Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee on Thursday sacked one of her senior ministers from her Cabinet as well as from all posts of her ruling Trinamool Congress party, days after he was arrested in a school jobs scam. Partha Chatterjee held the portfolios of Commerce and Industry, IT and electronics, and Industrial Reconstruction in the state Cabinet. He was also the ruling Trinamool Congress party's general secretary. "I have removed Partha Chatterjee as a minister. My party takes strict action. There are many plannings behind it but I don't want to go into details,” the Bengal Chief Minister told the media after a Cabinet meeting at the Bengal secretariat. Also read: Mamata, Modi on the same page on Ukraine crisis Trinamool's disciplinary committee, headed by its second-in-command and Mamata's nephew Abhishek, subsequently announced Chatterjee's removal from all party posts. Earlier in the day, the party's spokesperson tweeted to demand strict action against the disgraced minister. "Chatterjee should be removed from ministry and all party posts immediately. He should be expelled." The 69-year-old was taken into custody by India's anti-money laundering probe agency, on Saturday, following hours of questioning for his alleged involvement in school teachers' recruitment scam. Also read: Bengal CM Mamata reinstates nephew as Trinamool general secretary Subsequent raids on multiple flats of Chatterjee's aide Arpita, a small-time actor, helped the Enforcement Directorate seize Rs 50 crore in cash. Chatterjee is said to have taken money for doing out teaching jobs when he was the Education Minister.

Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee has reinstated her 34-year-old nephew as her ruling party's second-in-command, thus expressing full confidence in her heir apparent. Abhishek Banerjee, a Member of Parliament, was made the general secretary of the Trinamool Congress in June last year, nearly a month after the party swept back to power in assembly elections in the state. However, last week, Mamata dissolved all posts in her party, except that of her's -- the chairperson -- to put an end to the growing rift between the old guard of the Trinamool and its Young Turks over Abhishek's push for a 'one man, one post' policy in the party. The proposed policy was vehemently opposed by some senior members of the Trinamool holding multiple portfolios in the political outfit and its government. Instead she had formed a 20-member national working committee to run the party. "The decision to reinstate Abhishek as the party's general secretary was taken at a meeting of the committee, chaired by Mamata, on Friday evening," a Trinamool Congress leader told UNB. On May 2 last year, Mamata scripted history by single-handedly pulling off a landslide victory in the state elections for the third time in a row, bucking anti-incumbency and staving off a massive challenge from Prime Minister Narendra Modi's ruling BJP. Read:Mamata re-elected Trinamool Congress chief Bengal witnessed the most high-profile polls last year. While Mamata had harped on being Bengal’s daughter, the BJP went overboard by asking people to vote for "change and development" after 50 years of Communist and Trinamool Congress rule. Read: Mamata in the dock for 'disrespecting' national anthem

Low turnout marked India's most high-profile bypoll held in the eastern state of West Bengal's capital Kolkata on Thursday. Till evening, a little over 53 percent voters cast their ballots in the by-election to the Bhawanipur seat in south Kolkata, where Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee is contesting to retain her constitutional post. Polling began at 7am amid tight security and Covid-safety protocols. The by-elections to two more seats in Bengal -- Jangipur and Samserganj in Murshidabad district -- were also held on the same day.  Nearly seven lakh people were eligible to cast their ballots in the constituencies. The results will be out on October 3. In Bhawanipur, 66-year-old Mamata has to pull off a win to continue as Bengal CM.  India's ruling and Bengal's main opposition Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) has pitted a little-known woman lawyer against Mamata. Though her Trinamool Congress party swept back to power in Bengal in May's assembly polls, Mamata lost her own seat in Nandigram to her protege-turned-rival Suvendu Adhikari by around 2,000 votes.  Mamata has, however, challenged Suvendu's election in the Kolkata high court. India's main opposition Congress, on the other hand, has not fielded any candidate against Mamata. The party's decision was announced by West Bengal Congress chief Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury earlier this month. On May 2, Mamata single-handedly pulled off a landslide victory in the assembly election for the third time in a row, bucking anti-incumbency and staving off a massive challenge from Prime Minister Narendra Modi's Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP). In June, Mamata moved the high court to declare Suvendu's election win "null and void' on the grounds that he had indulged in corrupt practices and sought votes on the basis of religion.  "Suvendu Adhikari has indulged in several corrupt practices that have enhanced his winning chances and materially altered Mamata Banerjee's chances of success in the election," her petition read. In her petition, Mamata also alleged discrepancies in the counting of votes, Mamata's lawyer had said. West Bengal had witnessed the most high-profile contest in India's recently held state elections. While Mamata harped on being Bengal’s daughter, the BJP asked people to vote for "change and development" after 50 years of Communist and Trinamool rule.

Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee on Saturday hit out at Prime Minister Narendra Modi's government for "unleashing federal probe agencies against her family members", hours after her nephew and his wife were summoned for questioning by a federal probe agency in connection with an alleged coal scam. "Why are you unleashing the ED (Enforcement Directorate) against us. Against your one case we will raise bagfuls. We know how to fight back," Mamata told the media in state capital Kolkata. Mamata's nephew Abhishek, a parliamentarian, and his wife Rujira have been asked to appear before the federal agency at its headquarters in New Delhi on September 6 and 1, respectively, in connection with the case pertaining to illegal mining and theft of coal from two leasehold mines in the eastern Indian state. Abhishek also slammed India's ruling saffron party for trying to intimidate him so as to deter the Trinamool Congress party from focussing on the northeastern state of Tripura -- where the BJP is in power. "The more you try to intimidate us, the more we will focus on BJP-ruled states," he said at a rally in Kolkata. After returning to power for the third time in a row in Bengal in May this year, Mamata's party has now been eyeing Tripura, which shares its border with Bangladesh. Abhishek recently visited Tripura to strengthen the Trinamool Congress' organisational hierarchy in the state, where assembly polls are slated for 2023. It may be mentioned here that Mamata has been accusing the country's ruling BJP of trying to destabilise her government ever since her party came to power in Bengal for the third consecutive time in May this year. Bucking anti-incumbency, Mamata scripted history on May 2 by single-handedly pulling off an astounding win in the assembly election. Bengal had witnessed the most high-profile contest in India's recently held state elections. While Mamata had harped on being Bengal’s daughter, the BJP asked people to vote for "change and socio-economic development" after 50 years of Communist and Trinamool rule.

A higher court in the eastern Indian city of Kolkata on Wednesday imposed a fine of 5 lakh rupees (7,000 USD) on West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee for her "preplanned move to malign a judge". Justice Kaushik Chanda of Kolkata High Court asked Mamata to deposit the fine before recusing himself from hearing a case filed by the firebrand woman politician challenging the election of her former protege-turned-rival Suvendu Adhikari from Nandigram in May's assembly polls. Read:Sheikh Hasina gifts 2,600kg mangoes to PM Modi, Mamata Banerjee The Bengal Chief Minister had asked Justice Chanda to quit the case over "conflict of interest" in the wake of his alleged links with India's ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP). Interestingly, Suvendu is BJP's leader of opposition in Bengal. However, before exiting the case, an enraged Chanda came down heavily on Mamata. "Such calculative, psychological and offensive attempt to seek recusal need to be firmly repulsed and a cost of 5 lakh rupees is imposed upon the petitioner." On May 2, Mamata single-handedly pulled off a landslide victory in the assembly election for the third time in a row, bucking anti-incumbency and staving off a massive challenge from Prime Minister Narendra Modi's BJP. Though her Trinamool Congress party swept back to power with a resounding majority, Mamata lost her own seat in Nandigram to BJP's star campaigner Suvendu by a thin margin of 2,000 votes. Read: Mamata Banerjee challenges her rival's election win Last month, Mamata moved the high court to declare Suvendu's election win null and void on the grounds that he indulged in corrupt practices and sought votes on the basis of religion.  "Suvendu Adhikari has indulged in several corrupt practices that have enhanced his winning chances and materially altered Mamata Banerjee's chances of success in the election," her petition read. In her petition, Mamata also alleged discrepancies in the counting of votes, Mamata's lawyer Sanjay Bose had said. Read:Mamata Banerjee sworn in as Bengal CM Though Mamata had conceded defeat to Suvendu in Nandigram -- the potboiler of the assembly election in Bengal -- the Trinamool supremo said on the counting day only that she would challenge the result in a court of law. "I will move the court against Suvendu's win," she had said. West Bengal had witnessed the most high-profile contest in India's recently held state elections. While Mamata harped on being Bengal’s daughter, the BJP asked people to vote for "change and socio-economic development" after nearly 50 years of Communist and Trinamool Congress rule.

Bangladesh Assistant High Commissioner in Agartala Mohammad Jobayed Hosen on Monday handed over 300 kgs of Haribhanga mangoes to Chief Minister of Tripura, Biplab Kumar Deb at his office Monday afternoon. The Chief Minister cordially thanked Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina for sending mangoes. Prime Minister Hasina Sunday sent 2,600kg mangoes as a gift for her counterpart Narendra Modi and West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee and others. READ: Sheikh Hasina gifts 2,600kg mangoes to PM Modi, Mamata Banerjee Indian President Ram Nath Kovind and other Indian political leaders will also receive the mangoes. The mangoes were sent through Jashore's Benapole land port. Prime Minister Hasina will also send mangoes to Nepal, Sri Lanka and the Maldives. Mango diplomacy has always been a tradition in South Asia. READ: Europe to soon feast on luscious Bangladeshi mangoes Bangladesh has already sent the fruit to the Bhutanese King Jigme Khesar Namgyel Wangchuck and Prime Minister Lotay Tshering. The Bhutanese prime minister, a graduate of Mymensingh Medical College, had tasted Bangladeshi mangoes during his stay in Bangladesh.

Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina Sunday sent 2,600kg of mangoes as a gift for her counterpart Narendra Modi and West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee. Indian President Ram Nath Kovind and other political leaders will also receive the mangoes. The mangoes were sent through Jashore's Benapole land port. The shipment arrived at the Benapole-Petrapole check post in the afternoon. Also read: Humanity will overcome pandemic soon: Modi writes to Hasina After the completion of customs and port formalities, the Bangladeshi trucks carrying 260 cartons of mangoes crossed the border.

Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee has moved a higher court in state capital Kolkata against the win of her former protege-turned-rival Suvendu Adhikari from Nandigram in last month's assembly polls. The High Court in Kolkata is slated to hear Mamata's petition on Friday morning, her lawyer has said. On May 2, Mamata single-handedly pulled off a landslide victory in the assembly election for the third time in a row, bucking anti-incumbency and staving off a massive challenge from Prime Minister Narendra Modi's ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP). Though her Trinamool Congress party swept back to power with a resounding majority, she lost her own seat in Nandigram to BJP's star campaigner Suvendu by a thin margin of some 2,000 votes. Also read: Bengal's ruling party makes Mamata's nephew second-in-command In her plea, Mamata has asked the high court to declare Suvendu's election win null and void on the grounds that he indulged in corrupt practices and sought votes on the basis of religion. "Suvendu Adhikari has indulged in several corrupt practices that have enhanced his winning chances and materially altered Mamata Banerjee's chances of success in the election," her petition read. In her petition, the firebrand woman politician has also alleged discrepancies in the counting of votes, according to Mamata's lawyer Sanjay Bose. "The High Court is likely to hear the plea around 11am on Friday," he told the media. Also read: Mamata Banerjee sworn in as Bengal CM Though Mamata had conceded defeat to Suvendu in Nandigram -- the potboiler of the assembly election in Bengal -- the Trinamool supremo said on the counting day only that she would challenge the result in a court of law. "I will move the court against Suvendu's win," she had said. West Bengal witnessed the most high-profile contest in India's recently held state elections. While Mamata harped on being Bengal’s daughter, the BJP asked people to vote for "change and socio-economic development" after nearly 50 years of Communist and Trinamool Congress rule. Also read: India: Mamata inducts 43 Ministers into her Cabinet

Weird as it may seem, but Mamata Banerjee on Sunday tied the knot with a 29-year-old man named Socialism at a simple ceremony in the southern Indian state of Tamil Nadu. Well, the bride is not the 66-year-old firebrand Chief Minister of the eastern Indian state of West Bengal, who decimated the Communists in 2011, but a namesake of hers. The bride's parents named her after the Bengal politician when the latter was with India's Congress party. Mamata, the politician, quit the Congress in 1998 to form her own party, the Trinamool Congress. On the other hand, the groom's father, a local Communist party leader, named his son Socialism as he was born when the erstwhile Soviet Union was on the verge of collapse. "I was in Class X when I understood the significance of my name after my friends started talking about it," Mamata Banerjee, the bride, told the local media. On the Bengal Chief Minister, who recently came back to power for the third time in Bengal, the bride responded, "She is a strong woman. I am very proud to say that." Last month, Mamata scripted history by single handedly pulling off an astounding victory in the assembly election. She not only defied anti-incumbency but also staved off a huge challenge from Prime Minister Narendra Modi's ruling BJP. Bengal witnessed the most high-profile contest in India's recently held state elections. While Mamata harped on being Bengal’s daughter, the BJP asked people to vote for "change and socio-economic development" after 50 years of Communist and Trinamool Congress rule.

The High Court in the eastern Indian city of Kolkata on Wednesday refused to grant interim bail to two high-ranking ministers in the West Bengal government and two other politicians arrested by the country's top federal probe agency in connection with a high-profile cash-for-favours scam. The four politicians -- serving ministers Firhad Hakim and Subrata Mukherjee, and former ministers Madan Mitra and Sovan Chatterjee -- were sent to jail on Monday after the High Court, in a late-night order, stayed their bail granted by a special court. They were arrested  by the Central Bureau of Investigation for their alleged role in the Narada tapes scandal. In a related development, the federal probe agency has made Bengal's firebrand woman Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee, her law minister Moloy Ghatak and her ruling Trinamool Congress party's parliamentarian Kalyan Banerjee in the Narada bribery case and sought the transfer of the hearing to another state. "A bench of the High Court, led by the acting chief justice, has turned down the bail pleas of all the four politicians as well as the prayer of the federal investigators seeking the remand of the accused for custodial interrogation. The court will hear the case again on Thursday," lawyer Sushanto Roy told UNB over the phone from Kolkata. On Monday, high drama unfolded in Kolkata as Mamata staged a five-hour dharna outside the office of the federal probe agency in protest against the "illegal" arrest of her two senior ministers in the Narada tapes scandal case. She had told the media that the state assembly speaker didn't give his mandatory consent to the arrest of the two Ministers. While Firhad and Subrata are Urban Development and Panchayati Raj Ministers, respectively, Madan is a legislator of Mamata's ruling Trinamool Congress party. Sovan, on the other hand, is Kolkata's former Mayor. He left the Trinamool in 2019 to join India's ruling Bharatiya Janata Party, but quit the outfit before the assembly polls. The two serving and two former Ministers were arrested barely 10 days after Bengal Governor Jagdeep Dhankhar approved the CBI's plea to prosecute the four accused in the Narada tapes scandal. The Governor then claimed that his approval "is more than enough" for the arrest of the accused as he had presided over their swearing-in ceremony. "Governor accorded sanction for prosecution... being the appointing authority of ministers @MamataOfficial under article 164 and thus competent authority," he tweeted on May 9. The Narada scandal was a sting operation carried out by a journalist that caught on tape several ministers and senior officials of the erstwhile Mamata government accepting cash bribes in exchange for doling out unofficial favours to a private firm looking to set up business in Bengal. Earlier this month, Mamata scripted history by single handedly pulling off an astounding victory in the assembly election. She not only defied anti-incumbency and staved off a huge challenge from Prime Minister Narendra Modi's ruling BJP, but also decimated the Left Front. However, the 66-year-old lost her own seat in Nandigram. Bengal witnessed the most high-profile contest in India's recently held state elections. While Mamata harped on being Bengal’s daughter, the BJP asked people to vote for "change and socio-economic development" after 50 years of Communist and Trinamool Congress rule.