1. Multi-Cornered Face-off As Poll Battle Enters Congress Terrain
The Trinamool Congress and BJP have high asking rates as the third phase of Lok Sabha polls enters Congress terrain on Tuesday. Three of the five seats — Malda Uttar, Malda Dakshin and Jangipur — went with the Congress in 2014, while the CPM won Murshidabad and Trinamool got Balurghat.
All these seats have one factor in common: they have a substantial minority population that has set the stage for a polarisation like never before. Congress and TMC are eyeing the support of minorities who are a majority in Malda Dakshin, Murshidabad and Jangipur, while BJP is working on a counterpolarisation of Hindu votes particularly in Malda Uttar, where Hindus and Muslims are equally poised, and in Balurghat where Hindus are a majority.
To polarise voters, BJP and TMC have pitched their campaign for and against NRC and the Citizenship (Amendment) Bill, putting economic issues on the back burner.
(Source: The Times Of India)
2. Yogi Spares Adhir, BJP Leaders Miffed
Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath’s election rally here on Monday disappointed a section of the BJP’s Murshidabad district unit as he refrained from a verbal assault on Behrampore Congress candidate Adhir Chowdhury.
Before a crowd of barely 1,000 at the Friends’ Union Club ground in Behrampore, Adityanath focused his attack on Congress chief Rahul Gandhi and Bengal chief minister Mamata Banerjee.
Just once, Adityanath mentioned Chowdhury’s name in his 25-minute address: “The four-time MP (from Behrampore), a candidate this time as well, did not work (for the people).”
Adityanath, the former Gorakhpur MP, is said to have cordial ties with Chowdhury since their time together in the Lok Sabha.
(Source: The Telegraph)
3. Ahluwalia Plotted To Divide Bengal: Mamata
Mamata Banerjee on Monday accused S.S. Ahluwalia, the BJP candidate for the Burdwan-Durgapur Lok Sabha constituency, of hatching a conspiracy to divide Bengal and instigating violence in Darjeeling before escaping from the hills.
Ahluwalia, a Union minister of state, had won from Darjeeling in the 2014 general election with the backing of the Gorkha Janmukti Morcha.
“The BJP candidate has escaped from the Darjeeling hills and come here to seek votes. Do not trust him. He tried to divide Bengal,” Mamata told an election rally at Dewandighi in Burdwan.
The area falls under the Burdwan-Durgapur constituency.
(Source: The Telegraph)
4. NRC To Cover Entire Country: Amit Shah
BJP national president Amit Shah on Monday said his party would get the Citizenship (Amendment) Bill passed in Parliament and then draw up the National Register of Citizens for the entire country, including Bengal, to identify infiltrators.
“All religious minorities, Hindus, Buddhists, Jains, Sikhs (and Christians and Parsis), from neighbouring countries like Bangladesh will be given citizenship in India and they will live with full dignity,” Shah told a news conference in Calcutta before he set out on election campaign in Bengal.
“The bill was passed in the Lok Sabha in January but because of the opposition of the Congress and Trinamool, it was not tabled in the Rajya Sabha. The numbers in Rajya Sabha will change in favour of the BJP by 2020 and we promise to pass the bill then,” he added.
(Source: The Telegraph)
5. Triple Talaq Champion Feels Let Down By BJP
Ishrat Jahan, BJP’s poster girl in the instant triple talaq movement, is struggling to make the ends meet. Two square meals and a decent education for her son — that is what the gutsy woman wants now. Reeling under a financial crisis, Jahan, who had joined BJP little more than a year ago, is now planning to quit politics.
Jahan shot to limelight after she lodged a case with the Supreme Court in 2015 when her husband had telephoned from Dubai and uttered ‘talaq’ thrice over the phone. Jahan, who refused to accept the talaq over phone, was one of the five women who had moved the apex court. The 32-year-old mother of four kids faced intimidations and threats, but continued to fight her battle as destitution and social stigma continued to chase her.
(Source: The Times Of India)
6. Bharati Questioned For 6 hrs, Mulls Moving SC
CID officials interrogated BJP’s Datan candidate Bharati Ghosh for around six hours on Monday for her alleged involvement in a gold-for-cash case.
In February 2018, a goldsmith, Chandan Maji, had alleged that the former IPS officer and some others had taken 375gm gold from him during demonetisation.
Ghosh had been interrogated last week as well, leading to a demonstration by BJP supporters, claiming it was a ploy to stop Ghosh from campaigning. Daspur Police on Monday posted a strong contingent to thwart a similar agitation.
(Source: The Times Of India)
7. Teenager Gets 20-Year Jail Term 16 Days After Raping A Minor
A teenager was sentenced to 20 years for raping a minor girl resulting in her pregnancy, barely 16 days after the FIR was lodged at Maniktala police station. Additional district and sessions judge, First Court, Sealdah and Special Judge under the Pocso Act, Jimut Bahan Biswas, refused to show any leniency towards the 17-year-old accused given the heinous nature of the crime. The youth has also been ordered to pay Rs 2,00,000 as fine (90% of which will go to the girl), failing which, he will face another year behind the bars.
According to special public prosecutor Vivek Sharma, hearing was conducted every day after he moved a petition under Section 309 of the CrPC. This petition was moved as Sharma felt that the 16-year-old girl or her family may be adversely influenced by the accused or his associates. “We wanted no delays and the court wrapped up the matter in a mere 16 days despite some holidays in between,” Sharma said.
(Source: The Times Of India)
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