Latest news with #SamikBhattacharya
Indian Express
14 hours ago
- Politics
- Indian Express
With polls in sight, Bengal BJP revives Durga Puja at Kolkata's EZCC after 2 yrs
The BJP in West Bengal will organise Durga Puja at the Eastern Zonal Cultural Centre (EZCC) in Kolkata this year. The 'khunti puja' (worship of the pole that marks the beginning of pandal construction) was held on Sunday, with several BJP leaders in attendance, including party state president Samik Bhattacharya, cultural cell chief Rudranil Ghosh, and former MP Rupa Ganguly. While the event is officially being organised by the 'West Bengal Cultural Manch,' its close ties to the BJP are evident, with key party figures leading the arrangements. Speaking at the khunti puja, state president Samik Bhattacharya stressed the cultural and apolitical nature of the festival and said, 'Maa Durga is inseparable from the Hindu Bengali diaspora.' He highlighted Bengal's historical tradition of communal harmony during festivals, citing examples of Muslims participating in Durga Puja. He mentioned about a 300-year-old puja in Basirhat where a Muslim family, which has been living there for generations actively participates in the puja. 'In Bengal, Muharram processions and Durga Puja immersion must take place in the same lane at the same time peacefully,' he said, invoking a message of unity. On being selected as the new president of the West Bengal BJP, Bhattacharya had made similar statements regarding Durga Puja and Muharram BJP's revival of Durga Puja at EZCC is seen as strategic outreach to tap into Bengali voters' cultural and religious sentiments ahead of 2026 polls, strategy that was last employed before the 2021 Assembly elections. This year's Puja marks a revival of a tradition that was initiated by the BJP in 2020, when the party had organised a grand puja at the EZCC, which was virtually inaugurated by Prime Minister Narendra Modi. The puja was held again in 2021, but enthusiasm reportedly waned after the BJP's electoral defeat. According to tradition, a puja, once started, must be performed for at least three consecutive years. Following this custom, the Durga Puja at EZCC was held for three consecutive years, concluding in 2022. It was then discontinued in 2023 and 2024, with a smaller, more subdued celebration held at Oikyatan in 2023. 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
5 days ago
- Politics
- Time of India
No utilisation certificate, WB police funds withheld: Govt
NEW DELHI: Home ministry Wednesday said it has released central assistance of only Rs 7 crore for modernisation of police to West Bengal in the last five years, against the total allocation of Rs 117 crore under the head. Tired of too many ads? go ad free now This, it said, was on account of unspent balances and non-submission of utilisation certificates by the state govt. In reply to a question by BJP MP Samik Bhattacharya in RS, Mos (home) Nityanand Rai said Bengal govt, as of July 31 this year, had an unspent balance of Rs 12.5 crore from the funds released to it under the central scheme 'assistance to states and UTs for modernisation of police' (ASUMP). Also, the state was yet to submit a utilisation certificate. Sharing data on the allocation and release of funds to Bengal, Rai said no funds were released in 2021-22, 2023-24 and 2025-26 (so far), despite allocations ranging from Rs 12.2 crore to Rs 28.9 crore. There was a release of Rs 6.5 crore in 2024-25 and Rs 54 lakh in 2022-23, with the latter approved as special grant under the home ministry contingency reserve.
Time of India
5 days ago
- Politics
- Time of India
Samik: TMC hurting workers by pushing them out of Bengal
Kolkata: As Trinamool stepped up the heat against BJP over torture of Bengali-speaking migrants, state BJP president Samik Bhattacharya claimed that it was TMC that was hurting migrant labourers by pushing them to work outside Bengal. "It is Trinamool which is responsible for the infiltration of Bangladeshis and Rohingyas, forcing the poor migrants out," Bhattacharya claimed while speaking to reporters outside Parliament. "BJP is a party of Bengal, of Bengalis and Indians. This is not a party of Rohingyas or Bangladeshi jihadis. We will not let West Bengal be West Bangladesh," he added. Squarely blaming Trinamool for engineering a demographic shift in the districts bordering Bangladesh, Bhattacharya alleged, "Who has poisoned Bengal? Who has shamed Bengal? It is Trinamool. In Darivit, two students were killed demanding Bengali language teachers instead of Urdu. What has the Bengal govt done?" Referring to the TMC protests, he said, "Everyone has the right to protest, but it does not hide what people see in open daylight. " You Can Also Check: Kolkata AQI | Weather in Kolkata | Bank Holidays in Kolkata | Public Holidays in Kolkata
Indian Express
5 days ago
- Politics
- Indian Express
With Amit Shah's counsel, Bengal BJP gets down to drawing Assembly poll roadmap
Allaying concerns about a Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls, countering the Trinamool Congress's (TMC) narrative on language and culture, and an emphasis on women's security and other issues will be the BJP's focus as it heads towards the crucial Assembly elections in West Bengal next year. West Bengal BJP president Samik Bhattacharya, the party's national general secretary in charge of the state, Sunil Bansal, and other senior leaders met Union Home Minister Amit Shah in Delhi on Monday to apprise him of the situation in the state at the moment and discuss the party's poll strategy. Shah is learnt to have instructed the state unit to prepare for the SIR, an exercise already underway in Bihar amid the Opposition's protests that it will lead to disenfranchisement of millions. West Bengal Chief Minister and TMC chairperson Mamata Banerjee has said she will not allow the Election Commission (EC) to conduct the voter verification drive. The TMC has referred to the SIR as 'silent intensive rigging' and linked it to the proposed National Register of Citizens (NRC). The party's Krishnanagar MP Mahua Moitra is among those who have moved the Supreme Court challenging the SIR. The BJP has not denied the benefit of an SIR, saying it will weed out ineligible voters from the rolls. It has accused the TMC of taking advantage of an inflated voter list over the years. At the meeting, it was discussed that the party should ensure a significant presence of its workers for political messaging at the booth level when the SIR is conducted. It is learnt that Shah advised the state leadership to take steps to ensure there is no panic over the exercise. The Home Minister is also learnt to have emphasised that the state unit should 'clearly communicate' to people that the BJP is against infiltration and not Bangla or Bengalis. With Bangla speakers getting detained in several BJP-ruled states on suspicion of being undocumented Bangladeshi immigrants, the TMC has accused the party of linguistic profiling. On July 27, Mamata Banerjee launched a statewide 'Bhasha Andolon (language movement)' to protest against the alleged harassment. The BJP has since shot back at the CM, accusing her of 'manufacturing issues' ahead of the Assembly polls that are less than a year away. Samik Bhattacharya has alleged that Mamata is more interested in 'protecting Bangla-speaking infiltrators from Bangladesh'. At the meeting, the BJP leaders discussed the TMC-fuelled narrative that portrays the party as one of 'outsiders', something that has damaged the party in previous elections. To stop this misinformation from spreading, state BJP leaders had been asked to organise public outreach programmes, sources said A senior leader who attended the meeting said it was agreed that women-related issues should be at the centre of the party's campaign. The consensus was that there should be a focus on women's safety in the wake of the R G Kar rape-murder case and the recent case of alleged rape at a law college in Kolkata in which a member of the TMC's student wing is the main accused. Another BJP functionary said the party would also focus on the Central government's initiatives for the Scheduled Caste and Scheduled Tribe communities. 'An all-out effort must be made to win the 2026 elections in Bengal. The party is working on it. We have been told that we must communicate how much the BJP has worked for the SC/ST communities,' said the leader. The meeting with Shah came just days after the Bengal BJP started the process to form 43 organisational district committees. In March, the party had announced the names of 39 district presidents. On July 18, Prime Minister Narendra Modi set the tone for the party's election campaign in his address at a massive rally in Durgapur in Paschim Bardhaman district. After launching several development projects, Modi lashed out at the TMC government and accused it of enabling 'infiltration' and hindering the state's development through corruption and violence. 'The TMC is actively helping infiltrators. I want to say this very clearly that those who are not the citizens of India and have entered illegally will be dealt with fairness in accordance with the Constitution.' Since recording its best-ever electoral performance in Bengal in the 2019 Lok Sabha election — winning 18 of 42parliamentary seats — the BJP has struggled to provide a sustained challenge to the TMC. In 2021, though it increased its tally to 77 seats, only five years after opening its account in the 294-member Assembly, organisational reverses and infighting set it back, and in the Lok Sabha elections last year its tally dropped to 12. The party has been hamstrung by internal feuds over the years and is attempting to overcome these challenges to effect a turnaround under Bhattacharya.
Indian Express
6 days ago
- Politics
- Indian Express
With Shah's counsel, Bengal BJP gets down to drawing Assembly poll roadmap
Allaying concerns over Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls, countering the Trinamool Congress's (TMC) narrative on language and culture, and an emphasis on women's security and other issues will be the BJP's focus as it heads towards the crucial Assembly elections in West Bengal next year. West Bengal BJP president Samik Bhattacharya, the party's national general secretary in charge of the state, Sunil Bansal, and other senior leaders met Union Home Minister Amit Shah in Delhi on Monday to apprise him of the situation in the state at the moment and discuss the party's poll strategy. Shah is learnt to have instructed the state unit to prepare for the SIR, an exercise already underway in Bihar amid the Opposition's protests that it will lead to disenfranchisement of millions. West Bengal Chief Minister and TMC chairperson Mamata Banerjee has said she will not allow the Election Commission (EC) to conduct the voter verification drive. The TMC has referred to the SIR as 'silent intensive rigging' and linked it to the proposed National Register of Citizens (NRC). The party's Krishnanagar MP Mahua Moitra is among those who have moved the Supreme Court challenging the SIR. The BJP has not denied the benefit of an SIR, saying it will weed out ineligible voters from the rolls. It has accused the TMC of taking advantage of an inflated voter list over the years. At the meeting, it was discussed that the party should ensure a significant presence of its workers for political messaging at the booth level when the SIR is conducted. It is learnt that Shah advised the state leadership to take steps to ensure there is no panic over the exercise. 'Stop Trinamool's misinformation' The Home Minister is also learnt to have emphasised that the state unit should 'clearly communicate' to people that the BJP is against infiltration and not Bangla or Bengalis. With Bangla speakers getting detained in several BJP-ruled states on suspicion of being undocumented Bangladeshi immigrants, the TMC has accused the party of linguistic profiling. On July 27, Mamata Banerjee launched a statewide 'Bhasha Andolon (language movement)' to protest against the alleged harassment. The BJP has since shot back at the CM, accusing her of 'manufacturing issues' ahead of the Assembly polls that are less than a year away. Samik Bhattacharya has alleged that Mamata is more interested in 'protecting Bangla-speaking infiltrators from Bangladesh'. At the meeting, the BJP leaders discussed the TMC-fuelled narrative that portrays the party as one of 'outsiders', something that has damaged the party in previous elections. To stop this misinformation from spreading, state BJP leaders had been asked to organise public outreach programmes, sources said A senior leader who attended the meeting said it was agreed that women-related issues should be at the centre of the party's campaign. The consensus was that there should be a focus on women's safety in the wake of the R G Kar rape-murder case and the recent case of alleged rape at a law college in Kolkata in which a member of the TMC's student wing is the main accused. Another BJP functionary said the party would also focus on the Central government's initiatives for the Scheduled Caste and Scheduled Tribe communities. 'An all-out effort must be made to win the 2026 elections in Bengal. The party is working on it. We have been told that we must communicate how much the BJP has worked for the SC/ST communities,' said the leader. The meeting with Shah came just days after the Bengal BJP started the process to form 43 organisational district committees. In March, the party had announced the names of 39 district presidents. On July 18, Prime Minister Narendra Modi set the tone for the party's election campaign in his address at a massive rally in Durgapur in Paschim Bardhaman district. After launching several development projects, Modi lashed out at the TMC government and accused it of enabling 'infiltration' and hindering the state's development through corruption and violence. 'The TMC is actively helping infiltrators. I want to say this very clearly that those who are not the citizens of India and have entered illegally will be dealt with fairness in accordance with the Constitution.' Since recording its best-ever electoral performance in Bengal in the 2019 Lok Sabha election — winning 18 of 42parliamentary seats — the BJP has struggled to provide a sustained challenge to the TMC. In 2021, though it increased its tally to 77 seats, only five years after opening its account in the 294-member Assembly, organisational reverses and infighting set it back, and in the Lok Sabha elections last year its tally dropped to 12. The party has been hamstrung by internal feuds over the years and is attempting to overcome these challenges to effect a turnaround under Bhattacharya.
