
CM to tour districts from next week
Mamata Banerjee
is set to visit several districts from next week. Sources at Nabanna said the CM might visit Ghatal in West Midnapore to take stock of the flood situation on Aug 5. On the way, the CM might have a stopover at Hooghly's Arambag.
A day later, Banerjee is likely to visit Jhargram to attend a 'Bhasha Andolan' rally, from Rajbari More to Circus Maidan. Members of several indigenous communities, social organisations and intellectuals from Jangalmahal and West Midnapore are set to participate.
The CM may also travel to north Bengal if the weather permits.
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New Indian Express
44 minutes ago
- New Indian Express
Mamata Banerjee and the debate around the almost Rs 500-crore Durga Puja dole in West Bengal
Eighty-five thousand? Ninety thousand? Ninety-five? One? Ok. One lakh ten! And, with that, the hammer came down on Mamata Banerjee's donation of Rs 1,10,000 to each of the 45,000 pandals where Goddess Durga will be worshipped for officially for five days this September-October across West Bengal, including 3000 in Kolkata. This donation, to be made from the coffers of the West Bengal government, was announced by the Chief Minister at Kolkata's Netaji Indoor Stadium on Thursday and it brought the audience of Durga Puja organisers to their feet, hands in air, clapping and cheering. But the noise drowned out a question that should worry anyone in a secular democracy: can the government directly or indirectly promote or even be associated with religion or a religious event? It is a question that has hung in the air since 2018 when, for the first time, Mamata Banerjee declared a grant to the Durga Pujas. Then, the size of the donation or dole was Rs 10000 to around 2,800 pandals or a total of Rs 28 crore. In the last eight years, the number of pandals has grown and, with that, the size of the largesse, totting up this year to a very handsome Rs 495 crore. There is some debate that the number of pandals is 43,000 and not 45,000 and the payout not Rs 495 crore but 473 crore. But that's just hair-splitting. Can the taxpayers' money be spent quite like this? Problematic but politically smart It is a problematic question but politically brilliant. For Mamata Banerjee, the cost benefits are simple. For Rs 495 crore, she secures the loyalty of the clubs that organise the Durga Pujas. The clubs are powerful and influential in their local neighbourhoods; remember, West Bengal has a long history of para and club culture. Winning their support is a sure shot short cut to winning local and bigger electoral battles. 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New Indian Express
an hour ago
- New Indian Express
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Hindustan Times
2 hours ago
- Hindustan Times
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