Latest news with #ChandrimaBhattacharya
Deccan Herald
2 days ago
- Politics
- Deccan Herald
PM Modi's remarks on Bengali 'ashmita' pack of lies: TMC
Chandrima Bhattacharya and party state general secretary Kunal Ghosh claimed that the "anti-Bengal" BJP government at the Centre has withheld Rs 1.7 lakh-crore in dues to the state under schemes such as MGNREGA and PM Awas Yojana, purely for political reasons.
Time of India
18-06-2025
- Politics
- Time of India
TMC accuses EC of rigging norms to allot webcasting contract to Guj firm
1 2 Kolkata: Trinamool Congress on Wednesday wrote to the Election Commission accusing the poll body of rigging norms to allot a poll-day webcasting contract to a Gujarat-based firm. In a two-page letter, senior state minister Chandrima Bhattacharya, also the party vice-president, urged the EC to "take urgent and appropriate steps" which are fair, transparent, and based on merit. The agency was tasked by the EC to do webcasting of polls in Bengal, starting with the Kaliganj bypolls, scheduled on Thursday. The results will be announced on June 23. The Gujarat-based agency edged past two other applicants, scoring a perfect 100 in the quality-cum-cost based selection (QCBS) method, a matrix never used in any poll in Bengal, the party alleged. The tender for the bypoll was floated on June 2. Bhattacharya, addressing reporters at Trinamool Bhawan, said, "What should have been a transparent and competitive bidding process has now emerged as a textbook case of contract rigging designed to favour a pre-selected vendor and deliberately eliminate capable, experienced Bengal-based agencies. The tender timeline was unusually tight, effectively disqualifying regional, experienced service providers. by Taboola by Taboola Sponsored Links Sponsored Links Promoted Links Promoted Links You May Like Men Over 50: Frequent Urination & Weak Stream? Do this Before Bed healthydayscare Click Here Undo " Bhattacharya said, "The technical evaluation process was conducted in clear violation of norms. Pre-qualification documents were ignored, clause-wise technical marking was never published, and financial bids were opened first, and only then were technical scores back-calculated to ensure the Gujarat-based vendor emerged as L1." She added, "This is not an isolated case of bureaucratic oversight; it's part of the BJP's larger conspiracy to hijack the electoral process. They earlier attempted voter fraud by duplicating EPIC numbers and bringing in ghost voters from BJP-ruled states, as highlighted by CM Mamata Banerjee." "They have now shifted focus to capturing surveillance mechanisms like webcasting. This is a blatant misuse of the EC machinery to influence the outcome of elections in favour of the BJP," she added. The minister said, "We demand that the EC acts as a constitutional guardian of democratic values and not as a BJP rubber stamp. We call upon the commission to ensure that fairness, neutrality, and meritocracy are upheld in every aspect of electoral conduct. If the Election Commission chooses to remain silent, it will be complicit in the erosion of democracy."
Deccan Herald
18-06-2025
- Business
- Deccan Herald
Gujarat-based firm chosen by EC for webcasting Kaliaganj bypoll in Bengal, alleges TMC
Senior TMC leader and minister Chandrima Bhattacharya claimed a Gujarat-based company was awarded the tender in a non-transparent manner, not just for the bypoll but also for the entire 2026 West Bengal Assembly elections.
Time of India
18-06-2025
- Politics
- Time of India
Trinamool writes to EC over Gujarat firm being given Kaliganj poll webcast tender
Kolkata: Trinamool Congress has written a letter to Election Commission accusing a Gujarat-based company being given the tender by Election Commission for webcasting in Nadia's Kaliganj polls, urging appropriate steps to review the entire selection process. 'We strongly urge you to take urgent and appropriate steps to review the entire selection process and ensure that all decisions are taken in a manner consistent with the principles of fairness, transparency, and meritocracy. We believe it is critical to address these issues to uphold the sanctity of the electoral process and prevent any erosion of public faith in the system,' Trinamool Congress wrote in the letter to the EC, ahead of the by-polls tomorrow. Kaliganj will go to polls on June 19, along with WB Assembly polls on June 19 and the counting of votes will take place on June 23. The bypolls are being conducted in five assembly constituencies of four state- Gujarat's Kadi and Visavadar, Kerala's Nilambur, Punjab's Ludhiana West, and West Bengal's Kaliganj. by Taboola by Taboola Sponsored Links Sponsored Links Promoted Links Promoted Links You May Like Say Goodbye to Itchy Scalp? Here's What Some People Are Doing Read More Undo 'We have raised concerns over the selection of this company. The tender process was not opaque and it was designed in a way, that Vmukti company can be given the tender,' state minister and senior leader Chandrima Bhattacharya claimed on Wednesday. Trinamool Congress claimed serious objections over 'procedural manipulation and biased intent in the tender process' Live Events Bhattacharya said, 'On 2nd June 2025, the CEO-WB floated a tender for webcasting services for the upcoming bye-election in 80-Kaliganj AC (Nadia) scheduled for 19th June. What should have been a transparent and competitive bidding process has now emerged as a textbook case of contract rigging designed to favour a pre-selected vendor and deliberately eliminate capable, experienced Bengal-based agencies.' 'First, the tender timeline was unusually tight, effectively disqualifying regional, experienced service providers from participating. The schedule appears to be a deliberate rushed and ploy to limit competition, raising serious suspicion of collusion and pre-determined selection,' the party claimed. The party also claimed that there was a high-eligibility criterion that was inserted. 'Bidders were required to have implemented at least one project in the last three years involving a minimum of 100 vehicle-mounted live video streaming units. This clause has never before featured in any CEO-WB tender (2016, 2019, 2021, 2024). No other CEO office across India has included such a condition,' Bhattacharya alleged. Multiple bidders strongly objected during the pre-bid meeting on 4th June 2025, labelling it as a deliberate barrier to competition The party claimed that the evaluation process was manipulated. 'Only three agencies were deemed eligible: Vmukti, iNet Secure Labs, and Brihaspati. We call upon the Commission to ensure fairness and neutrality,' the party leadership said.
The Hindu
17-06-2025
- Health
- The Hindu
West Bengal Assembly passes Bill on ‘transparency' in medical costs in private facilities
The West Bengal Legislative Assembly on Tuesday (June 17, 2025) passed a Bill that aims to regulate the cost of treatment in private clinical establishments in the State, and protect patients from unexpected, inflated charges for healthcare. Also Read | Experts call for regulation and standardisation of private healthcare in India The West Bengal Clinical Establishments (Registration, Regulation, and Transparency) (Amendment) Bill, 2025 was tabled on Monday by the Minister of State for Health and Family Welfare Chandrima Bhattacharya. The Bill amends the West Bengal Clinical Establishments Act, 2017 with the objective to regulate the licensing process of clinical establishments, increase transparency in their functioning, ensure strict adherence to fixed rates and package rates, and mandate electronic medical record-keeping. No hidden charges The Bill states that 'every clinical establishment must strictly follow fixed rates and charges including the package rates for investigation, bed charges, operation theatre procedures'. Under the amended Bill, privately owned medical facilities will also have to provide proper estimates for treatments not covered under fixed or package rates to the patient and their kin during initiation and through the course of treatment. Hospitals have also been mandated to communicate updated charges and the amount due to the patient and their kin every 24 hours. The amended Bill also prohibits final hospital bills from exceeding the estimates by a percentage specified by the State Health Department. Increased surveillance Additionally, the Bill mandates detailed medical record-keeping of patients in the hospital's electronic software via e-prescriptions, and detailed discharge summaries. 'Clinical establishments will maintain such records and other data in the software as may be notified by the State government from time to time and all such records shall be furnished to the State Government electronically and physically, on demand by the Government,' the Bill states. The Opposition raised concerns over women's safety, and confidentiality. During the debate, the Leader of the Opposition (LoP) in the State Assembly Suvendu Adhikari questioned the lack of specific steps or guidelines in the Bill to improve safety for women doctors, nurses, patients, and guards. 'If e-prescription is introduced, will the confidentiality of the patient's personal information be protected?' Mr. Adhikari said. The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) legislator also raised questions over the 'practicality' of the new charges being communicated to the patient within 24 hours. 'Sometimes it takes more than 24 hours for a patient's health test report to come. So, this specific time frame is not realistic,' Mr. Adhikari said. Minister Chandrima Bhattacharya responded to the LoP's allegations, saying that, going forward, private hospitals would be obliged to inform patients about the cost of treatment in a timely manner, and that the Bill had been introduced to regulate the private healthcare sector. Notably, the West Bengal Clinical Establishment Regulatory Commission, conceptualised and announced by Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee in 2017, also oversees treatment infrastructure in private clinical establishments across the State. The President of the Association of Hospitals of Eastern India, Rupak Baruah, said that the Bill was a good initiative to bridge misunderstandings between common people and hospitals, but added that 'medical treatment is a dynamic process that does not always adhere to a fixed system'.
