Author: Sayantika Shikari
A very unsettling debate that concerns the whole West Bengal has been stirred by a fresh disclosure of the Unique Identification Authority of India (UIDAI). Data to the state Election Commission reveal that nearly 34 Lakh (3.4 million) Aadhaar card holders in the state have been marked as deceased. Just the sheer magnitude of the figure has been enough to make people stand and stare. As a matter of fact, the public outrage mainly revolves around the date of the occurrence, i.e. the day when revising the voter list in the state is in full swing.
The visit of President Droupadi Murmu to Botswana was another landmark in India’s intensified relationship with the African continent, which is a blend of trade, aid, and cultural affinity. President Murmu landed in Gaborone to a highly festive reception, her trip was a gesture of the everlasting friendship between India and Botswana, a friendship that is built on the shared principles of democracy, peace, and progress.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s recent trip to Bhutan is one more evidence that friendship and mutual respect, which are the main traits of the two neighbors’ relationship, are not only words but facts as well. The visit was definitely the consolidation of India’s “Neighbourhood First” policy and also a reaffirmation to Bhutan that it is the centre of that policy.
The former West Bengal Education minister Partha Chatterjee was released on bail on Monday after jail time of more than two years in connection with the alleged school recruitment scam. The decision came as a result of the trials, the arguments, and also the people’s opinions which are greatly split. For many, this moment is not only a political turning point but also a significant emotional transition that has been felt by the whole of Bengal for quite some time.
Raj Bhavan’s expansive green area became an emotional festivity of one-ness and common delight on the third year of the Governor’s current term. To mark the milestone, the Governor turned the celebration into a social-committed gesture rather than a grand show – organizing community marriages for the couples of two common people families.
The atmosphere was truly electrifying. The Chief Minister of West Bengal, Mamata Banerjee, set the ball rolling for the 26th edition of the Kolkata International Film Festival (KIFF) at the famous Netaji Indoor Stadium. Often referred to as India’s oldest film festival and the cradle of avant-garde cinema, KIF continues to be the confluence of art and heartfelt emotion, which was evidently the mainstay this time too. The festival took the form of a homage to Bengal’s film past while being profoundly receptive to future cinematic voices.
Following the decision of the West Bengal government to exclude a large number of different Muslim communities from the state’s Other Backward Classes (OBC) list, the West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee is being heavily criticized.
In what marks one of the most significant regulatory actions in recent times, properties amounting to ₹3,000 crore+ were provisionally attached by the Enforcement Directorate against the Anil Ambani-led Reliance ADA Group.
Next year, for the first time in history, the leader of the European Union will be participating in our country’s Republic Day celebrations in Delhi. European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen and European Council President Charles Michel have been invited as chief guests, a record-breaker in India-EU relations.
In a political converging point that happens rarely, both the Communist Party of India (Marxist) [CPI(M)] and the Trinamool Congress (TMC) have received the recent Supreme Court order on the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act (MGNREGA) with open arms, terming it as a “victory of the rural poor” and a “reminder of the government’s responsibility to its people.