1. Varsity Students Attacked
A group of Visva-Bharati students carrying iron rods and stumps went on the rampage at a hostel and hospital on the campus on the night of Wednesday, 15 January, attacking students who had disrupted a lecture on the Citizenship (Amendment) Act by Rajya Sabha member Swapan Dasgupta at the varsity last week.
One student, Swapnanil Mukherjee, who suffered multiple injuries, is under treatment at the Pearson Memorial Hospital run by the varsity.
Several student outfits alleged that the attack was “an act of revenge” by the ABVP which is affiliated to the BJP.
(Source: The Telegraph)
2. Dilip Starts Second Term With ‘Advice’ for Critics
Dilip Ghosh was on Thursday elected unopposed as the president of the BJP’s Bengal unit for the second consecutive four-year term, shortly before he has advised his critics to raise “endurance” levels as he will intensify his vitriol in the days to come.
As none had filed nominations for the post, the Midnapore MP’s re-election was just a formality. Ghosh’s second term has come after his communally charged remarks were condemned even by state BJP leaders.
“There are some criticising me for things I say. The time has come for the BJP in Bengal. Gone are the days when others would speak and we would listen. Now, we will speak and they will listen,” he said.
Ghosh, who had been unapologetic about virtually everything he or the party had been criticised for since his ascent to the helm four years ago, started his second term dismissing critics.
(Source: The Telegraph)
3. Bengal Civic Polls Set to Be Held in April
Elections to the Calcutta Municipal Corporation and 92 other civic bodies in Bengal are likely to be held in April, sources at Nabanna said.
The final exercise on the part of the state administration before holding the election — delimitation of wards — would be completed on Friday when the district authorities would publish the final list of seats at the civic bodies.
The delimitation is undertaken to reserve seats for various categories — SC, ST, OBC, women — in every five years based on the demography of a particular ward.
(Source: The Telegraph)
4. 130 Years on, Bagan Sets Sail for New Future With Young Partner
India’s oldest surviving top-tier football club, Mohun Bagan, and the RP-Sanjiv Goenka Group —which owns and runs Indian Super League side ATK FC — have come together to establish a new football team, which in all likelihood will be called ATK Mohun Bagan.
The decision was coming and had a ring of inevitability to it but, when the official announcement was made on Thursday afternoon, Kolkata’s and India’s football fraternity took some time to grasp the enormity of the occasion.
Mohun Bagan, since its inception on 15 August, 1889, in a north Kolkata bylane, has been synonymous with Indian football. The club also came to be associated inextricably with India’s freedom struggle when its barefoot 11 (only one player was said to have been able to afford boots and wore them) beat the East Yorkshire Regiment on a muggy Kolkata afternoon — on 29 July, 1911 — to become the first Indian club to win the prestigious IFA Shield.
(Source: The Times of India)
5. CM to Skip All-Party Meet Called By Governor
Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee will not attend the all-party meeting convened by governor Jagdeep Dhankhar on Friday on the impasse over the antilynching bill and the SC-ST commission bill.
Raj Bhavan in a press release on Thursday evening said: “Today (Thursday) the Hon’ble Chief Minister’s Office informed the Hon’ble Governor’s Office that on account of preoccupations on 17.1.2020, it will not be possible for the Chief Minister to attend this meeting”.
Raj Bhavan had earlier postponed the Friday meeting to 21 January for Congress’ Abdul Mannan and Left Front’s Sujan Chakraborty, who had conveyed their inability to attend the 17 January meeting. For the rest, the meeting remained on Friday.
(Source: The Times of India)
6. Park Circus Protesters Get a Tent After Braving Cold for Nine Days
Apolitical’ tents were being put up at Park Circus on Thursday evening for the protesters who are agitating against the Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA) and the National Register of Citizens for the last nine days. Provisions for biotoilets and running water will also be made.
Asmat Jamil, who is leading the protest, met chief minister Mamata Banerjee at her residence on Wednesday and requested her to grant permission to put up a shed as it was becoming difficult for the women and the kids to stay in the open at night. She also spoke about the lack of basic amenities — like running water, washroom and light — at the venue.
“Within 24 hours, I got a call from chief minister’s office. We will arrange for all the basic amenities with the government’s permission. I am thankful to Didi for understanding our problems and keeping her words,” said Jamil, adding that a request had been made for a white tent as it is a protest without a political banner. During the meeting, Jamil also invited Mamata Banerjee to visit the sit-in at Park Circus.
(Source: The Times of India)
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