The Calcutta High Court cleared the way for the Mamata Banerjee-led faction of Trinamool Congress to hold its annual Martyrs’ Day programme on July 21 at a new venue near Birla Planetarium after refusing to permit the gathering at its traditional site in front of Victoria House.
Former Trinamool Congress (TMC) Rajya Sabha MPs Sushmita Dev, Sukhendu Sekhar Ray and Prakash Chik Baraik joined the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) in Kolkata on Thursday.
The Mamata Banerjee-led faction of the TMC on Monday filed a detailed response before the Election Commission of India (ECI), rejecting rival leader Ritabrata Banerjee’s claim over the party. It also asserted that the TMC’s organisational committees remained valid until 2027 as per the constitution of the party.
The battle for control of the TMC intensified on Thursday after the Ritabrata Banerjee-led rebel faction met the full bench of the Election Commission of India (ECI).
One year after the Centre rolled out UMEED, the Unified Waqf Management, Empowerment, Efficiency and Development portal, details for 88,571 waqf properties have been rejected following scrutiny, around 11% of the 7,95,784 properties submitted for registration.
West Bengal has formally initiated the process of implementing the Uniform Civil Code (UCC), with the state government constituting a high-level committee to prepare a draft of the proposed legislation. The panel will be headed by former Supreme Court judge Justice Ranjana Prakash Desai.
For years, the Trinamool Congress (TMC) marked July 21 as ‘Shahid Diwas’ (Martyrs’ Day) with a display of political dominance that few rivals in West Bengal could match. The rally in Kolkata’s Dharmatala neighbourhood drew vast crowds, showcased defections from opposition parties and often served as a stage for Mamata Banerjee, the party’s founder, to sketch the contours of the next political battle.
Former Kolkata deputy mayor and Trinamool Congress leader Atin Ghosh, along with his daughter and son-in-law, has been booked by police in connection with an alleged property dispute involving a three-storey house and adjoining land valued at around ₹4 crore in eastern Kolkata.
A fresh controversy has emerged in West Bengal after reports suggested that eggs may no longer be served in mid-day meals at several government and government-aided schools in Kolkata. The development comes after the state government decided to engage ISKCON (International Society for Krishna Consciousness) to provide cooked meals under the PM POSHAN scheme in schools under the Kolkata Municipal Corporation area.
