meeting may cause law and order problems.

The CPM's Hooghly district unit had written to the administration on July 23, seeking permission for a meeting at Arambagh inside the local auditorium Rabindra Bhavan on September 9.

But earlier this week, the district authorities replied to the CPM, rejecting their request.

Outraged CPM leaders on Thursday met the state home secretary urging him to review the administration's refusal.

This is the first time that Ms Banerjee's government has denied permission to the CPM for holding a meeting to be addressed by Mr Bhattacharjee.

Recently, Kolkata Police refused permission to the CPM's North 24-Parganas district committee which wanted to hold a meeting in the heart of Kolkata at the same venue where Ms Banerjee held her July 21 rally.

From: NDTV

Joy ride rope snaps at Kolkata amusement park, 15 students injured

Kolkata: 15 school students were injured, six seriously, when the connecting rope of a "swirl ride" snapped in a reputed amusement park at Salt Lake in Kolkata today.

Nicco Park, where the incident occurred, is a popular landmark in the city and is similar to the famous Appu Ghar, an amusement park in Delhi.

According to reports, there was chaos till police arrived at the site. Angry relatives of the victims blamed the authorities for the incident, alleging poor maintenance at the park. "The locals informed police who immediately came to the spot, rescued the injured and sent them to hospitals. The park officials did nothing to help them," a man, who came to the park with his son, told IANS.

Officials, though, cited overcrowding on the slide as the reason for the mishap.

Deputy Commissioner (HQ) of Bidhannagar commissionerate Subrata Banerjee said that the six injured students, all minors, were admitted to the Calcutta Heart Research Centre.

(With inputs from Agencies)

Mamata Banerjee turns Independence Day into Republic Day in Kolkata

Kolkata: Mamata Banerjee's championing of "poriborton" or change in West Bengal was a call-to-action that won her a historic victory in the Bengal elections.

Today, 15 months later, she implemented a huge new change. Breaking with a tradition in place since 1948, the West Bengal chief minister shifted the venue of Independence Day celebrations from the government headquarters at the Writers' Building to Red Road in the heart of the city. The flag hoisting ceremony at Writers' is attended by top bureaucrats and their staff. Shifting the venue to Red Road (near Eden Gardens, Victoria Memorial), where the Republic Day celebrations take place, means that people can line that road and  watch the parade - like they do on January 26.

For the first time in 64 years, Kolkata witnessed a full-fledged Independence Day pageant, with a police parade and tableaux, instead of the simple flag-hoisting ceremony in front of Writers Buildings before a restricted set of invitees. City and state police, members of civil society, social organisations and school children, participated in the march past. 

"Earlier, people's participation was almost nil during Independence Day celebrations. Now people will be able to take part as on Republic Day," according to Panchayat Minister Subrata Mukherjee. "The previous government failed to give due honour to Independence Day celebrations, but we want a change from this year," Mr Mukherjee added.

Ms Banerjee's attempt to make Independence Day celebrations completely accessible to the public comes as she's being attacked for her alleged intolerance of criticism. A farmer was arrested after he questioned her about her policies at a rally last week. Two days ago, the state's Human Rights Commission offered a grave assessment of the arrest of a professor in April for his online post of a cartoon featuring the chief minister. The commission said that "If this goes on, we will be heading towards a totalitarian regime."

In the West Bengal Assembly on Tuesday, Ms Banerjee said, "If unknowingly something goes wrong - and that can happen to anyone - I will apologise to the people. Who can claim to be right always? I am only human."

(With Agency inputs)