Samik Bhattacharya's First Task: Discipline Bengal BJP Before PM Modi's Rally On July 18
Ahead of Prime Minister Narendra Modi's rally in Bengal's Durgapur on July 18, state BJP chief Samik Bhattacharya has received his first task—get the Bengal unit disciplined. Bhattacharya was asked to keep the flock, including its senior leadership, in check recently when he made his first visit to Delhi after becoming the West Bengal BJP president.
Sources say the BJP leadership in Delhi was unhappy with Bengal BJP leader and LoP Suvendu Adhikari's controversial statement asking Hindu Bengalis not to visit 'Muslim majority" Jammu & Kashmir. Referring to the recent Pahalgam attack, Adhikari had said: 'Don't go to the places where Muslims are in majority. If you want to go to Kashmir, go to Jammu… They (terrorists) killed people asking about their religion."
TMC lost no time to hit back, claiming Adhikari 'shamelessly echoed the terrorists' agenda". While Adhikari made it clear it was his personal opinion, the BJP leadership is clearly not convinced.
In Delhi, Bhattacharya met BJP's Bengal in-charge Sunil Bansal and General Secretary (Organisation) BL Santhosh and is believed to have been asked to get the state unit disciplined. No out-of-turn gaffes or unwanted controversies should be allowed ahead of PM Modi's rally in Durgapur, which he is visiting after six years.
The BJP is also in discomfiture in Bengal due to its former state president Dilip Ghosh, whose growing proximity with chief minister Mamata Banerjee has irked the cadres. Last week, Ghosh too came to Delhi and visited the BJP headquarters to meet Deputy General Secretary (Organisation) Shiv Prakash. However, after the meeting, Ghosh said something that may not go down well with the BJP—that there is no pending case of corruption against Mamata Banerjee. Earlier, Ghosh went to the inauguration of the 'Jagannath Dham Sanskriti Kendra' (cultural centre) at Digha, an event largely skipped by the state BJP leadership.
PM Modi's last rally in West Bengal was on May 29, 2025, in Alipurduar. Last time, he raised the issue of TMC government's alleged corruption, which he claimed 'destroyed families". 'TMC regime not ready to accept its mistakes in school jobs scam. It is blaming courts, judicial system," he said. The rally comes days before the Trinamool Congress' annual Martyrs' Day programme on July 21, indicating a strategic move by the BJP to counter TMC's influence in the state.
view comments
First Published:
July 16, 2025, 11:17 IST
Disclaimer: Comments reflect users' views, not News18's. Please keep discussions respectful and constructive. Abusive, defamatory, or illegal comments will be removed. News18 may disable any comment at its discretion. By posting, you agree to our Terms of Use and Privacy Policy.
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Time of India
29 minutes ago
- Time of India
FIR filed against Aurad BJP MLA's son in rape case
Bidar: A case was registered at the women's police station in Bidar city on Sunday against Prateek Chavvan, the son of BJP MLA Prabhu Chavvan from Aurad, for allegedly deceiving and raping a woman under the pretence of marriage. Tired of too many ads? go ad free now According to the complaint filed by a 25-year-old woman from Udgir, Maharashtra, she connected with Prateek on Instagram two years ago. Subsequently, he invited her to Bengaluru with marriage promises, where he allegedly raped her repeatedly at a hotel under duress. Prateek's family visited her residence and agreed to the marriage, the complainant said. An engagement ceremony took place in December 2023, with the wedding planned for May 2024. However, Prateek delayed the wedding, citing Lok Sabha elections and the monsoon. Prateek took her to Latur and Shirdi in Maharashtra, where he continued to threaten and sexually assault her, the complaint alleged. When her family approached Prateek's household to discuss the marriage, MLA Prabhu refused the alliance, she said. The case was registered under IPC sections 376(2)(N), 366, 324 and 506. At a media interaction on Monday, the woman appeared with her face covered and refuted Prabhu's allegations about her involvement with another boy. She said neither she nor her family had any political backing, and no one was orchestrating their actions. Conspiracy to defame my family: Prabhu Meanwhile, Prabhu claimed this was a conspiracy to defame his family, specifically accusing former Bidar BJP MP Bhagwanth Khuba's team. Regarding the woman's complaint to the women's commission, Prabhu alleged she maintained inappropriate communication with another person through messages and video calls. Tired of too many ads? go ad free now Prabhu stated he advised the woman since the engagement and discussed the matter with her brother-in-law. He said the marriage was cancelled following consultations with Banjara community leaders. Prabhu said he has a 30-year unblemished political career and arranged numerous marriages. A counter FIR was lodged by one of his brothers against eight members of the girl's family at Hokarn police station in Aurad taluk on Sunday. The accused individuals allegedly assaulted Prabhu and vandalised the doors of his residence in Aurad taluk. Bidar SP Pradeep Gunti said the investigation is ongoing.
Time of India
43 minutes ago
- Time of India
In last 21/7 before 2026 state poll, Mamata taps Bengali anger, pride
Kolkata: Trinamool's 2026 assembly poll strategy is likely to focus on tapping the Bengal-first sentiments of the state's 7.6 crore voters. The party's last Martyrs' Day rally before the 2026 election showcased Bengali migrant labourers "harassed in BJP-governed states and Bengal residents facing NRC queries" as chief minister Mamata Banerjee called for a renewed "Bhasha Andolan (language movement)" from next week. "Hold meetings and rallies every weekend to protest against the attack on your language," she exhorted the Esplanade audience — by all estimates larger than last year's crowd — as she asked Trinamool MPs to make the Mahatma Gandhi statue on the Parliament campus the venue of their protest against the "violence against Bengal" and urged sports persons and "people from cultural background" to join in. You Can Also Check: Kolkata AQI | Weather in Kolkata | Bank Holidays in Kolkata | Public Holidays in Kolkata Banerjee on Monday modified the immensely successful 2021 "khela hobe" slogan, which revolved around football in the last assembly poll, to include cricketing metaphors. "Bowl them (the BJP) out" and "hit them for a six" combined with references to BJP and its allied organisations' "movements against eating fish and meat" as Banerjee used Bengal's love for sports, its cuisine and its language as a bulwark against BJP's "Hindu-Muslim" narrative. "Why are there attacks on the Bengali language? Bengal fought for freedom, the renaissance began in Bengal. Bengal gave birth to Rabindranath, Bankimchandra and Nazrul. by Taboola by Taboola Sponsored Links Sponsored Links Promoted Links Promoted Links You May Like This Could Be the Best Time to Trade Gold in 5 Years IC Markets Learn More Undo The National Anthem was written here. We will take the fight to Delhi if Bengalis are arrested in other states. I am not one to back down. Remember Singur-Nandigram?" she asked. "They are vandalising shops and saying: 'Don't eat fish, don't eat meat.' I dare you to try doing it once in Bengal," Banerjee said, asking her audience to "speak more Bengali". "You saw the result of their attack on Vidyasagar's bust?" she asked BJP, referring to the 2019 incident on Bidhan Sarani that had a significant impact on voting in Kolkata. BJP would pay again, she said, accusing it of torturing Matuas in Maharashtra, sending "NRC letters" to Rajbanshis and "breaking a Kali temple in Assam". "You once used to accuse me of not allowing Durga Puja and Saraswati Puja. Now, all of a sudden, you have remembered Ma Durga and Ma Kali. Ma Durga is our state and the nation's asset. Durga Puja has been granted the United Nations intangible heritage status. We will have a Durga Aangan in Bengal just like Digha's Jagannath temple," she said, reminding the audience of "the central government circular on camps and detention centres". "Over 1,000 people have been imprisoned in Madhya Pradesh, Odisha, Rajasthan. Some are even being sent to Bangladesh," she said, adding that the BJP's comeuppance would come with "people imprisoning its leaders in future". Banerjee then accused the Election Commission of "sitting in Gujarat and disenfranchising Bengalis and removing Bengalis from the voters' list", promising protests in Delhi. "The EC has already removed 40 lakh names in Bihar," she added, before taking on her Assam counterpart, Himanta Biswas Sarma ("who cannot handle his own state properly)", for meddling in Bengal's affairs. She then invited Uttam Kumar Brajabasi to stand beside her on the dais. "Assam has sent an NRC notice to a person residing in Coochbehar for 50-odd years. They must answer for this," she said. Banerjee also targeted PM Narendra Modi, accusing him of being "controlled by America". "Why did you fail to get PoK? Where was your protest when the US sent back planes full of Indians back to India?" she asked before asking the audience to help her achieve "paribartan (change)" at Centre.
Time of India
an hour ago
- Time of India
Cash-at-home row: Justice Varma removal notices handed; LS may initiate
MPs submit notices for removal of Justice Varma to LS Speaker NEW DELHI: Notices for the removal of Justice Yashwant Varma of Allahabad HC were submitted in both Houses of Parliament on Monday in what could potentially result in the first instance of a judge being benched for alleged misconduct. While 145 LS members, cutting across party lines, signed the notice, 63 members belonging to different parties made an identical move in RS. Sources said that both the Houses are on the same legal footing in this regard and proceedings are likely to be launched in Lok Sabha. 'Removal of judge will not be completed in current session' According to the Judges (Inquiry) Act, when notices of a motion are submitted on the same day in both Houses, a committee to examine the charges levelled against the judge will be constituted by LS Speaker and RS Chairman. The notable signatories to the LS notice, submitted to Speaker Om Birla, included leader of the opposition Rahul Gandhi, BJP MPs Ravi Shankar Prasad and Anurag Thakur, NCP-SP's Supriya Sule, Congress's K C Venugopal and K Suresh, DMK's T R Baalu, RSP member N K Premachandran and IUML member E T Mohammed Basheer. The notice signed by 63 opposition RS members was submitted to Upper House chairman Jagdeep Dhankhar who, before his shock resignation as vice-president, said he had received a notice for the removal of Justice Varma. 'It has been signed by more than 50 members of the council of states. Thus, it meets the numerical requirement of signing by MPs for setting in motion the process of removal of an HC judge,' Dhankhar said. On law minister Arjun Ram Meghwal's confirmation that a notice has also been submitted in LS, Dhankhar asked the RS secretary general to 'take necessary steps in this direction'. Hours after the opposition move, BJP also collected signatures of its RS members and those from its allies to file a notice. BJP sources said the opposition-sponsored notice in RS prompted the party to act as it did not want to be left out of the exercise in the Upper House. Party sources said they had no idea about the opposition's unilateral move as they cited their own bipartisan exercise in LS seeking signatures from all parties. Govt sources, however, confirmed that the matter will be taken up in LS first. Sources also confirmed that since the petition is set to be referred to a committee, the removal of the judge will not be completed in the current session. According to the Act, no committee shall be constituted unless the motion has been admitted in both Houses. The committee comprising a senior SC judge, a sitting HC chief justice and a distinguished jurist will then probe the charges levelled against Justice Varma and will be asked to come out with a report in three months. As sources indicated that LS is set to witness the motion first, this is the second time that a motion for the removal of a judge is being brought in the House after 32 years. In 1993, Justice V Ramaswami, an SC judge, faced a removal motion in LS.
