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India Today group’s The Lallantop spreads fake information about APMC markets in Gujarat and new farm laws

OpIndia Staff
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India Today group’s The Lallantop spreads fake information about APMC markets in Gujarat and new farm laws

Amidst ongoing farmers’ protests, several videos containing misleading information are making rounds on social media. A video by India Today group’s The Lallantop is going viral that has an interview with a farmer who is participating in the protest at New Delhi. The 17-minute long original video on YouTube has an interview with two farmers. The farmer alleges that there are no APMC markets in the Kutch district, and the farmers have to sell their produce at a lower price.

Are there no APMC markets in Katch?

Claim: Singh, who shifted to Gujarat in 2010, claimed that he did not know that there are no APMC markets in Gujarat. He said he first tried to grow and sell wheat and cotton but could not find buyers. He had to take samples to the local dealers and said that the dealers gave a much lower price compared to other states. He then said that he tried growing pomegranates, but the market price was so low he had to feed it to the animals.

Fact: A 2-minute snippet of the video was shared on Twitter by the cartoonist Manjul. Netizens have refuted the claim that there are no mandis in Bhuj. A simple search on Google showed the address and contact details of the Bhuj APMC Mandi.

On further search, according to the list [PDF] available at the Gujarat State Agricultural Market Board website, Kutch has eight APMC markets, with one located in the Bhuj region. Interestingly, Kutch is gaining popularity for export-quality fruits, mainly Dragonfruit and Pomegranate. As per the reports, Australia has allowed imports of pomegranate from India in September 2020. Over 150 farmers are cultivating high-quality Dragon Fruit in Kutch, which is now being served in India’s hotels.

Jio will control prices like it did with telecom

Claim: Another farmer Davinder Singh from Ferozpur Punjab, made a strange claim. He said everyone has seen how Jio has disrupted the telecom market. Now, Reliance will enter the Agriculture Sector and will disrupt it too. He claimed that the prices would rise exponentially because of the private players in the sector. He claimed that private companies would pay a higher price in the first few years, attracting farmers to sell crops in private markets.

Davinder Singh further speculates that the government will shut down the APMC markets on the pretext of the loss, after which the private players will start decreasing the price for the crop, and the farmers will suffer. He also alleged that the farmers would be at a loss under contract farming because they will not understand the legal language. The private players will add clauses that will give benefit to them instead of the farmers.

Fact: As per the Agriculture laws, there is a provision under which the government will control the price if it increases by 100% in perishable and 50% in non-perishable products. The prices will be compared to the cost of the commodity in the last twelve months or five years. The government is not going to stop procuring the produce under the Public Distribution Scheme (PDS). The government has procured all-time high Kharif produce from the farmers. MSP for the next produce for 2021 has already been set, and the government has spent 67,248.22 crores on the procurement of Kharif produce.

Similar claims were made from Gurudwara Bangla Sahib by Katha Vachak Banta Singh Ji, which OpIndia rebutted recently. Several opposition leaders and union leaders are also making similar claims. So much so the farmers have announced a boycott of Jio products, including SIMs and phones. Recently, Reliance has filed a complaint at TRAI alleging that its competitors Airtel and Vi are spreading rumours against the company that it is anti-farmer. Airtel had denied the claims.

It may be that while it may be easier to capture big market share in telecom, as it has only a few players, it can’t be compared with the farm sector. Even now, there are a large number of private players in the sector, apart from retailers like Reliance, there are food processing companies which buy farm products. Therefore, the fear that one day Reliance will control the Indian farm sector is baseless.

NSUI in-charge Ruchi Gupta quits party over delay in organisational changes, blames Rahul Gandhi’s aide KC Venugopal

OpIndia Staff
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NSUI in-charge Ruchi Gupta quits party over delay in organisational changes, blames Rahul Gandhi’s aide KC Venugopal

The Congress party saw another high-profile exit on Saturday after the joint secretary in-charge of the party’s student wing – National Students’ Union of India, Ruchi Gupta quit the Congress party due to the way party functioned and also for the delaying organizational changes.

According to the reports, Ruchi Gupta, considered to be a key aide and confidante of Rahul Gandhi, resigned from her post as NSUI’s national in-charge and from the party. Gupta has blamed the party’s general secretary (organization) KC Venugopal, another close confidante of former party chief Rahul Gandhi.

In her message, Gupta has stated that Venugopal is responsible for continuous delays in organizational changes and the matter cannot always be escalated to the level of the party president. Reportedly, Gupta was disappointment over the delay in the approval of state unit appointments.

“Dear all, I am writing to you to announce that I have resigned. As you know, important organisational changes have remained pending for very long: the national committee took 1 year 3 months; state president orders have remained pending for months. These continuing delays by the GS(O) are damaging the organisation but in the present circumstances, it is not possible to escalate repeatedly to Congress President,” she wrote in her resignation message.

Congress needs to be rebuilt, Rahul Gandhi should take the leadership, says Ruchi Gupta

Taking to Twitter, Gupta said it was regret to announce that she has resigned from the party. “I am grateful to Rahul Gandhi and Sonia Gandhi for giving me this opportunity”, she added. Interestingly, she also shared her article published in The Hindu, titled ‘Chalking out Congress’ enduring revival’.

In her article, Ruchi Gupta has stated that the Congress party needs to immediately address issues of party organization, address grassroots level connect and establish a strong top-down leadership. Further, Gupta has written about how the Congress is still politically relevant and its revival is dependent on the way the party is rebuilt.

“None of the above can be done without a strong and interventionist Congress President. Political parties — the Congress in particular — are defined as much by internal conflicts as external. Politics is dynamic with constantly opening and closing pathways to power,” Gupta wrote.

It reads, “Without a strong leader at the top to take and enforce decisions, the Party will continue to be pulled in different directions,” Gupta wrote. “Moreover, only the active facilitation of the Congress President can create space for substantive deliberation required right now — both as a political process to draw everyone together and to form a political platform expansive enough to accommodate the Congress’s historical big tent positioning.”

She added that the leadership to the party can only be provided by Rahul Gandhi. “If any other leader had to emerge in the party, he would have done so over the last year. Instead, different factions prefer status quo rather than allowing one group to ascend and upset the balance of power for everyone. Organisational power thus continues to reside in Mr Gandhi. The way then to revive the Congress and consolidate this power is one and the same — it’s full and frontal exercise,” she wrote.

One Fahim Pakistani threatens Bareilly judge with murder, UP Police registers case: Here is what happened

OpIndia Staff
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One Fahim Pakistani threatens Bareilly judge with murder, UP Police registers case: Here is what happened

A case has come to the fore where a person from Uttar Pradesh’s Moradabad district has written a letter to the Additional District Judge in Bareilly Uttar Pradesh, in which he has threatened him and his family members with murder if he fails to grant bail to a criminal named Chunnilal, who was jailed in a corruption case.

The Judge, Mohammad Ahmed Khan, passed on the information to the magistrate of the High Court who in turn informed the Uttar Pradesh police. Based on the complaint, a case under section 506 of the IPC was registered at the Kotwali police station against one Fahim Pakistani, the person who allegedly issued the threat. The police are now on the lookout for the accused.

According to reports, Fahim Pakistani, in the letter, asked the Judge to immediately grant bail to Chunnilal or face repercussions. The accused wrote that he was a close aide of Chunnilal and could do anything for him. He informed that it was on Chunnilal’a instructions that he had once killed a computer operator working in the Widow pension office.

He furthered that he had identified the window in the Judge’s house, through which he would shoot the judge and his family members if his demands were not met. The letter also mentioned that if the judge carried out the said task he would be treated or else would be killed.

The Bareilly judge urged SSP to provide him with security cover

Speaking about the purported letter, the Judge said that he and his family were living under constant fear. He asked the SSP to provide him with armed security personnel for his and his family’s protection. Meanwhile, a team from Kotwali police station has left for Moradabad to nab Fahim Pakistani.

In a similar case, a Karnataka Magistrate had received bomb threats demanding the release of actresses Ragini Dwivedi and Sanjana Galrani accused in the Sandalwood drug case. Besides, the threat letter had also demanded the release of ‘innocent people’ arrested for their involvement in the Bengaluru riots in DJ Halli and KG Halli. The letter asked the Judge to grant bail to the accused and JCP Sandeep Patil to stay away from the investigation.

Mumbai Court orders investigation in criminal defamation suit filed by Javed Akhtar against Kangana Ranaut

OpIndia Staff
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Mumbai Court orders investigation in criminal defamation suit filed by Javed Akhtar against Kangana Ranaut

Metropolitan Magistrate RR Khan at Andheri today directed the Mumbai police to conduct an investigation into the criminal defamation suit filed by lyricist Javed Akhtar against actress Kangana Ranaut. Akhtar had filed a defamation case against Ranaut for making certain statements against him on national television. The Metropolitan Magistrate has directed the police to submit their report by January 16 next year.

Advocate Niranjan Mundargi appearing for Javed Akhtar said that his client’s name was unnecessarily dragged into an unconnected sensitive matter while her interview was about the death of late actor Sushant Singh Rajput. Mundargi said that Ranaut had allegedly said that Akhtar was part of a “Bollywood suicide gang” who could “get away with anything”. Referring to the witness that was mentioned by Ranaut in her conversation about Akhtar, Advocate Mundargi requested the court to invoke section 202 of the Criminal Procedure Code and either summon the witness to court for recording statement or direct the police to conduct an investigation in the matter.

Considering that Ranaut was not currently within the jurisdiction of the court, the court directed the police to submit the investigation report to the court.

Ranaut’s statement against Javed Akhtar

In an interview given to Republic TV earlier this year, Kangana Ranaut had said that the likes of Javed Akhtar who pretend to be atheists, in reality, keep an eye on people within the industry to check whether they are pro-Islam or not. She had alleged that these people filter Islam-friendly people in the industry and promote them.

In another interview with Republic TV, Ranaut had alleged that after her controversy with actor Hrithik Roshan, Akhtar had called her to his house and asked her to apologise to Roshan warning her that if she did not do so she would have to commit suicide.

Akhtar had filed a defamation case against Ranaut under sections 409 and 500 of the IPC. He had said that Ranaut’s interview was viewed by lakhs of people on Republic TV channel as well as YouTube. He said that the interview was covered by several media channels including Times Now and ABP News.

BJP will form govt with more than 200 seats: Amit Shah challenges Mamata Banerjee in her turf as TMC leaders join BJP

OpIndia Staff
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BJP will form govt with more than 200 seats: Amit Shah challenges Mamata Banerjee in her turf as TMC leaders join BJP

During his two-day visit to the poll-bound state of West Bengal, Home Minister Amit Shah launched a scathing the ruling TMC party and Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee. Addressing a public gathering in Midnapore, the Home Minister said that the BJP will get resounding success in the State Assembly elections due next year.

Shah said that his party will get more than 200 seats in the Assembly elections. “When results of Vidhan Sabha election will be declared, BJP will form the government with more than 200 seats”, he said. Shah took a dig at Mamata Banerjee over the recent ‘exodus’ of top TMC leaders from the party.

Responding to Banerjee’s allegation on BJP of inducing TMC leaders to defect from the party, Shah questioned her decision to leave Congress to form the TMC was ‘defection’ too. Shah predicted that more TMC members might leave her party ahead of elections and that she would be left alone. “Senior party members are leaving TMC. Didi accuses BJP of including party members to defect. But I want to ask her when she quit Congress to form TMC, was it not defection? This is just the start. She will be left alone by the election”, Shah said.

Senior leader Suvendu Adhikari along with other leaders is likely to meet the Home Minister today. Ten TMC leaders have resigned from the party so far amid the speculations them joining the BJP during Shah’s visit. Burdwan Purba MP Sunil Mandal, Former minister and Tamluk MLA Suvendu Adhikari, Kanthi Uttar MLA Banasri Maity, Kalna MLA Biswajeet Kundu, East Bardhaman MLA Saikat Panja, Barrackpore MLA Shilbhadra Datta, Ghazole MLA Dipali Biswas, Nagrakata MLA Shukra Munda, Purulia MLA Sudeep Mukherjee, Former MP Dasharath Tirkey, Ex-minister Shyamapada Mukherjee and Former MLA Satyen Roy are among the leaders who had submitted resignations from the party.

Fact Check: Arvind Kejriwal lies again, claims Delhi govt is carrying out highest number of COVID tests in the country

OpIndia Staff
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Fact Check: Arvind Kejriwal lies again, claims Delhi govt is carrying out highest number of COVID tests in the country

Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal on Saturday tried to mislead the public by making claims stating the Delhi government is carrying out highest number of coronavirus tests, higher than any other state in the country.

Addressing the media, Delhi Chief Arvind Kejriwal said that Delhi has now overcome the third wave of coronavirus infections and is doing 90,000 coronavirus tests every day, which according to him was not only highest in the country but also more than the United States.

The Delhi Chief Minister added, “With the efforts of the people of Delhi, we have effectively and successfully surpassed the third wave of Corona. It appears that the third wave of Covid-19 in Delhi is now ending. Around 90,000 daily tests are being conducted in Delhi today. This is the highest number of daily tests in the country,” Kejriwal said.

However, the claim made by Arvind Kejriwal saying that the Delhi government has been carrying out the highest number of tests in the country, with 90,000 everyday is not true.

Fact-check:

According to official data released by various states, it is not Delhi which is conducting the highest number of tests in the country. The highest number of tests to detect fresh coronavirus cases is being carried out by Uttar Pradesh in the country and not Delhi.

On December 18, Uttar Pradesh has carried out 1,50,036 COVID-19 tests as compared to just 88,400 tests.

Image Source: COVID19india

Delhi is not even in the second place in terms of the number of COVID testing that is being carried out in the country on each day. Bihar and Karnataka conducted more tests than Delhi. Bihar, on Friday, conducted 1.22 lakh testing while Karnataka did as many as 1.04 lakh COVID tests.

Image Source: COVID19india

From the above, it is obvious that Arvind Kejriwal was clearly lying when it comes to number of COVID tests in the country.

Meerut: Muslim woman marries Hindu man, says she didn’t tell her family about it as she feared they would kill her

OpIndia Staff
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Meerut: Muslim woman marries Hindu man, says she didn’t tell her family about it as she feared they would kill her

In a case of interfaith marriage in Meerut in Uttar Pradesh, a Muslim woman married a Hindu boy. The Muslim woman named Farha, a resident of Jaidi Farm, married a Hindu man named Naman Madan, a resident of Shastrinagar. Farha changed her name to Mahi married Naman on Friday. According to reports, Naman’s father runs a confectionary store for which cakes used to supplied from Farhs’a home.

The couple got married in Hrishikesh

The couple had reportedly fled on December 13. Farha’s brother had filed an FIR at Nauchandi police station against Naman following that. The police found the couple in a hotel in Hrishikesh on Thursday. The couple had reportedly performed marriage in a temple in Hrishikesh. After conducting medical examination, the police recorded the statement of the woman before the Magistrate. The woman expressed her wish to stay with her husband. She was sent to the house of her in-laws after court order.

Woman said she feared that her family would kill her

Farha alias Mahi said that she had decided to stay with Naman out of her own will. After a courtship of one and a half year, the couple decided to get married. Farha said that she did not tell about her marriage with Naman to her family as she feared that her family would get her killed. She said that her husband’s family supported her and that she wanted to live with her husband.

Families of both Farha and Naman remained in Nauchandi police station whole day. Inspector Sanjay Verma told the families of the couple that the court order will be enforced. Farha distributed sweets in the police station and took the blessings of Naman’s parents. The couple visited the Navchandi temple.

NCP leader threatens Hindus to leave India, abuses Hindu women, says ‘All Hindus are my brothers’ after Hindus take up his ‘Dum hai?’ challenge

OpIndia Staff
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NCP leader threatens Hindus to leave India, abuses Hindu women, says ‘All Hindus are my brothers’ after Hindus take up his ‘Dum hai?’ challenge

An undated video has gone viral on social media where the president of NCP’s Nagpur City Minority Department could be seen indulging in hate speech against the Hindu Community. Using extremely foul language, Arbaaz Khan threatened Hindus and insulted Hindu women. He said that Hindus should leave India.

Arbaaz Khan was so arrogant that he even shared his residential address and challenged Hindus to show their guts. Unfortunately for him, Hindus do appear to have taken up the challenge and since then, another video has gone viral where he can be seen apologizing profusely.

In his apology, Arbaaz Khan said that the video is not recent and begs Hindus to forgive him. “The video of mine that has gone viral, I apologize for it and it is a fairly old video. I have made a mistake, please forgive my mistake. All Hindus are my brothers, I fold my hands in apology because I have made a mistake. Please forgive my mistake. I won’t say such a thing ever again, I am so sorry.”

It is not clear whether NCP has taken any action against Arbaaz Khan for his derogatory and vulgar comments. It remains to be seen whether their alliance partner Shiv Sena takes up the matter since they still claim to hold on to the Hindutva bandwagon.

10 MLAs from TMC, Congress and left join BJP in presence of Amit Shah in West Bengal, here is the full list

OpIndia Staff
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10 MLAs from TMC, Congress and left join BJP in presence of Amit Shah in West Bengal, here is the full list

The ruling Trinamool Congress (TMC) in West Bengal is in a state of political turmoil, with several heavyweight lawmakers deserting the party. A long list of TMC leaders, along with 4 others from the Left and Congress, joined the BJP, in the presence of BJP leader Amit Shah in Midnapore.

Ending days of speculation, former minister Suvendu Adhikari finally joined BJP today in presence of Amit Shah at the rally in Midnapore. Several MLAs and party leaders from TMC, Congress and left parties joined BJP along with Adhikari. The major leaders who joined BJP in West Bengal are:

  • Burdwan Purba MP Sunil Mandal, TMC
  • Former minister and Tamluk MLA Suvendu Adhikari, TMC
  • Kanthi Uttar MLA Banasri Maity, TMC
  • Kalna MLA Biswajeet Kundu, TMC
  • East Bardhaman MLA Saikat Panja, TMC
  • Barrackpore MLA Shilbhadra Datta, TMC
  • Ghazole MLA Dipali Biswas, TMC
  • Nagrakata MLA Shukra Munda, TMC
  • Tamluk MLA Ashok Dinda, CPI
  • Haldia MLA Tapashi Mandal, CPIM
  • Purulia MLA Sudeep Mukherjee, Congress
  • Former MP Dasharath Tirkey, TMC
  • Ex minister Shyamapada Mukherjee, TMC
  • Former MLA Satyen Roy, TMC

Apart from these, several panchayat-level lawmakers and ardent followers of TMC MLA Suvendu Adhikary are also joining BJP. They include Kaberi Chattopadhyay, Snehashish Bhowmik, Akashdeep Singh, Tanmoy Roy, Ranjan Vaidya, Dev Mohapatra and Sukumar Das. The saffron party will also be joined by Congress leaders such as Sudip Kumar Mukherjee and Sanmay Banerjee.

Former vice chancellor of Gour Banga university Gopal Mishra also joined BJP today. A large number of politicians from TMC and other parties also joined the party.

Several senior TMC leaders have resigned from TMC

After the top TMC leader Suvendu Adhikari submitted his resignation on December 16 following a prolonged discontentment with the party, a string of party leaders submitted their resignations within the last 72 hours. The TMC leaders who have submitted resignations from the party include Silbhadra Datta, TMC MLA from Barrackpore Assembly constituency, Col. (Rtd) Diptangshu Chaudhary who resigned as the Advisor of the CMO’s Grievance and Monitoring Cell, Asansol MLA Jitendra Tiwari resigned as the Chairman of Board of Administrators of Asansol Municipal Corporation, Abhijit Acharya quit as the Vice-President of Paschim Bardhaman.

West Bengal BJP Vice-President Arjun Singh had claimed earlier today that 60-65 leaders are likely to quit the TMC by January 2021. Several TMC leaders including Suvendu Adhikari are speculated to join the BJP during Home Minister Amit Shah’s visit to the state on December 19.

Amit Shah lands in West Bengal

Home Minister Amit Shah arrived in Kolkata early in the morning today on his two-day visit to West Bengal. Shah will be taking stock of the situation in the State ahead of the State Assembly elections due next year. He is scheduled to address a public meeting in Midnapore today. The Home Minister visited the Ramakrishna Ashram, paid homage to revolutionary Khudiram Bose, visited the Siddheswari temple, and had lunch at the house of a farmer in Midnapore.

‘Our fight is to restore West Bengal to its former glory’: Read full text of Suvendu Adhikari’s emotional letter to TMC colleagues, resigns from party

OpIndia Staff
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‘Our fight is to restore West Bengal to its former glory’: Read full text of Suvendu Adhikari’s emotional letter to TMC colleagues, resigns from party

Suvendu Adhikari penned a moving letter today addressing his colleagues in the Trinamool Congress amid speculations that he was set to join the BJP after resigning from party posts. In the letter, he announced that he had resigned from the membership of the Trinamool Congress. He also appealed to those disgruntled in the party to join him in his future course of action.

The letter is filled with emotive language and emphasizes on the necessity of building a West Bengal which their ‘ancestors’ would be proud of. The letter has been produced in full below:

“Our great and beloved State of West Bengal is standing at a critical juncture today. As we head to the 2021 elections, We the People of West Bengal are destined to make a choice, which will significantly impact us forever. In the same vein, the time has come today for me to make a decision as to my next course of action. I am blessed to have turned 50 years old a few days ago, and some may say that it has marked the start of a new innings for me.

As I undertake this journey for the next innings of my life, I cannot help but reminisce about the years gone by. I have had the high honour and distinct privilege of serving the people of my State, the great State of West Bengal, for the better part of 3 decades now. Right from my days in College, my fellow Citizens have entrusted me with the responsibility of serving them through thick and thin, and I have done so with great humility and pleasure, always placing their interests above my own.

Throughout the course of my career, I have been fortunate to have been repeatedly chosen by the People to be of service to them, and it was only because of this endless and endearing love that I reached the pinnacle of success, having been given the high honour of serving my People as a Cabinet Minister in a Government elected by them.

Throughout my political career, the single common denominator of any and all decisions I have taken is whether I have been able to be of service to my fellow Citizens to the best of my abilities. However, one common thread which has remained the same throughout my political career has been our shared ideals of continuously trying to create a better society.

When our battle was against the Left Front, the main contention was the anti-poor and anti-people policy of the Comnmunist Government. I had the honour of serving my People in a significant manner during the Nandigram Agitation through the Bhumi Ucched Pratirodh Committee, where our main fight was not against any particular individual, but against the system being unleashed by such individuals who were determined to cause hardships to poor and landless peasants who had very little to their name.

It was with great hope and belief that We the People democratically overthrew the Communist Government, and peacefully elected a new Government in its place. A Government which we thought would preserve and protect our interests. A Government which we thought would deliver upon our shared goal, that of creating a West Bengal of our Dreams.

That of creating a West Bengal our ancestors would be proud of. That of creating a West Bengal which our freedom fighters could smile upon with pride through the shining gates of heaven. That of creating a West Bengal which we could handover to the next generation with great pride and happiness. That of creating a West Bengal which would truly live up to Gurudev Rabindranath Thakur’s words: Amar Sonar Bangla.

Ten years have elapsed in the interim. While a decade has gone by, the problems faced by our fellow sisters and brothers remains the same. In fact, regrettably, in some cases, it has become worse. But stagnation is also not the most critical problem. It can usually be easily fixed by getting the governance infrastructure in order. Regrettably, that is where we are failing. An extremely deep rot and malaise has set in to the Trinamool Congress. The very Party we once fought for shoulder to shoulder.

Neither West Bengal and nor the Trinamool Congress is anyone’s fiefdom. West Bengal is the great land of valiant legends, who have moved heaven and earth to fight for their freedom, for their Maa, for their Mati, and for their Manush. This State for which we feel such never-ending pride is the creation of innumerable legends, who have poured constant and continuous hard work and toil. The State’s great Sons and Daughters have unflinchingly sacrificed their all for the hope and dream of a better future. Brothers and Sisters, I am conscious of the fact that this land is nothing but the result of their blood, sweat, and tears.

Much like the great Sons and Daughters of West Bengal, who espoused the old Vedic concept of Nishkam Karma Yog, the concept of selfless and desireless action, an action performed without any expectation of fruits or results, my Fellow Members of the Trinamool Congress have also built this Party brick by brick over the course of more than 2 decades. I have had the distinct privilege of working side by side with many such ordinary Members, who selflessly worked towards our shared goal of building a West Bengal of our dreams, without any expectation, I am conscious that it is these very People on the backs of whom we have managed to create such a strong Party. It is on the backs of these very People that we launched our agitation more than 10 years ago, and pledged to serve our Maa, Mati, and Manush.

It is also important to state that anyone else who even remotely believes otherwise has no idea of the truth. The Party was not built in 1 day with the contribution of 1 person. It was a continuous and continuous effort on a mammoth scale, the culmination of which was the result we saw 10 years ago.

It is therefore especially painful, that the individuals currently in charge of the Party are treating it like their personal fiefdom. The very people on the backs of whom the Party was created are now being sidelined, humiliated, and outcast. In their stead, the individuals have now hired external assistance, people with no knowledge of ground realities, and no knowledge of the sacrifice it actually takes to work for a shared goal as ambitious as creating the West Bengal of our dreams.

Instead of “Nishkam Karma Yogis”, the ordinary people who built this party brick by brick selflessly without any desires, the Party we worked so hard to build is now filled with “Sakam Karma Bhogis”. Individuals who have no bother about anyone but themselves. Individuals who will take compensation for their services, and disappear as soon as the elections conclude. Individuals who do not have it in them to work selflessly. Individuals whose only question is what they will get and when they will get it. The concept of “Tyaag” espoused by Members like us has been replaced with the concept of “Bhog” by the individuals who are now in charge.

It is only and only in the light of the above that we have come to a time for choosing. West Bengal stands at a critical juncture today. This is a time for choosing for the People of West Bengal. This is a time for choosing for you, the ordinary grassroot member of the party. And certainly, this is a time for choosing for me, and once again I have to make a decision keeping in mind how I can best serve the People of my great State.

It is therefore my duty to inform my fellow Members of the Party that I have made a choice. I have made a choice to work towards our shared goal of building a West Bengal of our dreams, a West Bengal our ancestors would be proud of. Our great State of West Bengal has the honour of saying that our Soil is the birthplace of innumerable luminaries, so shouldn’t our shared objective be to build a West Bengal they would be proud of?

A West Bengal dreamt by illustrious legends such as Chaitanya Mahaprabhu, Ramakrishna Paramhansa, Swami Vivekanand, Sri Aurobindo, Deshbandhu Chittaranjan Das, Bipin Chandra Pal, Khudiram Bose, Subhash Chandra Bose, Raja Ram Mohan Roy, Bankim Chandra Chatterjee, Ishwar Chandra Vidyasagar, Rabindranath Tagore, Aruna Asaf Ali, and Bidhan Chandra Roy. By so many others before them. Andd by so many others who have followed them. Surely, that can be our only goal and objective.

My dearest brothers and sisters. Our responsibility is way more than what can be put into words. As Netaji said, no real change in history has ever been achieved by discussion. My friends, it is now time to take action. I know that history will not judge me kindly if I sit idly by and not raise my voice. I know that you will not forgive me if I leave your side when you need me the most. And I know for a fact that if I claim to be neutral in situations of injustice, I have chosen the side of the oppressor.

Therefore, my dearest brothers and sisters, I have decided to resign from the primary membership of my current political party, the All India Trinamool Congress, with immediate effect.

I have taken this decision because the very Party which we worked to establish through our blood, sweat and tears, has now betrayed our very ideals. The Party has now betrayed the mandate it was given by We The People. Instead of focusing on the all-round development of the State and the country, we are now seeing a situation in which the sole agenda is the enrichment of few particular individuals and their families.

They are now working against Bengali culture while claiming to defend it. They are now working against Bengali ideals while claiming to promote it. They claim to uphold and hold dear to their hearts the life and teachings of our ancestors, but in reality they believe in a use and throw culture. They have treated our sacred Constitution with the same disrespect. They have tried their level best to convert our great State into their personal fiefdom. But our great People have valiantly resisted. And the time has now come to fight for our ideals once again.

The Constitutional Head of our State, the Hon’ble Governor of West Bengal, has over the past 18 months brought to public attention more than 100 instances of a total break-down in the law and order situation. Political murders are continuing unabated. Illegal activities are continuing without pause. The sole objective of the Party our people elected has now become to mislead, oppress, threaten, and loot, all while claiming to be defending the Constitution.

After sincere and thought-provoking reflections, I had decided to resign from all Government positions that I had earned trough selfless hard work in order to lodge my protest on the way our great State was being run. But now, the time has come to pick up the gauntlet, and fight alongside our great People and take these individuals to task. Let it be known to them that We The People cannot be fooled. Belated attempts such as Duare Sarkar which were only conceptualized 10 years after being in power, cannot placate our great People.

Our fight is bigger than any individual. Our fight is for a better future. Our fight is to restore West Bengal to its former glory.

To those Members of the Party who are feeling a little disappointed at my departure, I must say to you that I have not left the Trinamool. I am the same person who continues to believe in and fight for the same ideals that I have been fighting for over the last 3 decades. It is Trinamool who has left its ideals behind in its relentless pursuit of power instead of service. I cannot in good conscience associate myself with any group which does not share the same ideals as me.

I am sure that it is now clear to you, too, my Fellow Members, that we cannot betray our ideals in the false hope that those who have brought us into this situation will get us out of it. In your heart of hearts, you know what is right. Our brains may still want to give them another chance, hoping against hope that everything will be alright. In times of such confusion, we should refer ourselves to our great Saints. Swami Vivekananda once said that in a conflict between the heart and the brain, one should follow his heart.

The time has come once again when we should follow our hearts. I know many of you already feel the same way, but are afraid to step forward. I hope that my decision will allow you to make yours. We should never forget that we are the People of this great State, whose another learned son Rabindranath Thakur guided us in what we should do in such situations.

Let us once again strive to uphold the very same ideals and undertake a new journey, together. Let us reject those who seek to divide us between insiders and outsiders, and be inspired by the writings of legends such as Atul Prasad Sen. Let us forget our differences.

Finally, let us not forget, that our end goal is to work for our Nation. A developed Village, a developed District, a developed State, and a developed Nation, That is our only agenda.

I have full faith in our Constitution and our Election Commission of India. West Bengal will witness for the first time in its history truly independent elections, in which people will be able to celebrate the Festival of Democracy, and exercise their constitutional and democratic right to vote.

The time is now. I am going to take a few steps which everyone is going to hear about. I hope you join me. Our shared goal remains the same.“

The steps that Suvendu Adhikari is likely to be his joining the BJP in the presence of Home Minister Amit Shah. TMC is in the grips of a major rebellion with members submitting their resignation left, right and center.

Note: Some text in Bangla quoting Bengali stalwarts have been removed

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