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Economy, West Bengal

State government to send letters to vehicle owners asking them to clear pending dues

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 Those who don’t comply can find their vehicle’s registration locked for non-payment and will not be able to ply on roads

Kinsuk Basu, TT, Calcutta, 07.06.24 : The state government has decided to send letters to individual vehicle owners asking them to clear their pending dues and taxes.

All regional transport offices under the transport department have been asked to prepare a list of tax defaulters and send out letters to the vehicle owners, officials in the department said.

The trigger: the state government wants to explore all possible avenues to improve revenue collection, and transport is among the departments tapped.

Letters to the defaulters would be sent by post and the process would begin soon, officials said.

The letters will specify a time limit within which the dues should be cleared. Those who don’t comply can find their vehicle’s registration locked for non-payment and will not be able to ply on the roads, officials said.

“The regional transport officials have been tasked with the job of shortlisting tax defaulters from the list of registered vehicle owners under their respective jurisdictions,” a transport department official said.

“The data would be culled from the Vahan software that has the names of all registered vehicle owners and an update of their taxes either paid or pending to date.”

The list would include those with their dues pending for the last two years and extend to those who have not paid the taxes for over a decade. While the tax component for commercial vehicles includes permit fees and certificate of fitness, individual car owners have to pay road tax, depending on the time frame they have opted, between five years and a lifetime.

Officials said they have observed that many individual car owners are oblivious to the deadline for paying road tax. By the time they realise, the payable amount becomes so big that many choose to sit on it before disposing of the old vehicles.

“The road tax component for individual car owners is 5.5 per cent of the recorded base value of the vehicle. A year’s delay invites another 5.5 per cent as penalty. Over a few years, this figure can snowball into a significant amount,” the official said.

Transport department officials at the regional transport offices have observed that several cars that are over a dozen years old are no longer in use and their owners are not keen on clearing the pending road tax dues.

Some of them have said they want to either scrap the vehicle or replace it with a new one.

The state government has decided that such owners would be asked to pay up irrespective of whether they are using the vehicles or not.

“It is the government’s revenue and the owners are liable to clear the dues of the state government as law-abiding citizens,” the official said.

Between January and March this year, the transport department had undertaken a similar exercise when letters were sent to 39,600 owners asking them to clear their pending taxes. Officials said they collected over Rs 150 crores from the drive.
Crime, Politics, West Bengal

Calcutta HC expresses concern over post-poll violence allegations in Bengal, issues directive to submit complaints to DGP

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 The order came following a petition in the high court seeking direction to police to ensure protection to Opposition party workers in the wake of alleged post-poll violence in some places of the state following the elections

PTI, Calcutta, 06.06.24 : Expressing concern over alleged post-poll violence in certain areas of West Bengal following the conclusion of the Lok Sabha elections, the Calcutta High Court on Thursday issued a directive allowing affected people to submit complaints to the state’s Director General of Police (DGP) via email.

The order came following a petition in the high court seeking direction to police to ensure protection to Opposition party workers in the wake of alleged post-poll violence in some places of the state following the elections.

Stating that similar allegations had come up after the 2021 assembly elections, the court asked whether incidents of post-poll violence happened in any other state.

Expressing dismay at reports of post-poll violence following the general elections, the court emphasised the state’s responsibility to prevent recurrence of such incidents.

A division bench comprising justices Kausik Chanda and Apurba Sinha Roy directed that complaints can be sent to the DGP by email by persons who are allegedly affected by incidents of post-poll violence.If the complaint indicated a cognizable offence, the DGP would forward it to the relevant local police station for FIR registration.

The petitioner claimed that affected individuals were hesitant to visit local police stations to file complaints.

The court instructed the DGP to provide a report within 10 days detailing the number of complaints received, FIRs registered, and actions taken.

State counsels argued that the incidents mentioned by the petitioner might not be directly linked to the elections.

Following the conclusion of the Lok Sabha election process, the Election Commission decided to maintain a substantial presence of central forces in the state for some more time.

In August 2021, a five-judge bench of the high court had ordered a CBI probe into all cases of alleged murder and crimes against women, including rape or attempted rape, related to post-election violence in West Bengal following the state assembly elections. PTI AMR RBT NN The bench, in response to PILs seeking an independent probe into alleged violence following the assembly elections, had also ordered the formation of a Special Investigation Team (SIT) comprising three IPS officers of the West Bengal cadre to oversee investigations into all other cases.
Regional, West Bengal

Proposal for building 11 new jumbo sheds sent to govt

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MP, 7 June 2024, Alipurduar: A proposal for the construction of 11 new Pilkhanas (elephant rest sheds) for Kunki (trained captive elephants) has been sent to the state Forest department by the Jaldapara National Park division. 
Once the green signal is given by the state Forest department, the concrete-made, tin-roofed Pilkhanas will be constructed. According to the Forest department, a total of 11 points have been selected deep in the forest, adjacent to the beat offices, range offices and the watchtowers in Jaldapara National Park. 
Many of the old Pilkhanas have been destroyed by storms and rainwater. Then there are Pilkhanas where more than two elephants cannot be housed at a time in Jaldapara. 
The Pilkhanas that are to be constructed this time will be big enough to house three elephants each. Similarly, it will be possible to keep six elephants together in the larger Pilkhanas. This will ensure that elephants and mahouts do not face any problems during storms and rain. Being made of concrete will make each shed last longer.
Holong in the Jaldapara National Park has the largest Pilkhana in the state. This time, every small and large Pilkhana will be modeled after the Holong Pilkhana. Currently, there are a record 87 elephants in Jaldapara to protect the park, especially the one-horned rhinos. 
There are about 10 small and medium-sized Pilkhanas in Jaldapara National Park. This number is not adequate. 
If 11 more Pilkhanas are built, it will greatly benefit forest workers, mahouts and Patawalas (elephant caretakers). After the construction of the 11 Pilkhanas, additional Pilkhanas will be built in the next phase.
Navjeet De, Assistant Wildlife Warden of Jaldapara National Park, stated: “We have already sent proposals for a total of 11 new Pilkhanas. Once the proposal is approved, the work will commence in a step-by-step manner. 
If each shed is made of concrete, there is almost no chance of damage. Also, each shed will have facilities to house more elephants.” 
https://www.millenniumpost.in/bengal/proposal-for-building-11-new-jumbo-sheds-sent-to-govt-566903
International

Nepal Army removes remains of 5 humans 11 tonnes of garbage from Everest region

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PTI, KATHMANDU, JUNE 6, 2024 : Nepali Army has removed the remains of five climbers and 11,000 kgs of waste from the high-altitude Everest region as part of their almost two-month-long ‘Mountain Cleaning Campaign 2024,’ the fourth such expedition since its launch in 2019.

     
The Army team found four dead bodies and one human skeleton of the climbers from its arduous cleaning expedition that covered Mt Everest, the highest mountain at 8848.86 metres, Mt Lhotse, and Mt Nuptse areas near the Everest Base Camp.

     
The aim of the ‘Mountain Cleaning Campaign’ is to keep a check on human-made pollution in the mighty Himalayas, especially in the fragile and vulnerable high-altitude region, in the era of changing climate, the army had said while announcing the 2024 campaign on April 7.

     
That day, the start of the Spring Climbing Season for Everest, the Army had announced to bring back 10 tonnes and five bodies lying at Mt Everest by its 12-member team led by Maj Aditya Karki. The team was to be assisted by an 18-member Sherpa team.

     
The expedition was flagged off on April 11.

     
Chief of the Army Staff Prabhu Ram Sharma, during an event to celebrate the successful closing of the 55-day campaign here on Wednesday, the World Environment Day, said: “Despite the adverse weather and conditions, around 11,000 kgs of garbage, four human corpses, and one skeleton were collected during this campaign.”

     
On the occasion, the Army chief also honoured members of the mountain cleaning campaign, including supporting Sherpa guides, for their valuable contribution to collecting the garbage and human remains.

     
The biodegradable waste was brought to Namche Bazaar below the Everest Base Camp and handed to the Sagarmatha Pollution Control Committee (SPCC) for proper treatment.

     
The non-biodegradable waste and bodies/skeleton was brought to Kathmandu.

     
The Nepal Army collaborated with the Ministry of Forest and Environment, the Tourism Department and the Nepal Mountaineers Association for the Everest region’s cleaning campaign.

     
The cleaning team also successfully climbed Mount Everest, MyRepublica portal reported, adding that since the campaign was launched in 2019, as many as 12 dead bodies and 180 metric tonnes of garbage have been collected from these mountain areas, including the Mt Everest peak.

Politics, Regional

The moment is opportune for BJP to deliver on its promise to people of Darjeeling hills

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Editorial, EOI, 7 June 2024 : The indifferent result of the BJP in the LokSabha elections in West Bengal may be a boon in disguise for the people of the hill regions of the Darjeeling and Kalimpong districts.

This will make it easier for the next BJP-led government at the Centre to fulfil its promise of arranging a permanent solution of the political problems of these hills. 
The BJP has been making this promise since the Lok Sabha election in 2009when it won for the first time the Darjeeling seat; but it still remains unfulfilled.
It is not a surprise that the Gorkha National Liberation Front has made it clear that the BJP must deliver on its promise before the 2026 assembly election in West Bengal or face the possibility of losing its support. 
“I have said earlier that this will be our last support for the BJP. If they betray us again, the result will not be good for the BJP next time,” GNLF President Mann Ghisingh has said. “The BJP has to seriously work from day one to deliver on its commitment made to the Gorkhas. Promises have been made and now it’s time to deliver.
Only promises will weaken the faith and trust of the hill people.”
The central leadership of the BJP had obviously been dragging its feet on the issue of a permanent political solution in the hills with the hope that in the coming days it would form the government in West Bengal. 
Any political solution in the hills that will give more autonomy to Darjeeling — be it a separate state or bringing the hill council under the sixth schedule of the Constitution — will not be liked in the plains areas of the state and make it difficult for the BJP to come to power in West Bengal. 
Now with the setback of the BJP in West Bengal and the control of the party over the next government to be formed at the Centre considerably weakened, the possibility of any change in the political scenario in West Bengal in 2026 has become remote. 
There is no reason why the BJP-led government at the Centre should not deliver on its promise made to the people of the hills now. In fact, it is high time they should do so because Darjeeling has elected to the Lok Sabha BJP candidates four times in a row: 2009, 2014, 2019 and 2024. 
It will be an injustice to the people of the hills if the next Narendra Modi government continues to ignore the demand which has much justification. It will also be relatively easy for them to do so as West Bengal is going to be poorly represented in the next government and there will be no pressure group within the government to prevent it from happening. 
While taking a decision on the the issue of permanent political solution, the Centre will of course have to take into account the broader national perspective; especially in view of the fact that the hill regions of Darjeeling and Kalimpong are close to the disputed borders with China and the Nepal border across which movement of people is free in view of an agreement between India and Nepal. 
These Gorkha-dominated hills harbour in their bosom other communities too, living since time immemorial. The solution that may be worked out should not leave them dissatisfied either.
Politics, West Bengal

Dilip Ghosh’s oblique statement sparks speculations on inner-party factions in Bengal BJP

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PTI, Kolkata, Jun 6, 2024 : At a time when fissures within the BJP West Bengal unit have started to show in the wake of the party’s ‘disappointing’ performance in the parliamentary polls in the state, a social media post of veteran leader Dilip Ghosh sparked speculations on whether the ‘old-versus-new’ debate is about to get reignited.


Ghosh on Thursday posted on X a quotation of former Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee: “Keep one thing in mind, even one old Karyakarta of the party should not be neglected. If necessary, let ten new Karyakartas get separated. Because the old workers are the guarantee of our victory. Trusting new Karyakartas too quickly is not advisable.”

The post came in the wake of Ghosh’s shocking defeat from the Bardhaman-Durgapur seat in the hands of TMC’s Kirti Azad by nearly 1.38 lakh votes.

Ghosh also told reporters that it was now established that sending him to contest from his old constituency to a new one was “a mistake”.

While the BJP had publicly proclaimed its target of winning 30 Lok Sabha constituencies or more from Bengal this time, it had to ultimately settle for 12 seats, six less than its 2019 tally.

Ghosh, former party state president and MP from the Medinipur constituency, was relocated to Bardhaman-Durgapur, a seat where the battle against TMC was perceptively tough, where he replaced outgoing MP SS Ahluwalia. The latter, in turn, was moved to Asansol. The party’s sitting MLA from Asansol Dakshin, Agnimitra Paul, replaced Ghosh at Medinipur.

All three BJP candidates were trounced by their TMC counterparts in the recently-concluded polls.

The reshuffle of candidates, though finalised by the party’s central election committee, is widely believed to have been brought about at the instance of the state’s leader of opposition Suvendu Adhikari, who jumped ship from the TMC ahead of the 2021 state polls.

Speaking to reporters earlier in the day, Ghosh said, “It’s established now that the decision to send me to fight from Durgapur was a mistake.”

“The party trusted me with the job of winning from Durgapur, which I failed. We will look into what went wrong. But I had come to this party empty-handed and the fortunes have turned a full circle with me getting empty-handed once more. Let’s see where things go from here,” he told the media elsewhere.

Ghosh, a leader with strong RSS roots, who had earlier shied away from questioning the party’s decision to change his seat and maintained he did his best to overcome the fresh challenge, sounded out of sync with his previous statements for the first time.

Speaking on the development, senior TMC MP Kalyan Banerjee said, “I have always considered Dilip Ghosh a true BJP man. It’s unfortunate for him that his party failed to make a proper assessment of his qualities. It’s good for us since we defeated him but he deserved better from his party.”

Banerjee added, in tangential reference to Adhikari, that he was “certain” that the saffron party under its current state leadership would wither away during the 2026 state polls.
Crime, National

Newly elected MP Kangana slapped by woman CISF constable at Chandigarh airport

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PTI, Chandigarh/New Delhi, Jun 06 2024 : Actor and BJP MP-elect Kangana Ranaut said she was hit in the face and abused by a woman CISF constable during security check at the Chandigarh airport on Thursday, the ugly fracas breaking out two days after she was won from the Mandi Lok Sabha seat in Himachal Pradesh.

 
Constable Kulwinder Kaur, who appeared to be upset with Ranaut over her stance on the farmers’ protests, was suspended and an FIR lodged against her, officials said.
 
The Central Industrial Security Force (CISF), tasked with providing security at airports, has also ordered a court of inquiry into the incident.
 
In a video statement titled “Shocking rise in terror and violence in Punjab” posted on X after she landed in Delhi, the “Queen” actor said she was safe and fine.
 
Recapping in detail what had happened, Ranaut said she had been getting a lot of calls from the media and her well-wishers.
 
The constable, she said, came towards her from the side. “She hit me in the face and started abusing me. I asked her why she did it and she said she supports the farmer protests.” “I am safe but my concern is that terrorism is increasing in Punjab… How do we handle that?” Another video doing the rounds of social media showed an agitated Kaur talking to people presumably after the incident.
 
“Kangana made a statement that farmers were protesting in Delhi because they were paid Rs 100 or Rs 200. At the time, my mother was one of the protesters,” she said in the purported video.
 
Kaur joined the CISF in 2009 and has been with the aviation security group of the force at the Chandigarh airport since 2021.

She has had no vigilance inquiry or punishment against her in the force till now, the officials said, adding her husband too is posted at the same airport. Terming the incident a serious matter, National Commission for Women chairperson Rekha Sharma called for serious action and said the panel had taken up the matter with the CISF.

Those responsible for security at airport are themselves breaching security, she said in a post on X.
 
Leader of the opposition and former Himachal Pradesh chief minister Jai Ram Thakur termed incident very unfortunate and condemned it.
 
“Such behaviour with an elected representative by security personnel at the airport is very unfortunate and calls for action,” he told PTI.
 
State Public Works Minister Vikramaditya Singh, who lost to Ranaut in the elections, said, “The incident is unfortunate and we condemn it.” He also said action should be taken against the constable.
 
Making her political — and electoral debut — Ranaut defeated her nearest Congress rival Singh by over 74,000 votes from Mandi in her home state.
 
The four-time National Award winner has been a high profile, prominent voice supporting the ruling party on issues like the Citizenship (Amendment) Act in 2019-20 and farmer protests in 2020-21.
 
During the agitation against the three farm laws, Ranaut allegedly misidentified a woman farmer from Punjab and called her Bilkis Bano, an octogenarian who had made international headlines during the anti-CAA protests earlier in the Delhi neighbourhood of Shaheen Bagh.
 
She had then shared a tweet alleging that the ‘Shaheen Bagh dadi’ also joined the farmers’ agitation over the new agriculture laws at various border points of the national capital. She retweeted the post with pictures of two elderly women and wrote that the “same Dadi” who featured in Time Magazine was “available in 100 rupees”.
 
The actor later deleted the tweet after Twitter users pointed out that both the women were different.
National, Politics

Modi’s allies want funds, cabinet positions as NDA gears to form new govt

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 Besides special status and cabinet positions, TDP is also seeking more funds for irrigation projects in Andhra Pradesh and to complete the building of its new capital, Amaravati
Reuters, Jun 06 2024 :  Parties in Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s alliance on Thursday demanded more funds for their regional states as well as federal cabinet positions as negotiations began to form a coalition government.
 
Modi was named leader of the National Democratic Alliance (NDA) on Wednesday, after his Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) lost its outright majority and found itself reliant on support from regional parties – mainly the Telugu Desam Party (TDP) and Janata Dal (United).
 
The NDA won 293 seats in the 543-member lower house of parliament, where 272 constitutes a simple majority.
 
But Modi’s BJP won only 240, making TDP leader Chandrababu Naidu and JD(U) head Nitish Kumar, also the chief minister of the eastern state of Bihar, kingmakers in the alliance with their 16 and 12 seats respectively.
 
TDP also won a regional election in the southern state of Andhra Pradesh and Naidu is set to become chief minister there.

Both parties are pushing longstanding demands to grant special status to their states, according to one TDP spokesperson and five NDA sources.
 
Special status allows states to receive more federal development funds, and on simpler terms. While Bihar is India’s poorest state, Andhra Pradesh lost some of its resources in 2014 when the new state of Telangana was carved out of it.

Besides special status and cabinet positions, TDP is also seeking more funds for irrigation projects in Andhra Pradesh and to complete the building of its new capital, Amaravati, two sources familiar with the matter told Reuters.
 
“This is not the first time we are in NDA, so we are confident that we will get what is due to us,” TDP spokesperson Jyothsna Tirunagari said.
 
“In our earlier terms with NDA, we had ministerial berths and also the Lok Sabha [lower house] speaker from our party. This time we are a strong partner and share a clear vision for the country,” she said.
 
JD(U)’s Kumar also wants support for new industrial projects in Bihar along with federal cabinet positions, one NDA source said.
 
COALITION NEGOTIATIONS SET TO START
 
Top BJP leaders were due to discuss ministerial portfolios with the allies on Thursday, a day before Modi is expected to meet President Droupadi Murmu to present his claim to form the next government, one BJP source said.
 
The negotiations are a throwback to an era before 2014 – when Modi swept to power with an outright BJP majority – in which alliance partners haggled for positions and benefits in exchange for supporting coalition governments.
 
The BJP’s loss of its majority unnerved markets and raised the prospect of a government less stable and sure-footed than the outgoing one.
 
But Shivraj Singh Chouhan, a top BJP leader and newly elected lawmaker, told the CNN-News18 TV channel that Modi’s new government would last its full five-year term and “come back with a better performance”.
 
A survey published on Thursday suggested that a lack of jobs, high inflation and falling income had cost Modi votes, even though he personally still commanded wide support.
 
Some 30% of voters said they were worried about inflation, compared to 20% prior to the election, according to the Lokniti-CSDS post-election survey published by the Hindu newspaper.
 
In a survey for the Hindu conducted before the election, unemployment had been the main concern of 32% of respondents.

Decreasing income and the government’s handling of corruption and fraud were other issues of concern, according to the survey.
National, Politics

NDA MPs to meet today to elect Modi as their leader

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 Preparing to take oath for a third straight term as the head of a coalition government, Modi had on Wednesday chaired a meeting of the ruling alliance’s members who unanimously elected him as its lead

PTI,  New Delhi, Jun 06 2024  : Newly elected MPs of the BJP-led National Democratic Alliance are expected to meet on Friday to elect Narendra Modi as their leader, paving the way for him to take oath as prime minister for a third term.
Sources said after Modi’s election as the leader of NDA MPs, senior members of the alliance like TDP’s N Chandrababu Naidu and JD(U)’s Nitish Kumar will join the prime minister for a meeting with President Droupadi Murmu to present her the list of parliamentarians supporting him.
He may be sworn in over the weekend, possibly Sunday, they added. The NDA has 293 MPs, comfortably above the majority mark of 272 in the 543-member Lok Sabha.
Senior BJP leaders, including Union ministers Amit Shah and Rajnath Singh, held deliberations through the day on Thursday as the party set in motion government formation efforts.
They met at BJP president JP Nadda’s residence in what was seen as part of the party’s exercise to reach out to allies over issues like their share of ministerial berths and pick the probables from within their party for the coalition government.
Preparing to take oath for a third straight term as the head of a coalition government, Modi had on Wednesday chaired a meeting of the ruling alliance’s members who unanimously elected him as its leader.
Leaders of the BJP’s ally Janata Dal (United) also held deliberations with party president and Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar.
Though the regional party has not said anything officially on the issue, sources said it is looking to get some key ministerial berths to reclaim some of the lost ground in Bihar where it has performed well after being seen to have fallen way behind the BJP and the RJD over the last few years in political strength.
With 12 MPs, the JD(U) is the second biggest BJP ally after the Telugu Desam Party’s 16. The new BJP-led government will depend critically on these two parties for survival.
Naidu is keen that the Centre provide Andhra Pradesh financial assistance in building its capital in Amravati. He also wants the new government to take steps to fulfil the Centre’s commitment to the state when Telangana was carved out of it, sources said.
Politics, Regional, West Bengal

BJP’s attempt to govern the Opposition led to their downfall: Pol analyst

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 While the debate is still on about what caused the Trinamul Congress increase its tally of seats from the 2019 tally and why the Bharatiya Janata Party lose its share of seats

Ashok Chatterjee | SNS  |  Kolkata | June 6, 2024 : hile the debate is still on about what caused the Trinamul Congress increase its tally of seats from the 2019 tally and why the Bharatiya Janata Party lose its share of seats, Prof Asis Mistry, Calcutta University says there are that first-time voters have played a role, both in national and state level to defeat the BJP and the Trinamul Congress successfully managed to hold on to its women voters with the hike in Lakshmir Bhandar money.


Pointing out another important observation about the saffron party, Prof Mistry said, “In 2014, nationally BJP’s vote share was 31 per cent but they won with majority because they managed to ‘play’ with the Opposition. In 2019, they ‘managed’ the Opposition. This time, they wanted to ‘govern’ (or mal-govern) the opposition. Examples are, sending opposition CMs to jail and defending their own party leaders despite their glaring offences. This is called post-democratic syndrome. This was first coined in Britain by Colin Crouch. He said this is an evolving trend and it has now been seen in India. Institutions are being moulded. Within democracy, an undercurrent of authoritarian tendency could be seen. This is called ‘governing the Opposition’.”

Around 22 lakh first-time voters were added in the voters list in 2024. This section has not voted for the BJP, feels the political science professor.

He explains that there was 6 per cent addition of first-time voters (18-25 years). Their performance in the seats with less margin of victory played a major role. “The young voters were a lot influenced by YouTube influencers. This played a role in swinging votes against the BJP.”

Explaining further, the professor said that nationally, in the 2019 polls, there were 97 seats, where the margin of victory was less than 5 per cent. BJP won 41 of these seats. This time, of these seats, the BJP retained only seven. Taking a sample of 22 seats out of those 97 seats, the professor found that not only the BJP lost these seats, it lost by a good margin. And, he feels the young voters played a role in these seats.

“In the 2021 election, TMC’s vote share was 48.02 per cent. In this LS election TMC pooled 45.76 per cent votes share. So, we see TMC’S vote share has come down. In 2019 TMC’s vote share was 43.7 per cent, which means vote share rise for TMC is only 2.06 per cent. Whereas the Left and Congress combined vote share has been reduced by 1.4 per cent, while we were expecting Left vote share to go up this time. BJP’s vote share has remained more or less intact. They lost only 1.87 per cent,” said Prof Mistry.
National, Politics

NDA allies seek their pound of flesh: Unfamiliar terrain for Modi, hard bargaining begins

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A BJP statement released after the afternoon meeting at the Prime Minister’s residence said Modi had been ‘unanimously’ chosen leader, with the partners hailing his ‘hard work and efforts (at) nation-building’

J.P. Yadav, TT, New Delhi, 06.06.24 ; Chandrababu Naidu and Nitish Kumar.: File Photo.
An NDA meeting on Wednesday endorsed Prime Minister Narendra Modi as the alliance leader as hard bargaining by partners for key portfolios and concessions for their states played out in the background, sources said.

A BJP statement released after the afternoon meeting at the Prime Minister’s residence said Modi had been “unanimously” chosen leader, with the partners hailing his “hard work and efforts (at) nation-building”.
Modi will be formally elected leader of the NDA at a meeting of the newly elected MPs on Friday, and is likely to be sworn in for a third term on Saturday, BJP leaders said.

Sources within key partners Telugu Desam Party and JDU, however, revealed the hard bargaining — the hallmark of a coalition government — that lay behind the leaders’ smiling faces at the meeting, thereby indicating the unfamiliar pressures Modi 3.0 is up against.

Desam boss Chandrababu Naidu, a master at extracting his pound of flesh in a coalition government, wants the Lok Sabha Speaker’s post for his party in addition to “special category status” for his state Andhra Pradesh, his party sources said.

They added that Naidu had also demanded the home and defence portfolios, held by Amit Shah and Rajnath Singh, respectively, in the outgoing government.

Bihar chief minister and JDU leader Nitish Kumar too pressed for a similar concession for his “backward state”, smelling an opportunity like never before to realise
a longstanding demand, sources said.

A JDU leader said that Nitish also wants the central government to carry out a countrywide caste census, similar to the one he has conducted in Bihar.

The Desam’s 16 MPs and the JDU’s 12 are crucial for the BJP, which has only 240 seats in a House where the majority mark is 272.

Naidu, set to become chief minister of Andhra, had walked out of the NDA in 2018 over the issue of special category status, which ensures a state gets more central funds, grants-in-aid, and industrial incentives.

“For the TDP, a special category status for Andhra is a must as the state has been left high and dry after Telangana was carved out of it (in 2014),” a Desam leader said.

The Desam is firm on its demand for the Speaker’s post since it knows how adept the BJP is at breaking parties to acquire a majority of its own, sources said. When members defect, the Speaker decides on disqualification.

Less than a month after the 2019 Lok Sabha polls, four of the six Desam members in the Rajya Sabha had joined the BJP — a history that appears to be very much on the Desam’s mind.

The Desam had been given a cabinet post and a junior minister’s berth in the first Modi government of 2014, but it now wants a bigger share of the pie given the BJP’s dependence on its support.

Nitish too is learnt to be eyeing a few important ministries that would help him get projects to Bihar, particularly in the fields of agriculture and rural development.

Chirag Paswan’s Lok Janshakti Party, which has five MPs, wants the railways, a portfolio his late father Ram Vilas Paswan held for a long time.

The BJP leadership has assigned Rajnath, Shah and party president J.P. Nadda to hold talks with the allies and work out the contours of the government.
Politics, Regional

TMC vote share goes up in hills thanks to Thapa, but Darjeeling seat still out of reach

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Raju Bista of the BJP won the Darjeeling seat in 2019 and 2024. His vote share has dipped in the Darjeeling hills and the entire Lok Sabha
Vivek Chhetri, TT, Darjeeling, 06.06.24 : Anit Thapa can afford to put up a brave face although Trinamool Congress’s Gopal Lama, who was backed by the hill leader’s Bharatiya Gorkha Prajatantrik Morcha (BGPM), lost the Darjeeling Lok Sabha.
 
Trinamool has never won the Darjeeling Lok Sabha seat.
In the 2019 Lok Sabha elections, Amar Singh Rai of Trinamool enjoyed the support of the Gorkha Janmukti Morcha’s Binay Tamang faction, of which Thapa was the general secretary, in the Darjeeling segment.
 
That year, Trinamool bagged 1,02,702 votes from the three hill Assembly constituencies of Darjeeling, Kalimpong and Kurseong.
 
In 2024, Lama polled 1,65,494 votes in the three hill Assembly segments, which is higher by around 62,000 compared to the 2019 result.
 
Raju Bista of the BJP won the Darjeeling seat in 2019 and 2024. His vote share has dipped in the Darjeeling hills and the entire Lok Sabha constituency.
 
If Bista’s victory margin was a whopping 4.02 lakh in 2019, it has come down to 1,78,525 this time.
 
The BJP’s vote share in the hills has plummeted by around 79,000 from 3.38 lakh in 2019 to 2.58 lakh in 2024.
 
In the campaign for the just-concluded polls, Thapa ensured that no Trinamnool flag or the pictures of the ruling party’s leaders were used in the hills. Many believe such a move was to negate the “trust deficit” that hill people had with Trinamool, which has been more pronounced since the Mamata Banerjee government crushed the 2017 Gorkhaland agitation.
 
Thapa, instead, tried to project Lama as a candidate of the BGPM in the hills.
 
“With absolute control of the administration of local bodies in the hills and the BJP’s failure to deliver on previous Lok Sabha election promises, Thapa did manage to increase the vote share of Trinamool in the region though it was not enough,” said an observer.
 
In the 2019 general election manifesto, the BJP had promised tribal status for 11 hill communities and a permanent political solution (PPS) for the region. None of the promises has been fulfilled.
 
A BGPM leader told this newspaper that the party had hoped that Lama would lead at least in the hill Assembly segments. “If Lama had lost because of the votes in the plains, it would have been acceptable to us,” said the BGPM leader.
 
The BGPM does not wield clout in the plains of the Darjeeling Lok Sabha constituency.
 
Bista, the winner, said there was not much significance in discussing the victory margin. “If they (BGPM) see a victory in their defeat just like the Congress leaders feel at the national stage, I have little to say,” said Bista.
 
The Darjeeling MP said there was a dip in the voting percentage in the constituency this time. “Moreover, around two per cent of the votes from the CPM and the Congress went to the TMC across Bengal this year,” said Bista, who added that he suspected large-scale rigging in the Chopra Assembly constituency.
 
In Chopra, which is in the Darjeeling Lok Sabha constituency, Trinamool led by 92,131 votes. The party trailed in all other six Assembly segments.
 
“Since they (BGPM and Trinamool) have more panchayat and civic representatives, their votes were bound to increase slightly,” said Bista. “Nevertheless, our vote share in the constituency was more than 50 per cent.”
 
Courtesy & source- The Telegraph
https://www.telegraphindia.com/elections/lok-sabha-election-2024/tmc-vote-share-goes-up-in-hills-thanks-to-anit-thapa-but-darjeeling-lok-sabha-seat-still-out-of-reach/cid/2024928
Politics, Regional

‘Recently-concluded polls an uphill task…’

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Amitava Banerjee, MP, 6 June 2024, Darjeeling: It had been an uphill task for the Bharatiya Gorkha Prajatantrik Morcha (BGPM), the lone ally of the Trinamool Congress (TMC) in the Hills of the Darjeeling Constituency.

Though they lost the battle to the BJP, they managed to bring down the difference in the winning margin. 
While Raju Bista, BJP candidate, had won by a margin of 302228 votes in 2019, this time the margin was of 1,78,525 votes (including the postal ballot). 
The Darjeeling Lok Sabha Constituency consists of 7 Assembly segments, including Darjeeling, Kurseong and Kalimpong in the Hills and Siliguri, Matigara-Naxalbari, Phansidewa and Chopra in the plains. 
While the BJP had won Darjeeling, Kurseong, Siliguri, Matigara-Naxalbari and Phansidewa in the last Assembly election, the TMC had won Chopra and the Bharatiya Gorkha Prajatantrik Morcha, then named the GJM (Binoy faction) had won the Kalimpong seat. 
This Lok Sabha election in the Kalimpong segment, Raju Bista of the BJP secured 77,745 votes and Gopal Lama secured 54,113 votes. 
In the Darjeeling segment, Bista got 87,252 votes and Lama 55,907. In the Kurseong segment, Bista secured 93,981 while Lama secured 55,474 votes. 
In the Hills, Raju Bista secured a total of 2,58,978 votes while Lama secured 1,65,494 votes. Bista led by 93,484 votes in the Hills. 
In the plains in the Matigara-Naxalbari segment, Bista secured 1,54,140 votes while Lama got 70,185 votes. 
In the Siliguri segment, Bista got 1,14,570 votes and Lama secured 48,561 votes. 
In the Phansidewa segment, Bista got 1,06,491 votes while Lama secured 81,273 votes. 
In the Chopra segment, Bista got 41,145 votes while Lama secured 1,33,276 votes. 
Raju Bista secured a total of 4,16,346 votes in the plains while Lama got 3,33,295 votes. 
Bista led with a margin of 83,051 votes. 
In the postal ballot, Raju Bista got 4,007 votes and Lama secured 2,017 votes. 
In total Raju Bista got 6,79,331 votes and Lama 5,00,806 votes, Bista won by 1,78,525 votes. 
While the TMC was backed by the BGPM in the constituency, the BJP was backed by the Gorkha National Liberation Front, Gorkha Janmukti Morcha, CPRM and other hill political outfits. 
Despite having sway over the Gorkhaland Territorial Administration, the Panchayat and the Hill Municipalities, the reason for the defeat is being critically analysed by the BGPM leadership. 
“It was definitely an uphill task for us and we gave our best shot. While we were the lone alliance partner of the TMC, the BJP had the support of different Hill parties that have their vote shares. 
All this went to the BJP kitty. Despite all odds, we retained our votes and even managed to lessen the winning margin of the BJP considerably,” stated Keshav Raj Pokhrel, BGPM spokesperson. 
The spokesperson said that the dent was mainly in the urban areas. “The urban votes went down considerably for us. 
The BJP and allies had launched a propaganda showing TMC as the antagonists of the 2017 Gorkhaland agitation. 
With most of our people watching national media, BJP’s propaganda of crossing the 400 mark had an impact in the 1st and 2nd phase of polls. 
Darjeeling went to polls in the 2nd phase. The Congress candidate even could not make a sizable dent which would have then gone to our favour,” added Pokhrel. 
Munish Tamang of the Congress backed by the Hamro Party and Left Front secured 83374. 
Interesting 18021 votes also went to NOTA. 
Courtesy & source- Millennium Post
https://www.millenniumpost.in/bengal/recently-concluded-polls-an-uphill-task-566771
Crime, Regional

Man gets 10 yrs rigorous jail in POCSO case

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MP, 6 June 2024, Jalpaiguri: The Jalpaiguri POCSO Court sentenced one Sanjiv Das (25 years at the time of arrest) to 10 years of rigorous imprisonment for raping a 12-year-old girl, leading to pregnancy. 

Judge Induvar Tripathi pronounced the verdict on Wednesday. The accused was fined Rs 5,000 along with three months’ additional imprisonment for non-payment. 
Debashish Dutta, special assistant public prosecutor, mentioned that the incident took place in May 2015 in Jalpaiguri. 
Following this, a complaint was lodged at a police station and the accused was arrested. 
As many as nine witnesses were examined in the case. 
https://www.millenniumpost.in/bengal/pocso-case-man-gets-10-yrs-rigorous-jail-566775
Regional

3 killed as car rolls 500 feet from hill near Lava

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YOWAN MOTHAY, EOI, KALIMPONG, JUNE 5, 2024 : Three people were killed on the spot early on Wednesday when a Maruti vehicle which was coming from Patharjhora in Doors and going to Fikle in Kalimpong Sangse via Lava, fell almost 500 feet down the road after the driver lost control. 

Driver Divesh Chhetri (34), Bimal Chhetri (35) and Abhivan Chhetri, a three-month-old child, died on the spot.
Bimal Chhetri’s wife Neha Tamang Chhetri (24) and Abhi Chhetri (4) were seriously injured in the incident. Neha Tamang Chhetri is currently undergoing treatment at Kalimpong District Hospital, while Abhi Chhetri has been referred to North Bengal Medical College, Siliguri, from Kalimpong District Hospital for treatment. 
The bodies of those who died in the incident were sent to the Kalimpong District Hospital for post-mortem and later handed over to the family. 
Lava police station in-charge Prateek Subba, Pedong CI Partho Roy along with a police team reached the spot at midnight and retrieved the bodies and rescued the injured passengers with the help of local people
Politics, Regional

BJP must deliver on promises before 2026 assembly poll, says GNLF

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EOI, DARJEELING, JUNE 5, 2024 :  A day after helping incumbent Raju Bista retain his seat from the Darjeeling constituency in the Lok Sabha election, the Gorkha National Liberation Front sent on Wednesday a message to the BJP to deliver on its promises before the 2026 assembly election in West Bengal or face the possibility of losing its support.

Bista defeated his closest rival Gopal Lama of the Trinamool Congress- Bharatiya Gorkha Prajatantrik Morcha by over 160,000 votes. 
“I have said earlier that this will be our last support to the BJP. If they betray us again then the result will not be good for the BJP next time,” GNLF president Mann Ghisingh said. 
Before the Lok Sabha election, the GNLF, one of the primary alliance partners of the BJP, had found itself in an embarrassing situation; with the BJP reluctant to clarify its stand vis a vis the demand for a Gorkhaland state and not mentioning anything about the Gorkha community of the hills in its election manifesto. 
In its 2019 election manifesto, the BJP had said it was committed to finding a permanent political solution for the hills and granting tribal status to the 11 left-out communities. The commitments have not, however, seen the light of day. “
The BJP has to seriously work from day one to deliver on its commitment made to the Gorkhas. Promises have been made and now its time to deliver. Only promises will weaken the faith and trust of the hill people,” Ghisingh said. 
Explaining why he GNLF had kept its trust on the BJP when it had failed to deliver on its promises made since 2009 when it managed to win a seat in West Bengal for the first time from Darjeeling, Ghisingh said it was prudent to put trust and faith on the political party that headed the government at the Centre. 
“The BJP is in the Central government which is highest agency of the country. We have to believe on the BJP to deliver this time around,” said Ghisingh. 
“In the last five years and before we have submitted memorandums and appraised the BJP about our aspirations. The BJP and the Centre are fully aware of our demands. Now they must act,” he said. 
The GNLF president said he would go to Delhi as one of the partners of the NDA alliance, if he received an invitation f from the BJP for the June 8 swearing-in ceremony.
National, Politics, Regional

Congress wins both Lok Sabha seats in strife-torn Manipur

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PTI, NEW DELHI, 5 June 2024: The Congress on Wednesday said the long-suffering people of Manipur have sent a “very powerful signal” by electing its leaders as MPs in both constituencies of the state, and asserted that this was a tribute to Rahul Gandhi’s visits to the violence-hit state.


The Congress won both the Lok Sabha seats in strife-torn Manipur on Tuesday.

Alfred Kanngam S Arthur won the Outer Manipur seat by 85,418 votes, defeating his nearest rival Kachui Timothy Zimik of the NPF.

In the Inner Manipur seat, Angomcha Bimol Akoijam defeated his nearest rival Thounaojam Basantakumar of the BJP by 1,09,801 votes. Akoijam got 3,74,017 votes andSingh received 2,64,216 votes.

In a post on X, Congress general secretary Jairam Ramesh said, “The long-suffering people of Manipur, whose resilience and strength has been under major strain since the state began burning on the night of May 3rd 2023, have sent a very powerful signal by electing Congress MPs in both Inner and Outer Manipur.”
It is also a tribute to Rahul Gandhi’s visit to Manipur on June 29 and 30, 2023, and to the launch of the Bharat Jodo Nyay Yatra on January 14, 2024 from Thoubal, when the state government refused permission for it to start from Imphal, Ramesh said.

“It is also a tight slap on the face of Mr. Narendra Modi, who simply refused to reach out to the people of Manipur and did not visit the state even for a few hours,” the Congress leader said.

The two Congress MPs have a huge responsibility, and with their election, hopefully, the process of reconciliation will get a big boost, Ramedh added.


Manipur has been strife-torn since May last year when ethnic violence broke out after a march by Kuki tribals in the hill districts to protest against the valley-dominant Meitei community’s demand for Scheduled Tribes status.

Since then, over 220 people belonging to both the communities, including security personnel, have been killed in the continuing violence.

BJP-led government has been in power in the state since 2017.

After the results were announced, state Congress president K Megha chandra said Chief Minister N Biren Singh should take responsibility for what has been happening in the state and resign on moral grounds. 

“We are victorious because of the support of the people who have been suffering. We are thankful to the people for showing their trust in our two candidates who have won with massive margins,” he told reporters at the state Congress headquarters. 

Meghachandra said corruption was the root cause of the prevailing situation in Manipur. “The people have given a strong message through this election. We will definitely make sure that the trust reposed on us by the people will be transformed into work, and we will do what we have said in our manifesto,” he added.

” The government should take responsibility for the present conflict. The chief minister should take moral responsibility and resign,” he said. 

After his victory, Akoijam said his top priority was to ensure that the people displaced in the conflict returned to their homes and lived a normal and dignified life. 

“It is a clear mandate against those people who have threatened Manipur. This is a clear message by the people not to take the state for granted. The people have spoken. I have fought this election for my state. Now we should all come together,” he said. 

“We have a crisis in the state for the one last year. People are homeless. My top priority is to ensure that those people go back and live a normal and dignified life, and this crisis is resolved,” said Akoijam, a professor of Jawaharlal Nehru University (JNU) in New Delhi. 

He urged his supporters to restrain themselves from celebrating the victory as along with the conflict the state was hit by a flood. Akoijam’s rival Basanta kumar is a state cabinet minister, holding the portfolios of Education, and Law & Legislative Affairs.