Latest news with #Adhikari
News18
2 days ago
- Politics
- News18
Samik Bhattacharya's First Task: Discipline Bengal BJP Before PM Modi's Rally On July 18
Sources say the BJP leadership in Delhi was unhappy with Bengal BJP leader Suvendu Adhikari's controversial statement asking Hindu Bengalis not to visit 'Muslim majority' J&K Ahead of Prime Minister Narendra Modi's rally in Bengal's Durgapur on July 18, state BJP chief Samik Bhattacharya has received his first task—get the Bengal unit disciplined. Bhattacharya was asked to keep the flock, including its senior leadership, in check recently when he made his first visit to Delhi after becoming the West Bengal BJP president. Sources say the BJP leadership in Delhi was unhappy with Bengal BJP leader and LoP Suvendu Adhikari's controversial statement asking Hindu Bengalis not to visit 'Muslim majority" Jammu & Kashmir. Referring to the recent Pahalgam attack, Adhikari had said: 'Don't go to the places where Muslims are in majority. If you want to go to Kashmir, go to Jammu… They (terrorists) killed people asking about their religion." TMC lost no time to hit back, claiming Adhikari 'shamelessly echoed the terrorists' agenda". While Adhikari made it clear it was his personal opinion, the BJP leadership is clearly not convinced. In Delhi, Bhattacharya met BJP's Bengal in-charge Sunil Bansal and General Secretary (Organisation) BL Santhosh and is believed to have been asked to get the state unit disciplined. No out-of-turn gaffes or unwanted controversies should be allowed ahead of PM Modi's rally in Durgapur, which he is visiting after six years. The BJP is also in discomfiture in Bengal due to its former state president Dilip Ghosh, whose growing proximity with chief minister Mamata Banerjee has irked the cadres. Last week, Ghosh too came to Delhi and visited the BJP headquarters to meet Deputy General Secretary (Organisation) Shiv Prakash. However, after the meeting, Ghosh said something that may not go down well with the BJP—that there is no pending case of corruption against Mamata Banerjee. Earlier, Ghosh went to the inauguration of the 'Jagannath Dham Sanskriti Kendra' (cultural centre) at Digha, an event largely skipped by the state BJP leadership. PM Modi's last rally in West Bengal was on May 29, 2025, in Alipurduar. Last time, he raised the issue of TMC government's alleged corruption, which he claimed 'destroyed families". 'TMC regime not ready to accept its mistakes in school jobs scam. It is blaming courts, judicial system," he said. The rally comes days before the Trinamool Congress' annual Martyrs' Day programme on July 21, indicating a strategic move by the BJP to counter TMC's influence in the state. view comments First Published: July 16, 2025, 11:17 IST Disclaimer: Comments reflect users' views, not News18's. Please keep discussions respectful and constructive. Abusive, defamatory, or illegal comments will be removed. News18 may disable any comment at its discretion. By posting, you agree to our Terms of Use and Privacy Policy.
Indian Express
3 days ago
- Politics
- Indian Express
BJP demands immediate SIR in West Bengal: ‘Rohingyas in electoral roll'
On a day when West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee led a protest march against alleged harassment of Bengali-speaking migrants in BJP-ruled states, Leader of Opposition in Assembly Suvendu Adhikari on Wednesday marched to the office of Chief Electoral Officer (CEO) in Kolkata and demanded Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral roll, which is currently being conducted in neighbouring poll-bound Bihar. Addressing a press conference after meeting CEO Manoj Agarwal, Adhikari accused the ruling TMC of allowing 'lakhs of Rohingya infiltrators' registered on the state's voter list. The BJP delegation also demanded an immediate 'house-to-house search' to identify them. 'Rohingyas from Myanmar are entering West Bengal via Nepal and Bangladesh borders, leading to a demographic shift, particularly in North and South 24 Parganas districts,' Adhikari claimed. 'We want a house-to-house search immediately. We want an SIR,' added the BJP MLA from Nandigram. He also urged the CEO to ensure transparent operations and said the CEO should ask for 50 per cent of state government and central government workers on deputation. Adhikari's allegations come in the wake of similar claims he made regarding Bihar's voter list. The BJP leader also described Mamata Banerjee's protest march as a rally to 'protect Rohingyas'. 'This rally was held to protect the Rohingyas… Mamata Banerjee is not worried about any change in the demography. She is only worried about the voters' list. She is on the street because of a fear psychosis. Because she knows that if, after Bihar, the Election Commission starts a random survey, then names of approximately one crore Rohingya would be deleted from the voters' list,' the BJP leader claimed. On the TMC's charge that the issue of illegal migrants entering the country falls in the domain of the BJP government at the Centre since the borders are manned by Border Security Force (BSF), Adhikari said: 'Mamata Banerjee has sent her Krishnanagar MP (Mahua Moitra) to the Supreme Court (against the SIR in Bihar). The chief minister says it is the responsibility of the BSF. Why didn't you give land to the BSF?' Adhikari also cited the recent suspension of a government official from Kakdwip sub-division in South 24 Parganas over alleged discrepancy in the voters' list, warning that any Booth Level Officer (BLO) colluding with the TMC would face similar consequences. Sweety Kumari reports from West Bengal for The Indian Express. She is a journalist with over a decade of experience in the media industry. Covers Crime, Defence, Health , Politics etc and writes on trending topics. With a keen eye for investigative and human-interest stories. She has honed her craft across diverse beats including aviation, health, incidents etc. Sweety delivers impactful journalism that informs and engages audiences. Sweety Kumari is a graduate of Calcutta University with an Honors degree in Journalism from Jaipuria College and a PG in Mass Communication from Jadavpur University. Originally from Bihar, she is brought up in Kolkata and completed her education from Kendriya Vidyalaya SaltLake. Multilingual, Sweety is fluent in English, Hindi, Bengali, and Maithili. She started her career as an Entertainment and lifestyle journalist with a newsportal in Kolkata. She is working with The Indian Express for 8 years now. ... Read More
Time of India
3 days ago
- Politics
- Time of India
Bengal braces for row over voters as Mamata Banerjee, Suvendu Adhikari trade charges
Live Events (You can now subscribe to our (You can now subscribe to our Economic Times WhatsApp channel West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee came down heavily on the ongoing Special intensive Revision (SIR) in Bihar being conducted by the Election Commission of India (ECI) and said that Bengal will be targeted next with the aim of deleting names, except those of BJP warned the existing voters of the state to be cautious during the voter list revision in August and urged new voters to enrol their names in Bengal. "When the voter list-revision work starts, be very careful. Take leave if needed, but make sure your name is there on the list. Some agencies are striking out names while sitting in other states. People from outside are voting here. I have caught their duplicity. They are mixing names from other states," Banerjee called the ECI an "agent" of the BJP, which was working to help the party win the pointed out that Muslims were being targeted. "We have learnt that around 31 lakh voters have been removed in Bihar. If they are planning such things here as in Bihar, we will fight," Banerjee leader of the Opposition (LoP) in the assembly, Suvendu Adhikari went to West Bengal CEO's office with 50 MLAs to demand the deletion of the names of Rohingyas from Bengal's voter list. "Full-fledged preparations are going on. But WB-CEO's office cannot say before the final notification by ECI. Training of block level officers is happening. We have time in Bengal. The names of Rohingya Muslims should be deleted. We will not allow Rohingyas here," Adhikari said."The Mamata Banerjee government distributed fake birth certificates, Aadhaar cards and fake voter ID cards in lieu of money. The Rohingyas first came from Myanmar and then took refuge in Bangladesh and came to Bengal from there as land for fencing was not given to the Central government from 2016. Around 540 km border is unfenced. Banerjee is in a state of fear psychosis. One crore Rohingya Muslims have learnt Bengali and are spread out in Bengal and other states," Adhikari refuted this by claiming that Rohingyas stay in Myanmar. "Our Bengali-speaking migrant workers have all the documentary proof. They are being put in detention camps in other states," Banerjee claimed the demography of Kolkata-Rajarhat New Town areas has changed. "North 24 Paraganas district's Basirhat, Swarup Nagar, Minakha and Baduria have witnessed population rise of 18.2%. If Bihar has 30 lakh Rohingyas, there must be 90 lakh of them in Bengal," Adhikari claimed.
The Hindu
3 days ago
- Politics
- The Hindu
Suvendu demands ‘thorough revision' of voter list in Bengal
Leader of the Opposition in the West Bengal Assembly and BJP leader Suvendu Adhikari on Wednesday demanded a 'thorough revision' of the State's voter list on the lines of the special intensive revision (SIR) in Bihar. 'The Election Commission is making full-fledged preparations here. They cannot say anything directly because there hasn't been a notification yet. Booth-level officers are being appointed and trained in Delhi,' Mr. Adhikari told mediapersons outside the office of the State Chief Electoral Officer (CEO). The BJP leader, along with about 50 MLAs of the party, marched to the office of the State CEO, Manoj Kumar Agarwal, and urged him to conduct door-to-door surveys. He said the final notification to begin SIR in the State is pending and that 'there is time in West Bengal while in Bihar, the elections are knocking on the door'. West Bengal goes to the polls next year, while the Assembly election is due in Bihar later this year. 'If Bihar has around 30 lakh fake voters, West Bengal will have 90 lakh. If Rohingya Muslims and illegal immigrants are being dropped from the list in Bihar, we will not let them stay on the voter list of West Bengal; no matter how many rallies [the CM] takes out,' he said. Mr. Adhikari also accused the Trinamool Congress government of causing 'gross changes' in the State's population. He said the average increase in the number of voters in the nine districts in West Bengal bordering Bangladesh is between 20% to 30%.
The Print
3 days ago
- Politics
- The Print
Mamata leads protest march in Kolkata over ‘harassment' of Bengali-speaking people in other states
Senior leaders of the party, including TMC national general secretary Abhishek Banerjee, joined Banerjee as she led thousands of people in the march, which began from College Square in central Kolkata around 1.45 pm. Kolkata, Jul 16 (PTI) West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee hit the streets of Kolkata on Wednesday afternoon to protest the alleged harassment of Bengali-speaking people in BJP-ruled states. The nearly 3-km route was wrapped in security, with nearly 1,500 police personnel guarding the barricaded pavements and adjacent buildings. Vehicular traffic was diverted along multiple arterial roads in the central parts of the city because of the programme. Similar demonstrations have also been organised by the TMC in the district headquarter towns across the state. The protests are being held a day ahead of Prime Minister Narendra Modi's scheduled visit to the state. With less than a year left for the assembly elections in West Bengal, the TMC is raising its pitch over what it alleges is a systematic pattern of linguistic profiling, unlawful detentions, and attempts to brand Bengali speakers as 'illegal immigrants'. The TMC usually refrains from holding major public events in the run-up to its annual Shahid Dibas rally on July 21. But the series of recent incidents, including the detention of migrant workers in Odisha, eviction drives in Delhi, and a notice served to a farmer in Cooch Behar by a foreigners' tribunal in Assam, appears to have compelled the party to shift gears. The protests also give a glimpse of the thrust of TMC's campaign for the assembly elections, which will be due mid-next year. The party seems to be betting heavily on rekindling the emotional connection with voters through a campaign that blends identity politics with grassroots mobilisation. Countering Banerjee's emotive pitch of Bengali pride, Leader of the Opposition Suvendu Adhikari alleged that the whole exercise of 'Bengali asmita' is being flaunted to shield the presence of 'Bengali-speaking Rohingyas and illegal Bangladeshi infiltrators'. Adhikari took a dig at the chief minister and asked why she has turned a 'deaf ear to the cries of exasperation of thousands of Bengali-speaking teachers in the state who lost their jobs' on account of institutional corruption. Referring to Banerjee's appointments to the top administrative and police posts in the state, Adhikari asked, 'Why were Atri Bhattacharya and Subrata Gupta, two Bengali officers, denied the position of state chief secretary and offered to Manoj Pant, despite the latter being junior to the former two bureaucrats?' 'Why was the senior-most IPS officer Sanjay Mukhopadhyay ignored for the position of DGP where an out-of-state junior, Rajiv Kumar, was posted?' he asked in a post on X. Kolkata Mayor Firhad Hakim, who took part in the protest rally, said he wasn't ready to attach too much importance to those allegations. 'Adhikari is saying such things to please his bosses in Delhi. His tactic will not work here,' he said. PTI PNT SMY SOM This report is auto-generated from PTI news service. ThePrint holds no responsibility for its content.
