asia
Kishida reelected Japan's PM in parliamentary vote
Fumio Kishida was reelected as Japan’s prime minister on Wednesday after his governing party scored a major victory in key parliamentary elections.
Elected just over a month ago by parliament, Kishida called a quick election in which his governing party secured 261 seats in the 465-member lower house — the more powerful of Japan’s two-chamber legislature — enough to maintain a free hand in pushing legislation through parliament.
The Oct. 31 victory increases his grip on power and is seen as a mandate from voters for his weeks-old government to tackle the pandemic-battered economy, virus measures and other challenges. Kishida said he saw the results as a signal that voters chose stability over change.
Later Wednesday, he will form his second Cabinet by keeping all but one of the ministers he appointed when he took office on Oct. 4, and then map out his economic measures and other key policies at a news conference.
Read: Japan votes in national election, 1st key test for Kishida
Kishida had been chosen by the Liberal Democrats as a safe, conservative choice a month ago. They had feared heavy election losses if the unpopular Yoshihide Suga had stayed in power. Suga resigned after only a year in office as his popularity plunged over criticism of his handling of the coronavirus pandemic and his insistence on holding the Tokyo Olympics despite concerns of a virus surge.
The better-than-expected election results may give Kishida’s government more power and time to work on campaign promises, including COVID-19 control, economic revitalization and strengthening Japan’s defense capability.
Kishida’s grip on power also may be strengthened by his Cabinet changes.
A key policy expert from his party faction, former Education Minister Yoshimasa Hayashi, will be the new Foreign Minister, while former Foreign Minister Toshimitsu Motegi will shift to the governing party’s No. 2 post.
Motegi voted for Kishida in the party leadership race and will replace party heavyweight Akira Amari, who resigned from the post over his unimpressive election outcome due to his past bribery scandal.
Though many of Kishida’s ministers are first-timers, key posts went to those from influential and party wings, including those led by ultra-conservative former Prime Minister Shinzo Abe and former Finance Minister Taro Aso.
Kishida promises to create a reinforcing cycle of growth and improved economic distribution to raise incomes under his “new capitalism” economic policy.
Kishida’s immediate post-election task is to compile a major economic stimulus package of about 30 trillion yen ($265 billion) that includes cash payouts, to be announced next week. He also aims to pass an extra budget by the end of this year to fund the projects.
Read:Japan's ruling party loses 1 of 2 by-elections in blow to PM Kishida
At a government meeting Tuesday, Kishida renewed his pledge to create a positive cycle of growth-distribution by bolstering investment and income.
Kishida is also expected to outline later this week his pandemic measures ahead of another possible surge in cases, which could affect his support ratings.
As a former foreign minister, Kishida will continue to prioritize the Japan-U.S. security alliance and promote a vision of a “free and open Indo-Pacific” with other democracies, including Quad dialogue members the U.S., Australia and India.
Kishida has stressed the importance of a stronger military amid worries over China’s growing power and influence and North Korea’s missile and nuclear threats.
He has opposed changes to a law that requires married couples to adopt a single surname, which forces most women to abandon their maiden names. The Liberal Democrats are widely seen as opposed to gender equality and diversity.
NSAs’ meeting on Afghanistan today, focus on regional security
Ahead of the NSAs meeting on Afghanistan, National Security Advisor Ajit Doval held bilateral meetings with his Tajik and Uzbek counterparts on Tuesday, reports The Indian Express.
Sources said Doval and Tajikistan’s NSA Nasrullo Rahmatjon Mahmudzoda exchanged “views on Afghanistan, with significant convergence of assessments”. “Concerns were expressed on the sharp increase in terrorist threats from Afghanistan in the recent past,” said sources. The Tajik NSA highlighted the “gravity of the situation in Afghanistan”.
Read: India moves to patent the over century-old logos of Darjeeling’s ‘Toy Train’
Sources said “discussions took place on the looming humanitarian crisis in Afghanistan”. Already, food shortages are being reported from various parts of the country.
On the bilateral front, discussions were held on the deepening cooperation in areas like “defence, border management and border infrastructure development”, sources said.
Sources said the two NSAs “felt that the legitimacy of any Afghan government within Afghanistan was important before the issue of its international recognition”. This has been flagged by India earlier as well.
Sources said that both sides “emphasised the need for Afghanistan’s neighbours to ensure unhindered access of humanitarian assistance to the people of Afghanistan”, and agreed that “neighbouring states must play a constructive role in Afghanistan”. This is again a reference to Islamabad, as it has been sitting on India’s request to send foodgrain to Afghanistan through Pakistan.
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External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar too met Makhmudov.
Russia, Iran, Tajikistan, Uzbekistan, Turkmenistan, Kazakhstan and Kyrgyzstan are participating in the meeting to be held at the level of national security advisors, and chaired by NSA Doval, on Wednesday. Doval will also meet NSAs of Russia and Iran for bilateral meetings on Wednesday.
Sources said the meeting of NSAs will look at evolving a “regional security architecture” to deal with the challenges arising out of the Taliban takeover of Afghanistan, mainly terrorism within and across its border, radicalisation and extremism, cross-border movement, drug production and trafficking, and potential use of weapons and equipment left behind by the US and its allies.
The Delhi meeting will be attended by Rear Admiral Ali Shamkhani (Iran), Nikolai P Patrushev (Russia), Karim Massimov (Kazakhstan), Marat Mukanovich Imankulov (Kyrgyzstan), Nasrullo Rahmatjon Mahmudzoda (Tajikistan), Charymyrat Kakalyyevvich Amavov (Turkmenistan) and Victor Makhmudov (Uzbekistan).
The top security officials are expected to jointly call on Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Wednesday. Some of the visiting delegates will also travel to Amritsar and Agra for sightseeing.
According to sources, the country’s top security establishment, the National Security Council Secretariat, is taking the lead in organising the conference. The meeting is a “security track”, which is different from the “diplomatic track”, and the “czars of the security establishments” in these countries will discuss “practical cooperation”, they said.
Serum Institute looks to supply 25 million doses to Covax till December
Pune-based Serum Institute of India (SII) is expected to supply 25 million doses to the Covax facility till December, as it looks to resume supplies to the WHO-led Covax facility this month. Earlier in March, the government had imposed a hold on all major exports affecting the Covax deliveries.
"The supplies will resume soon. SII is supposed to supply 25 million doses till December," reports The Economic Times.
Read: India raises finance concern as COP 26 enters second week
In an interview to ET in October, SII CEO Adar Poonawalla said small exports will start soon. "I think January onwards there will be large exports to Covax because by then India will have more than enough vaccines. Already, there is more stock than what we are vaccinating. So, we will be in a very good situation. Combine that with the fact that other Indian vaccine manufacturers are also scaling up," it said.
Read: Top India honours for ex-diplomat Syed Muazzem Ali & scholar Enamul Haque
The Covax facility was created last year to ensure Covid vaccines were made available around the world, with richer countries subsidising costs for poorer nations. The scheme hoped to distribute enough vaccines to protect at least 20% of the population in 92 low-or medium-income countries.
India raises finance concern as COP 26 enters second week
After the big-ticket announcements that gave it possibly the most productive start for any climate meeting, the Glasgow conference was staring back at familiar contentious issues on Monday as ministers re-assembled to resolve the key differences that are holding back progress.
Host country UK’s lead negotiator Archie Young said preparations were being made to facilitate “late-night working” throughout the week. COP (Conference of Parties, the official name of the climate meetings) President Alok Sharma said negotiators needed to “shift gears” to ensure an agreement on contentious issues by Friday evening when the meeting is supposed to come to an end, reports the Indian Express.
Read: India At COP26 Says Its Solar Energy Capacity Increased 17 Times In 7 Years
The first results of the ministerial consultations, in the form of draft texts on some of the issues, are expected to be out late by Monday evening.
The issue most talked about is the one related to finance. The failure of the developed countries to put together US$ 100 billion in climate finance every year from 2020 onwards, in accordance with a promise made over a decade ago, has been the biggest disappointment. But that is not the only money that is not coming in.
Money is required for action in a lot of different areas, including adaptation, loss and damage, halting deforestation, capacity building in developing countries, and technology transfer. There isn’t adequate money flowing in anywhere. While the requirements are estimated to be in trillions of dollars every year, developed countries, which are primarily responsible for delivering climate finance, have been unable to put together even a basic sum of US$ 100 billion every year.
Lack of finance is not something new at this COP. It has persisted ever since the climate negotiations began. But the postponement of the 2020 deadline the start of the US$ 100 billion commitment by at least three years has been a big setback to the process.
India, while making a statement on behalf of the BASIC countries (Brazil, South Africa, India and China) at one of the meetings on Monday, spoke for the entire developing world when it said that the non-seriousness of the developed countries over finance was especially frustrating when several other nations had been enhancing the ambition of their climate actions.
“We would not like to see the enhanced mitigation ambitions (new targets announced by several countries, including India) reach the same fate as the pre-2020 climate finance ambition. It has been over a decade since the annual US$ 100 billion pledge and the world is still waiting for its mobilization and delivery. Trust in multilaterism and credibility of the process is at stake,” said Richa Sharma, additional secretary in the Environment Ministry and India’s lead negotiator.
“Post 2020 mitigation ambition and net zero pledges require significantly enhanced climate finance. The exact magnitude of the new finance goal can be determined through a structured process with clear timelines and milestones so that we have a new finance goal well before 2025. This is a simple ask from many developing country parties. Yet what we are getting is more workshops and in-session seminars to discuss the new goal,” Sharma said.
Read: India moves to patent the over century-old logos of Darjeeling’s ‘Toy Train’
“BASIC would like to warn that lack of a serious approach to climate finance will jeopardise the enhanced mitigation and adaptation ambition as well as net zero pledges of parties,” she said.
On Sunday, the COP presidency had said the final outcome from Glasgow, called decision text, must contain a provision expressing “deep concern” over the failure of the developed countries to meet the US$ 100 billion goal. It said another provision should acknowledge the urgent need to scale up finance flows to “levels needed to support developing countries”.
Among other issues requiring attention of the ministers is the particularly difficult provisions of a new carbon market being set up under the Paris Agreement. This is one of the key things holding back the finalization of the rules and procedures that will govern the implementation of the Paris Agreement.
Developed and developing countries have major differences on how to deal with accumulated unsold carbon credits with some developing countries. These carbon credits were earned in the previous market mechanism that operated under the Kyoto Protocol. But Kyoto Protocol came to an end last year, and with that ended its market mechanisms. Nations that are left with unsold carbon credits — developing countries like Brazil, India or China — want these to be transitioned to the new market mechanism being established under the Paris Agreement. Several developed countries are opposing this.
There are several issues related to carbon markets that have remained unresolved for over three years now. A resolution of these would be a major step forward.
Elsewhere, countries also have to agree on how frequently should they be updating their NDCs (or nationally determined contributions, an official reference to the climate action plans of every country) – in five year cycles, or ten-year cycles, or somewhere in between. As of now, some countries have submitted five-year action plans, while others have given ten-year plans. Standardisation of this cycle is considered necessary for proper assessment of what the world together is doing over a fixed time period, and whether it was adequate to meet the global goals to keep the temperature rise in check.
The final decision text from Glasgow could ask for the preparation of “synthesis report” every year on the action countries are taking to assess whether enough was being done to keep the global temperatures from rising beyond 1.5 degree Celsius from pre-industrial times.
Srinagar joins UNESCO Creative Cities Network 2021 as 'City of Craft and Folk Art'
In a major recognition of the crafts and arts of Jammu and Kashmir, Srinagar on Monday joined the UNESCO Creative Cities Network (UCCN) 2021, under the Crafts and Folk Arts category.
The inclusion of Srinagar in the creative city network for the arts and crafts has paved a way for the city to represent its handicrafts on the global stage through UNESCO, reports ANI.
This was announced on UNESCO's official website wherein 49 cities have joined this elite list. The exercise for UNESCO nomination was started by Jammu and Kashmir in 2018 however our nomination was not accepted then.
Read: India moves to patent the over century-old logos of Darjeeling’s ‘Toy Train’
This year the exercise of Dossier preparation began in the month of May. The government of India Ministry of Culture received four nominations which included Two from Madhya Pradesh Gwalior and Indore and one from West Bengal (Calcutta ) and one from Jammu and Kashmir (Srinagar).
The government of India rejected the application of Calcutta and Indore and forwarded only two nominations which included Srinagar and Gwalior. The Centre recommended the nomination of Gwalior for the Creative City of Music and Srinagar for the Creative City of Craft and Folk arts to UNESCO on June 29, 2021.
The nomination of Gwalior was rejected and that of Srinagar was accepted. This nomination is the global recognition of the rich craft legacy of Srinagar and will help us in attracting Craft Connoisseurs to Jammu and Kashmir and particularly Srinagar.
The UNESCO creative city network involves seven creative fields arts and folk art, media, film, literature, design, gastronomy and Media arts.
The dossier for nomination for Srinagar as the Creative city was first filed by Srinagar in the year 2019, however, only 2 cities, Hyderabad for Gastronomy and Mumbai for Film were chosen during that year.
Prior to the year 2019, only three Indian cities have been recognised as members of UCCN for creative cities namely, Jaipur (Crafts and Folk Arts) in 2015, Varanasi (Creative city of Music) in 2015 and Chennai (Creative city of Music) in 2017. For the year 2020 UNESCO did not call for applications for creative city network.
Read: India At COP26 Says Its Solar Energy Capacity Increased 17 Times In 7 Years
Chief Executive Officer, Jhelum Tawi Flood Recovery Project, JKERA, Dr Abid Rashid Shah, said that process of nomination of Srinagar under the UNESCO Creative City Network was undertaken and funded under the World Bank Funded Jhelum Tawi Flood Recovery Project. This is the recognition of the historical Crafts and Arts of the City.
"It is a proud moment for all of us. World Bank, Jhelum and Tawi Flood Recovery Project (JTFRP) and Department of Industries did a remarkable job in projecting the city in this regard," said Dr Shah.
Director, Technical, Planning and Coordination, JTFRP, Iftikhaar Hakeem, said that credit must go to JTFRP, Department of Industries and line departments for taking up the task positively. He said consultants were hired and work was taken up in this regard to fulfilling all the requirements.
India At COP26 Says Its Solar Energy Capacity Increased 17 Times In 7 Years
India on Sunday told the UN climate summit in Glasgow that its solar energy capacity stands at about 45 gigawatts after it increased 17 times in the last seven years, asserting that although the country represents 17 per cent of the global population, its historical cumulative emissions are only 4 per cent.
India said this while giving a presentation on its third Biennial Update Report (BUR) during the 11th Facilitative Sharing of Views (FSV) at the ongoing COP26 climate summit here, reports NDTV.
Read: India moves to patent the over century-old logos of Darjeeling’s ‘Toy Train’
The BUR was submitted to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) in February.
The key highlight of the discussion on India's third BUR was the achievement of 24 per cent reduction in emission intensity of its Gross Domestic Product (GDP) over the period of 2005-2014, and the significant increase of its solar programme.
Making a statement on behalf of India, JR Bhatt, Adviser/Scientist in the Ministry of Environment, highlighted that India represents 17 per cent of the global population but its historical cumulative emissions are only 4 per cent, while current annual greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions are only about 5 per cent.
“This is complemented by the fact that India is particularly vulnerable to climate change. However, India is nevertheless taking several mitigation actions, spanning across the entire economy and society and has progressively continued decoupling of its economic growth from greenhouse gas emissions,” said Mr Bhatt.
In the last seven years, India's installed solar energy capacity has increased 17 times, he said, adding that the solar energy capacity now stands at about 45 gigawatts.
All the Parties commended India's efforts on the BUR and its climate actions, including recent announcements of new measures.
There were questions about India's multilateral efforts to combat climate change, including the Coalition for Disaster Resilient Infrastructure (CDRI).
India responded by saying that disaster risk is increasing in developing countries, and this is a step to enhance international cooperation which is much needed in the current times.
On the question of an increase in forest cover, India responded that people's participation has played an important role in enhancing its forest cover, and that its forests provide all the four ecosystem services.
India highlighted that it speaks on climate change from a position of strength and responsibility.
Read:10 dead in India Covid hospital fire
“India's 15 per cent of total carbon dioxide emission in 2016 was removed from the atmosphere by the LULUCF (Land Use, Land-Use Change and Forestry).
“Between 2015 and 2019, the forest and tree cover increased by 13,031 square kilometer and mangrove cover increased by 235 square kilometer. Populations of Asiatic lion, elephant, rhino increased manifold in the last 5 to 6 years,” according to India's statement.
“We emphasise that India is particularly vulnerable to climate change, a point which many friends overlook in their eagerness to understand our mitigation efforts.
India moves to patent the over century-old logos of Darjeeling’s ‘Toy Train’
More than two decades after the Darjeeling Himalayan Railway (DHR) was designated a UNESCO World Heritage Site, India has finally registered the logos of the iconic ‘Toy Train’ internationally as its intellectual property.
The use of these logos anywhere in the world will now require written permission from India and the payment of a fee, reports the Indian Express.
The DHR, which started operations in 1880, more than 140 years ago, has two logos, both of which have been patented. One has “DHR” in bold black, intertwined letters; the other is a circular seal with a picture of mountains, forests and a river, with “Darjeeling Himalayan Railway” in white lettering on a green background around it.
Read:India At COP26 Says Its Solar Energy Capacity Increased 17 Times In 7 Years
Both logos are over a century old, and popular in world heritage circuits. They are used randomly on merchandise and communications materials by various commercial organisations in Europe, the UK and the US; even the West Bengal government has used it in communications and on merchandise in the past.
The Railway Ministry in Delhi and the Darjeeling Himalayan Railway office in Kurseong, West Bengal, initiated the process of registering the logo with the Controller General of Patents, Designs and Trademarks under the Union Ministry of Commerce and Industry in August.
The claim was then sent to the World Intellectual Property Organisation (WIPO), a specialised agency of the United Nations based in Geneva, Switzerland, in accordance with the procedure laid down in WIPO’s Vienna Classification (VCL). There is a six-month window to register any counter-claims, following which the Indian government’s claim will receive international approval.
“We have registered the logo. Anyone who wants to use it will have to take our permission,” S K Chaudhary, Divisional Railway Manager, Katihar, Northeast Frontier Railway, said. DHR is part of NFR Katihar division.
Sources said there are plans to patent the logos of India’s other mountain railways as well, such as the Mettupalayam-Udagamandalam Nilgiri Mountain Railway, the Kalka-Shimla Railway, and the Matheran Hill Railway.
Before applying to patent the DHR logos, the Railways worked to restore the original artwork on old cutlery and the walls of stations, officials said. DHR archives were mined to retrieve the oldest available artwork, and local talent was employed to create impressions and pictures.
“Some station buildings have the original logo… Original documents and other items were dug out. The logo is India’s national property. We need to protect it,” DHR director A K Mishra said.
“We can now claim patent fees or user charges if anyone uses the logos,” Mishra said. “There is no fixed rate for this as such,” he said.
DHR and the Mountain Railways of India (DHR, Nilgiri, and Kalka-Shimla) have been selected by the United Nations Postal Administration among six global UNESCO sites to be made part of its World Heritage Stamp series.
Read:10 dead in India Covid hospital fire
This will put the Darjeeling Toy Train’s ‘Iron Sherpa’ blue steam locomotives of the Darjeeling heritage train on the same pedestal as the legendary transalpine Rhaetian Railway in Switzerland, and is likely to boost its recognition and prominence around the world.
The stamp features a steam locomotive at Ghum station, the highest point on the DHR route, commanding a panoramic view of the Darjeeling Himalayas.
The stamp in a way marks the bouncing back of the Indian Railways at UNESCO World Heritage. Two years ago, the unsatisfactory state of affairs at DHR had invited scrutiny, and the property had seemed in danger of losing its prestigious World Heritage Site recognition. A fortnight-long Ghum Festival is being planned to boost the people connect and tourism prospects of the iconic Toy Train of Darjeeling.
10 dead in India Covid hospital fire
At least 10 people died in a deadly fire that swept through the intensive care unit of a hospital treating Covid patients in the western Indian state of Maharashtra on Saturday, officials said.
The blaze broke out at the Covid intensive care unit of the government-run Civil Hospital in the state's Ahmednagar district, some 250km from Maharashtra's capital Mumbai, this morning.
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As many as eight fire tenders were pressed into service within minutes, but it took them a couple of hours to douse the flames, a senior district administration official told the local media.
"While the bodies of 10 people, mostly patients, were recovered by the firefighters, another person has sustained burn injuries. The remaining patients have been safely evacuated," the official added.
The deaths came on a day India reported 10,929 fresh coronavirus cases in 24 hours, 14% lower than Friday's figure of 12,729. The country also logged 392 new deaths during the period, the health ministry said.
Fire officials suspect an electrical short-circuit triggered the fire. "However, a probe will pinpoint the exact cause of death," a fire official said.
Read: 3 killed in Gazipur road accident
This is the third horrific Covid hospital fire tragedy in India in the past eight months.
In May, as many as 18 people died in a fire that broke out at a Covid hospital in the western Indian state of Gujarat. In March too, some 10 Covid patients were killed in a fire that broke out at a Mumbai hospital.
Top officer probing drugs case linked to Shah Rukh Khan's son removed
A week after Bollywood superstar Shah Rukh Khan’s son Aryan walked out of a jail in Mumbai, a top officer of the federal anti-narcotics agency probing the 23-year-old's involvement in a cruise-on-drugs case was shunted out on Friday.
Sources told UNB that Sameer Wankhede, the zonal director of the Narcotics Control Bureau (NCB) was removed as the investigating officer over allegations that he had demanded from Shah Rukh Rs 8 crore bribe via a witness "to settle the high-profile case".
"A special investigation team, led by senior police officer Sanjay Singh, has now taken over the cruise-on-drugs case from Wankhede," the sources said.
Aryan secured bail from the High Court in Mumbai on October 28 and was released from Mumbai's high-security Arthur Road jail two days later, more than three weeks after his arrest in the cruise-on-drugs case.
In fact, Aryan and his two friends -- Arbaz Merchant and Mummun Dhamecha -- were arrested by the NCB on October 3 after hours of grilling in connection with a rave party the federal agency busted on board a cruise ship off Mumbai coast a day before.
Also read: Shah Rukh Khan's son gets bail in drugs-on-cruise case
On the evening of October 2 evening, some 30 NCB sleuths, disguised as passengers, boarded luxury cruise liner 'Empress' which departed Mumbai port for the neighbouring state of Goa.
The cruise ship was carrying mostly celebrities from Bollywood and the fashion industry. As soon as the rave party began, the NCB sleuths swung into action and claimed to have caught red-handed those having drugs.
Aryan, his two friends, and seven others were soon detained. While two of the detainees were freed after questioning, the NCB sleuths placed Aryan and seven others under arrest.
Aryan's father Shah Rukh is considered the most talented Bollywood star. Popularly called "King Khan", he has acted in over 80 films in a career spanning over 25 years. And he has a net worth of USD 700 million.
Shah Rukh, in fact, rose to prominence after starring in 1995 romantic film 'Dilwale Dulhania Le Jayenge', the longest-running blockbuster in the history of Indian cinema. The film was shot in India and Europe.
Also read: India's anti-narcotics police raid Shah Rukh Khan's house
Some of his other blockbusters include 'Dil To Pagal Hai' (1997) and 'Kuch Kuch Hota Hai' (1998). Shah Rukh was also widely praised for his superb performance in 2002 film 'Devdas', where he played an alcoholic.
The 55-year-old, who owns production company Red Chillies Entertainment and Indian Premier League cricket team Kolkata Knight Riders, is married to interior designer Gauri Chibber, a Punjabi Hindu. Apart from Aryan, they have a daughter and another son.
Bengal Minister Subrata Mukherjee dies at 75
Senior Bengal Minister Subrata Mukherjee died at a government hospital in state capital Kolkata on Thursday night, following a cardiac arrest. He was 75.
Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee, who rushed to the hospital soon after the news broke, described Subrata's demise as a "huge loss" to her.
"I have seen a lot of tragedies in life but this is too big a loss. Subratada was likely to be discharged from the hospital on Friday. He suffered cardiac arrest and passed away," Mamata told the media.
Subrata, Bengal's Panchayat Minister, was undergoing treatment at SSKM Hospital in southern Kolkata after he recently suffered a massive heart attack.
A former Mayor of Kolkata, Subrata began his political career with the student wing of the Congress in the late 1960s. In the early 70s, he became one of the youngest Ministers in then Bengal Chief Minister Siddhartha Sankar Ray's government at the age of 26.
He quit the Congress and joined Mamata's Trinamool Congress in 1999. A year later, he was made the Mayor of Kolkata. He had briefly quit the Trinamool Congress but returned soon.
In May this year, Subrata and two other Trinamool Congress leaders were arrested by India's Central Bureau of Investigation for their alleged involvement in a corruption case, the Narada scandal. The three were released on bail a few days later.
The Narada scandal was actually a sting operation carried out by a journalist that caught on tape several ministers and senior officials of the Mamata government accepting cash bribes in exchange for doling out favours to a private firm looking to set up business in Bengal.