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2G and IRCTC scam accused extend support to Mamata Banerjee who is protesting against Saradha chit fund scam investigation

OpIndia Staff
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2G and IRCTC scam accused extend support to Mamata Banerjee who is protesting against Saradha chit fund scam investigation

DMK leader Kanimozhi, who was acquitted in the 2G spectrum case in December 2017 and fodder scam convict Lalu Yadav‘s son Tejashwi Yadav, who himself is accused in IRCTC scam, reached Kolkata last night to extend their support to West Bengal Chief Miniter Mamata Banerjee who has been protesting against CBI investigation in the multi-crore Saradha chit fund scam.


Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister Chandrababu Naidu, who has been an accused in the cash-for-votes scam, is expected to reach Kolkata later today, reports Republic TV. Meanwhile, National Herald scam accused, who is currently out on bail, Congress President Rahul Gandhi, who said Congress is ‘shoulder to shoulder’ with Mamata, who is trying to block Supreme Court ordered probe in a corruption scam, has chosen to stay away from Kolkata.

Unprecedented scenes have unfolded in Kolkata since Sunday evening when Kolkata Police detained five CBI officials who had reached Kolkata top cop’s residence in connection with Saradha Chit Fund scam probe. The West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee has since been sitting on a ‘Dharna’ against the central government. Meanwhile, the CBI has also moved to Supreme Court regarding the non-cooperation of the Bengal government and the state police. The Supreme Court will hear the case later today.

Doors of NDA closed forever for Chandrababu Naidu: Amit Shah

OpIndia Staff
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Doors of NDA closed forever for Chandrababu Naidu: Amit Shah

Coming down heavily on Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister Chandrababu Naidu, BJP President Amit Shah said that the doors of the NDA alliance have closed the door for him forever. Shah made the remarks while addressing a public meeting after flagging off a bus yatra of State BJP President Kanna Laxminarayana at Palasa town in Srikakulam district.

“I want to assure the people of Andhra Pradesh and BJP workers that we have closed NDA’s doors forever for Naidu. He will not find a place in the alliance,” Shah said. Shah accused Naidu of switching loyalties to stay in power. He said that he has started off as a Congress MLA, then he joined N T Rama Rao’s Telugu Desam Party (TDP) when Congress lost to enjoy power but later betrayed him. “He later joined the TDP formed by N.T. Rama Rao (NTR) and enjoyed power. When he got the opportunity, he betrayed NTR who had promoted him, captured power and the entire party,” said the BJP President.

Calling Naidu a “U-turn Chief Minister”, Shah recalled how Naidu had joined the NDA when Atal Bihari Vajpayee became the PM and later left it as well after the NDA government fell. “But at the opportune moment, he stabbed NTR in the back and stole his party. When Atal Bihari Vajpayee became the prime minister, Naidu joined the NDA, but left it soon after the NDA government fell in 2004,” Shah added.

Shah further said, “Chandrababu Naidu kept wandering for 10 years. When he realised that he can’t come to power on his own, he joined hands with Modiji and NDA. Now he has left NDA and making allegations against Modiji.”

He claimed that the NDA government gave 10 times more funds to Andhra Pradesh than the Congress government and asked Naidu to clarify why he still severed ties with the Modi government. “You should tell people why you severed ties with the Modi government which provided more funds to the state. It is clear that you are not bothered about development. you are only interested in corruption,” Shah asked.


He accused Naidu of putting the blame on BJP government to gain sympathy when he felt that the people were angry with the way he was running the government and was trying to make his son the CM.

Stay order barring action over BSP leader Yakub Qureshi’s meat factory removed, may be sealed soon

OpIndia Staff
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Stay order barring action over BSP leader Yakub Qureshi’s meat factory removed, may be sealed soon

Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) leader Haji Yakub Qureshi’s meat factory is likely to be sealed soon after the stay order passed by the Meerut Development Authority (MDA) was aborted by the administration, reports Amar Ujala.

According to MDA officials, the map of the Al Faheem Meatex Pvt Ltd meat factory, owned by Qureshi is not approved. The factory allegedly occupies the green belt, public land, road binding and industrial area. A team of MDA had tried to seal the factory last year but could not do so due to protests. Last year on October 26, a part of the factory was sealed on the order of Secretary MDA. Later a stay order was passed on December 27 by the administration on further action in relation to the meat factory after an appeal was made against the sealing.

Rajesh Kumar, Special Secretary Housing and Urban Planning, cancelled the stay order and said that the factory operator could not provide any evidence to prove that the MDA’s order to seal the factory was wrong.  

It was revealed in the land use investigation of the factory that the area under the green cover in the factory is 2322.81 sqm which is found to be illegal by the MDA. MDA VC has instructed the Zonal Officer to fix a date for putting the seal on the factory.

The United Kingdom government approves extradition of Vijay Mallya to India

OpIndia Staff
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The United Kingdom government approves extradition of Vijay Mallya to India

According to reports, the UK Home Secretary has signed the order to extradite fugitive businessman Vijay Mallya to India.

Sajid Javid, the Home Secretary of United Kingdom, signed the order to extradite Mallya on 3rd February after considering all the relevant information and documents.

In December last year, the Westminster Magistrates’ Court had ordered the extradition of liquor baron Vijay Mallya after a trial that lasted over a year, and the decision was pending with the UK government.

Vijay Mallya is wanted by investigating agencies in India on the charges of Money Laundering, Fraud and violation of Foreign Exchange Management Act (FEMA). His Kingfisher airlines owe around ₹9000 crore of debt to creditors, and Debts Recovery Tribunal (DRT) has attached a significant amount of properties belonging to Mallya.

Vijaya Mallya will be the latest addition to several high-value extraditions that India has secured from foreign countries in recent weeks.

OpIndia Evening Dispatch: Monday, 4th February, 2019

OpIndia Staff
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OpIndia Evening Dispatch: Monday, 4th February, 2019

In the hustle and bustle of the day, it is only natural to miss some of the biggest developments that impact the nation. The OpIndia Evening Dispatch will catch you up on the day’s event even if you have been busy thus far.

1. Yamuna Expressway Scam: CBI officer, UP revenue official arrested Rs 126 crore scam

Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) has registered case against two of its own officials and some officials of the Uttar Pradesh Police in Yamuna Expressway Industrial Development Authority land scam case. The officials against whom the case has been registered are Inspector CBI V S Rathore, ACB Ghaziabad, ASI Sunil Dutt, Tehsildar (UP) Ranveer Singh and one other official. Inspector Rathore and tehsildar Ranveer Singh have been arrested by the CBI.

They have been booked for allegedly influencing the probe in the case. A separate case has been registered by the UP police to investigate the case as claimed by the CBI. As per reports, around 10 lakhs were allegedly paid to Inspector CBI V S Rathore and ASI Sunil Dutt by the suspects against whom the investigation was going on.

2. Mamata vs CBI: The CBI moves SC against Kolkata top cop, CJI to hear the matter tomorrow

In the ongoing showdown in Kolkata, the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) has moved the Supreme Court seeking directions to Kolkata Police Commissioner Rajeev Kumar to cooperate in the Saradha Chit Fund case. In its petition, the CBI has said that despite being summoned multiple times, Kumar failed to cooperate and created hurdles in the investigation.

Despite the CBI push to list the case for hearing today, the Chief Justice of India (CJI) said that the hearing will be held tomorrow.

3. Congress stands ‘shoulder to shoulder’ with Mamata whom they once accused of ‘looting’ Bengal

Even as Congress President Rahul Gandhi extended his support to Mamata Banerjee who is currently protesting against a CBI probe in the Saradha Chit Fund scam, Congress seems to have forgotten its own stand on Mamata and the Chit Fund scam from a couple of years back.

Interestingly, Congress President Rahul Gandhi who is now standing ‘shoulder to shoulder’ with Mamata Banerjee seems to have forgotten the fact that it was the UPA government in 2013 which had first registered a case against the Saradha chit fund scam and had accused Mamata Banerjee of ‘looting’ the money from the public.

4. Saradha Chit Fund Case: All you need to know why Mamata Banerjee is trying to scuttle the CBI probe

Kolkata witnessed an unprecedented series of events last night when a team of CBI officials were detained by the state police after they paid the police commissioner a visit to obtain crucial information regarding the Saradha scam.

Senior leaders of the Trinamool Congress have been alleged to be intimately involved in the scam ever since the CBI initiated its investigation. In December 2014, state transport and sports minister, Madan Mitra, was arrested by the central investigative agency in connection with the scam.

Sudipto Sen, CEO and CMD of the Saradha Group, in a confessional letter to the CBI in 2013 made several claims with far-reaching political implications. In the letter, Sen claimed that he had not only paid hefty pay-out amounts to Trinamool leaders but also influential Congress leader in Assam Matang Sinh, and senior Congress leader P. Chidambaram’s wife Nalini Chidambaram.

5. This year’s Kumbh saw thousands abjuring lucrative vocations like Engineering, Management to become Naga Sadhus

According to the Akhil Bharatiya Akhara Parishad (ABAP), the highest body of the country’s akharas (a sect of seers), it is estimated that over 10,000 men and women are taking Deeksha (initiation) and becoming Naga sadhus this Kumbh. Many of whom have degrees in Engineering, Management and other professions from prestigious institutes across the country. The largest of the akharas, Juna Akhara has initiated about 1100 so far and there have been planned a few more mass initiations by them in this month to initiate the enthusiasts into Naga way of life.

6. I tweeted what I had to say: Congress President Rahul Gandhi evades commenting on Mamata’s mayhem

Congress President Rahul Gandhi today evaded commenting on the political drama unfolding at Kolkata as West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee took to dharna protesting against CBI probe in Saradha Chit Fund Scam. “I tweeted what I had to say,” Rahul Gandhi said.

Rahul Gandhi had said that Congress stands ‘shoulder to shoulder’ with Mamata Banerjee, who was busy stopping the CBI from carrying out their duty of investigating the Saradha Chit Fund Scam.

7. UNESCO world heritage site in Hampi vandalised by hoodlums

A video showing vandalism carried out by the hoodlums in Karnataka at the UNESCO world heritage site in Hampi has gone viral. The miscreants can be seen in the video damaging the carved stone pillars in Hampi. The video shows 3 men wrecking the pillars of 14th century Vishnu temple and the subsequent exultation by the trio after the pillars were broken down.

8. Rahul Gandhi is more than PM to us: Karnataka Congress chief on Karnataka crisis

Karnataka Pradesh Congress Committee Working President Eshwar Khandre, displayed new levels of sycophancy towards Congress President Rahul Gandhi by claiming that for Congress workers, Rahul Gandhi is even more than the Prime Minister.

Khandre was referring to the political crisis which is currently underway in Karnataka as the chief minister HD Kumaraswamy as well as his father, HD Deve Gowda have time and again let it known that they are unhappy with the opportunistic alliance of the Congress and JD(S) in Karnataka.

9. What did Sudipta Sen write in his 2013 letter that Mamata Banerjee is so nervous about Saradha scam investigation?

Chaos descended upon Kolkata on the night of 3rd of February, 2019, when a team of CBI officials were detained by the state police when they visited the police commissioner for questioning in the Saradha Chit Fund scam.

It is a good time, then, to revisit the letter that Sudipta Sen, Chairman of the Saradha Group, had written to the CBI in 2013. In the letter, he claimed that he had been cheated by several people and that he was on the verge of committing suicide. He also asserted that the letter should be treated as his dying declaration.

10. Sunanda Pushkar case: Trial against Congress leader Shashi Tharoor to begin on 21st February

The Sessions court to begin the trial against senior Congress leader Shashi Tharoor in the Sunanda Pushkar case on 21st February. Tharoor is charge-sheeted in the case as an accused for abetment to suicide.

Additional Chief Metropolitan Magistrate Samar Vishal has transferred the case from the Magistrate’s court to the sessions court and the case will be heard on the fast track. However, the court has dismissed the plea of BJP leader Subramanian Swamy seeking to assist the court in the matter. The court also refused to make the Delhi police vigilance report public but it has asked the police to keep it safe for future need.

11. Only 2 women had entered Sabarimala, not 51: Kerala minister in assembly

The Kerala government had earlier submitted in the Supreme Court that 51 women under the age of 50 had entered the Sabarimala Temple, defying the age-old traditions of the Hindu shrine.

The communist government’s claims were soon busted by several citizen groups and media reports as it was revealed that fake names, numbers of male devotees and many other discrepancies had been done to reach the figure of 51.

Now, Kerala Devaswom Minister Kadakampally Surendran has informed the Kerala Assembly that the state government has confirmation of only two women between the age of 10 and 50 years offering prayers at the Sabarimala Temple.

Opinions:

Common man saves 27% on taxes after implementation of GST under BJP government

GST is a landmark implementation that benefits all stakeholders, the government, Treasury, Common man and Business owners, explains Dhairya Roy.

Citizenship Amendment Bill: A necessity to correct a historical wrong

As we try to save our lands from destruction, we must first try to put our house in order. And therefore, we must recognise the forces from within, which are trying to bring in the necessary disruptions, which can spoil this last exercises for redemption, so as to ensure that our land and culture is perennially annihilated, writes Rudradeb

Kolkata: BJP office in Bhabanipur vandalised by TMC workers

OpIndia Staff
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Kolkata: BJP office in Bhabanipur vandalised by TMC workers

Amidst the raging standoff between the CBI and the Kolkata police, TMC goons have resorted to vandalism against the BJP. According to reports, the hooligans of Trinamool Congress Party have attacked and vandalised the BJP office in Bhabanipur in South Kolkata.


The official Twitter of West Bengal BJP tweeted that Mamata Banerjee’s goons have vandalised the party office. They also posted a short video showing damage done to by the vandals.


As soon as the news of the slugfest between the Kolkata police and the CBI broke out the last evening and the West Bengal CM Mamata Banerjee sat on a dharma to protect Police Commissioner Rajeev Kumar, it appears that the lumpen elements within the Trinamool Congress were allegedly given a free rein to ravage and induce horror among their opponents.

The TMC goons have indulged in a spree of rampant vandalistic attacks against the BJP and effigies of PM Modi were burnt by the hooligans.


Mamata Banerjee has alleged that the BJP is indulging in vendetta politics by using the CBI against her months before the general elections. However, the BJP has refuted her allegations, claiming that the CBI is working independently on a 2014 petition filed by Congress and left parties before the BJP formed its government at the centre. The BJP has further said that the police commissioner was summoned thrice by the CBI but he had continuously evaded the premier agency. It may be noted that the investigations into several chit fund scams in the state were transferred to CBI from the state police by the Supreme Court in 2014, before Narendra Modi government came to power.

Just a couple of days back, the TMC hooligans had attacked BJP supporters and replaced Narendra Modi’s posters with Mamata Banerjee’s ones ahead of the former’s rally at Durgapur, West Bengal. Many Posters welcoming PM Modi were blackened by the workers of TMC.

From killing Kar Sevaks to thrashing Sabarimala devotees, Indian secularism means hostility towards Hindus

K Bhattacharjee
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From killing Kar Sevaks to thrashing Sabarimala devotees, Indian secularism means hostility towards Hindus

In an earlier article, we had reported that the Mulayam Singh government in Uttar Pradesh had opened fire upon Karsevaks in 1990 and then conspired to hide the actual death toll by having them buried instead of cremating them according to Hindu rites, as reported by Republic TV in their expose.

The incident was one of the darkest moments of Independent India when the secular state slaughtered innumerable Hindu devotees and the people involved have gotten away without any repercussions. Not only have they gotten away, but also the people who allegedly committed the heinous abuse of human rights went on to have great political careers and held democratically elected offices.

The so-called ‘independent’ media conspired to cover up the entire matter and it has taken nearly three decades for the truth to emerge. It is an indictment of the Indian media, which never wastes a moment in portraying itself as the moral guardian of society, that it purposely shied away from performing its duty.

It is also an indictment of the Hindu society that Mulayam Singh Yadav, on whose orders the shots were allegedly fired, never had to face the consequences of his actions. Despite the slaughter of Karsevaks, Mulayam has remained a powerful player in Indian politics and even went on to become the Chief Minister of Uttar Pradesh later on. Normally, one would expect the political career of someone in that position to be ruined after such atrocious allegations. However, when one has the propaganda machine on one’s side, they can get away with it.

Worse, Mulayam hasn’t yet issued an apology over the whole incident. He did say he regretted issuing the orders but never quite apologised for it. In fact, he said it was necessary to protect Muslim sentiments. He had said in 2016, “I regret giving orders to shoot kar sevaks at Ayodhya. My decision to order firing at kar sevaks was to save Muslim minorities. This decision was needed to keep the faith of Muslims in this country intact.”

The entire series of events only reveals the anti-Hindu nature of the secular state and the establishment. The life of a Hindu is worth so little in secular India that politicians can order fire upon them without suffering any consequences for their actions.

If that weren’t enough, as per Republic TV’s latest expose, the authorities then denied the murdered devotees their fundamental right to funeral rites according to the customs of their own religion. Not even terrorists are denied proper funeral rites and here we have people, whose only crime was that they were devotees of Shri Rama, who were buried instead of being cremated so that the political establishment did not have to report the accurate numbers of the deceased.

Mulayam Singh’s statement was particularly revealing. In secular India, Hindus have to be slaughtered if necessary in order to protect Muslim sentiments, if we are to take his words for it. And the mainstream media, who pretend day in and day out that they are morally superior to the rest of us mortals, conspired to silence the entire matter.

Nearly three decades have passed since the ghastly events at Ayodhya. And yet, nothing much has changed. Then, it was Mulayam Singh. Today, it is the Chief Minister of Kerala, Pinarayi Vijayan, who is hell-bent on destroying the traditions of the Sacred Abode of Bhagwan Ayyappa, the Sabarimala Temple. And he is doing so with the full sanction of the secular state.

Hindus have been brutally thrashed in Kerala, some have committed suicide witnessing the brutal assault on their sacred beliefs. And yet, will anyone be held accountable at all for the misery that Hindus have been forced through? Extremely unlikely.

To top it off, our Judiciary has time for every matter under one Sun but not enough to resolve the Ram Janambhoomi dispute. Years and years have passed and yet, we are no closer to receiving a judgment on the matter than we were 8 years ago.

All of it does not bode well for the secular fabric of the country. Continuous institutionalised discrimination against one single community is bound to attract severe retaliation. And that retaliation will be conveyed through the one power that is guaranteed to every single citizen of the country: The Ballot.

With every passing election cycle, we will witness people voting for candidates who promise to rectify the wrongs that have been done to them, candidates who promise retribution for the misery they were made to suffer, for the sentiments which were violated. Unless the entire political spectrum comes together to address the injustice that has been done to Hindus, people will avenge the injustice that has been done to them through the power of the Ballot that has been granted to them by the Indian Constitution.

And that is how a Democracy slowly paves the way for tyranny, when the interests of people have been ignored for so long, when they have suffered the brunt of institutionalised discrimination for long enough, they do not vote for progress and prosperity. They vote for vengeance.

Kolkata Police chief was summoned thrice by the CBI but he ignored: Law minister RS Prasad

OpIndia Staff
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Kolkata Police chief was summoned thrice by the CBI but he ignored: Law minister RS Prasad

Union Minister Ravi Shankar Prasad convened a presser to put forth the government’s stand amidst the unprecedented standoff between the West Bengal Police and the central investigative agency CBI. The CBI has decided to approach the SC to resolve the imbroglio.

Stepping up the attack on the TMC chief, RS Prasad alleged that Mamata Banerjee did not sit in protest when TMC ministers Madan Mitra and Sudip Bandyopadhyay were incarcerated for their alleged roles in the Chit fund scams. Insinuating it as a politically motivated outrage, RS Prasad said, “Why is Mamata Banerjee outraging now while she had been evidently silent on the arrests of Madan Mitra, Sudeep Bandopadhya and Kunal Ghosh?”

Prasad also insinuated that the police commissioner must be party to the deepest secrets of the chit fund scams that West Bengal CM Mamata Banerjee, who remain impervious to the arrests of her ministers involved in the various chit fund scams is fighting tooth and nail to protect the commissioner from being interrogated by the CBI. Prasad contended that Kolkata police commissioner Rajeev Kumar was summoned thrice by the CBI for interrogation but he averted it every single time.

Prasad also questioned the Congress’ duplicitous stand over the Saradha Chit Fund issue. He discussed Congress’ statements and Tweets where the party leadership had condemned the scam and had held TMC responsible for shielding the perpetrators.

Taking a jibe at the opposition unity, Ravi Shankar Prasad also discussed that the SIT formation and SC order for investigation had all come before the BJP came to power. He claimed that it is farcical that the opposition is now targeting Modi-Shah for the consequences of investigations initiated when their own governments were in power. Prasad asserted that CBI’s proceedings were in accordance with the directions issued by the 2014 Supreme Court verdict. The SC had then asked the CBI to interrogate all the suspicious links involved in the chit fund scams and the money trail.

Modi, Mamata and Mahagathbandhan: With her dharna, Mamata challenges not only Modi but even Rahul Gandhi as PM contender

Shashank Bharadwaj
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Modi, Mamata and Mahagathbandhan: With her dharna, Mamata challenges not only Modi but even Rahul Gandhi as PM contender

The bizarre scene of West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee walking to and fro on the “Dharna” stage out of panic following the detention of CBI officials in Kolkata outlines a great political story. Mamata Banerjee, a quintessential regional satrap adhering to “realpolitik” with an aspiration of being relevant in national politics is now facing her biggest political battle and seems to be fading out too quick. Mamata Banerjee, once known for political slaughtering of the Communists at their home turf of Bengal, is now  facing the similar political challenge from the BJP.

Kolkata witnessed an unprecedented series of events last night when a team of CBI officials were detained by the state police after they paid the police commissioner a visit to obtain crucial information regarding the Saradha scam. The whole saga pertains to the alleged involvement of West Bengal Chief Minister and other senior functionaries of the TMC in a massive Saradha Chit fund scam. The Saradha scam broke out into the open in 2013 when a Ponzi scheme run by the Saradha Group, a consortium of over 200 private companies, collapsed after collecting hundreds and thousands of crores from over 15 lakh investors.

Senior leaders of the Trinamool Congress have been alleged to be intimately involved in the scam ever since the CBI initiated its investigation. In December 2014, TMC minister Madan Mitra and several other party leaders were arrested by the central investigative agency in connection with the scam. The CBI probe has pointed fingers towards Trinamool supremo Mamata Banerjee, who has now attempted to prevent the CBI from furthering their investigations in the Saradha case.

Instead, Mamata Banerjee has chosen to play her strongest political narrative- “The Bengali Pride“, similar to what Narendra Modi during his tenure as Gujarat CM. Modi had then invoked the “Gujarati Asmita” against the onslaught of Sonia Gandhi led UPA during the 2002 Gujarat riots investigations. However, the biggest contrast between the two is that the then Gujarat CM had allowed the CBI officials to perform their duty and had agreed positively to co-operate throughout the probe. On the hand, Mamata detained the CBI officials who had gone on Supreme Court’s order to Kolkata chief’s residence. And then, as if she’s the judiciary herself, even gave a clean chit to Rajeev Kumar by referring to him as among the best police officer in the world.

Mamata Banerjee has also been careful in setting the political narrative just before the crucial Lok Sabha elections. The proposed ‘Mahagathbandhan’ is devoid of a credible face to lead them and also lacks a positive agenda to drive the political narrative to fight the BJP. The grand alliance consisting of several regional leaders like Samajwadi Party chief Akhilesh Yadav, BSP supremo Mayawati, TDP chief Chandrababu Naidu including Mamata Banerjee has united together to take on the PM Modi led BJP, which is way ahead of the opposition camp in terms of capturing political space ahead of the Lok Sabha elections.

Mamata Banerjee has cleverly used the CBI fiasco to her advantage to show that the fight isn’t just against the Narendra Modi led NDA but also to exert her claim to be the face of the ‘Mahagathbandhan‘ to take on the BJP. Mamata Banerjee with a decision to do her customary “street politics“, she has positioned herself to be the only contender to take on Prime Minister Modi not only in West Bengal but also nationally. Mamata Banerjee with her move to do a ‘dharna‘ at Kolkata and inviting other leaders to join the rally has set up a masterful trap for the opposition leaders. She had also sought to project herself to be the leader of the alliance by uniting most of the opposition leaders during a recent rally at Kolkata.

This political development can be summed up as a case of “damned if you do, doomed if you don’t” situation for the opposition camps. If the opposition leaders join hands with Mamata to sustain the narrative, it would end up playing to her strengths. If the opposition alliance tries to ignore the call to unify behind Mamata Banerjee at this moment, it will cast aspersions among its vote base on the seriousness of such a coalition to take on the mighty BJP. This is not just Mamata Banerjee challenging Prime Minister Modi, but she is also pushing the Mahagathbandhan into a tough spot to declare her as the face of the alliance.

Mamata Banerjee, after coming out of the Congress party in 1998 set up All India Trinamool Congress (AITC aka TMC) and rose to fame in the state of West Bengal at a time it was notoriously known for the Communist atrocities. With her political acumen and aided by an era of coalition politics, Didi enjoyed the taste of power under the Vajpayee government in 1999 to became the first female railway minister of the country and went on to join hands with the UPA coalition to exert a considerable amount of power in the national scene. To stay relevant in the national politics, Didi somehow managed to side with both the NDA and UPA camps whenever it suited her political convenience.

In 2011, she had made history by not only throwing out the dreaded Communists from the reigns of power in West Bengal but also ensured the violent communists would be irrelevant in the Indian politics in the coming future. However, Mamata Banerjee’s entry into the politics did not bring any substantial change, as she did not alter any political structures existed in the state rather she just replaced the communists and continued to reap benefits out of the politico-criminal nexus of the West Bengal. Mamata’s Trinamool Congress is now known as the “new Left’’. In fact, Mamata Banerjee’s political movements during Singur and Nandigram protests were akin to communist movements which eventually led to Mamata winning 2011 state elections.

The BJP, once a non-existent party in the West Bengal has now successfully captured the political space vacated by the Left Front, positioning itself to be an alternative to both the Mamata led TMC and the left-front. The upsurge in the BJP’s vote share along with better electoral performance compared to other parties has also prompted organisations like the RSS, the VHP and the Bajrang Dal, to become more assertive. The religious and cultural events of Ram Navami, Durga Pooja, Saraswathi Pooja has benefited the saffron party while putting a check on the minority appeasement policies of the Trinamool Congress.

The massive rallies of the BJP have pushed the Trinamool camp into a state of concern. Mamata Banerjee has reacted to BJP’s assertion by cancelling permissions to hold rallies, barring the likes of Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath to visit the state and has even gone to the extent to deny permissions for the BJP to conduct its ‘Rath Yatras’. The recent questioning of Manik Majumdar, a close aide of the West Bengal CM Mamata Banerjee, about the sale proceeds of the paintings and serving of notice to her aide MP Derek O’Brien in pertaining to Saradha chit fund scam has further pushed Mamata into a state of panic. Amidst all the political drama, severe discontent has been brewing against Mamata from not only among the masses but also from its own cadre as several leaders including few MPs have resigned the Trinamool to join the BJP.

With the entry of the BJP in the state, the losses to Mamata are considerably high as Mamata Banerjee will not only be losing the political hegemony to the BJP which she enjoyed in the state for a long time but may also result into good political outcome for the BJP in the Lok Sabha. Further, Mamata Banerjee’s ambitions to head the opposition alliance will certainly be at stake if she is unable to get the relatively higher number of seats compared to the other regional parties.

On the other hand, BJP has little to lose in West Bengal. It has two Lok Sabha seats in the West Bengal and hopes to regain both of them in the upcoming elections. Even though the BJP has set a target of 22 seats from West Bengal for the so-called losses it may suffer in Hindi heartland states, the party will be content even the final tally reaches to 10 and in all likelihood, the BJP is poised to win at least 10 seats causing further worry to Mamata Banerjee. The political casualty that the BJP has to suffer following the recent CBI vs Mamata fiasco will be arguably far less compared to what Mamata Banerjee has to endure.

The recent upsurge of popularity of the BJP in West Bengal with the party making inroads in the rural Bengal has surely unnerved Mamata Banerjee, which could seriously affect her political ambitions of being Prime Minister of the country in the future. The anxiety of Mamata Banerjee has been manifested lately as she has often resorted to personal attacks against the BJP leaders including Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Amit Shah.

Only 2 women had entered Sabarimala, not 51: Kerala minister in assembly

OpIndia Staff
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Only 2 women had entered Sabarimala, not 51: Kerala minister in assembly

The Kerala government had earlier submitted in the Supreme Court that 51 women under the age of 50 had entered the Sabarimala Temple, defying the age-old traditions of the Hindu shrine.

The communist government’s claims were soon busted by several citizen groups and media reports as it was revealed that fake names, numbers of male devotees and many other discrepancies had been done to reach the figure of 51.

Also read: Fake names, male pilgrims, false age: Kerala government pulled all forgery tricks to make the list of ’51 women under 50′

Now, Kerala Devaswom Minister Kadakampally Surendran has informed the Kerala Assembly that the state government has confirmation of only two women between the age of 10 and 50 years offering prayers at the Sabarimala Temple.


There were reports that a certain Sri Lankan woman had also entered the shrine but the Devaswom Minister stated that he didn’t have any confirmation of that either.


Opposition parties had alleged that the ‘fake list’ was only submitted to insult the Hindus and belittle the review petitions. State BJP President PS Sreedharan Pillai has stated the list is “the biggest lie of the century”. Congress had stated that the communist government has become “a laughing stock”.

Also read: Sabarimala: Aided by Kerala police, women belonging to CPI-ML enter Sabarimala to violate age-old Hindu customs

The Kerala police under orders from the communist government had sneaked two CPIM activists named Bindu and Kanakadurga inside the shrine through the VIP and staff entry gate in the early hours of January 2. A massive protest had followed in the state against the government’s attempts to desecrate the traditions of the shrine.

The Devaswom Minister’s latest admission in the Assembly appears to be an admission that the Kerala government had submitted wrong information in the Court.

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