Kharagpur house of BJP's Dilip Ghosh vandalised by Kurmi outfit

Kharagpur: BJP national vice-president Dilip Ghosh's house in West Bengal's Kharagpur was vandalised on Wednesday allegedly by members of a Kurmi outfit, which has been demanding his apology claiming that he insulted the community.

With flags and placards, members of the Adivasi Kurmi Samaj Purulia Zilla Committee allegedly broke window panes and doors of Ghosh's rented accommodation in the city.

A police team reached the spot a while later, and removed the protesters, officials said.

However, it could not be immediately known if any arrest was made in connection with the incident.

Ghosh, who is in New Delhi at present, alleged that the TMC was behind the vandalism.

"I have supported the Kurmis in their demand for ST status. The TMC is trying to divert attention from the issue by misinterpreting my statements. TMC activists, disguised as Kurmis, attacked my residence," he alleged.

Ghosh made certain unwarranted remarks about the Kurmis when he got stuck due to a demonstration by the community over their demand for ST status. It happened a few days back when the Medinipur MP was on the way to neighbouring Jhargram district, the protesters alleged.

The TMC rejected Ghosh's allegation that its members were involved in the vandalism.

"These are baseless allegations. He should apologise for hurting the sentiments of the Kurmi community," TMC's Paschim Medinipur district leader Ajit Maity said. [PTI]

India needs strong Opposition; Mamata Banerjee should be Prime Minister: Subramanian Swamy

Former Union minister also expresses many hardline Hindutva views and bitterly criticises Congress leaders Rahul Gandhi and Sonia Gandhi

Subramanian Swamy at the interaction in Calcutta on Tuesday.Pradip Sanyal

Writes :Meghdeep Bhattacharyya

BJP leader Subramanian Swamy, known for being an unsparing critic of Narendra Modi, said on Tuesday that he believes Mamata Banerjee ought to be Prime Minister, underscoring the need for a strong Opposition, and lashing out at the “creeping fascism” where the media is browbeaten.

The 83-year-old politician-economist who makes no bones about being a hardliner Hindu nationalist, was in the city for a freewheeling chat in an event organised by Ficci FLO, Calcutta.

“I have lots of friends, across political divides. Mamata Banerjee is one. Yes, I think she should be Prime Minister of India, if you ask me…,” said the former Union minister, forced to pause by loud protests from an audience of 230-odd, largely comprising women, at a hotel in Calcutta.

The event, “Dr. Subramanian Swamy Unplugged”, saw him in conversation with author and journalist Kaveree Bamzai. “I see women protesting against a woman,” laughed a somewhat surprised Swamy.

Despite disapproval from many in the audience, Swamy persisted.

“Gutsy woman… look at how she fought the communists.... Nobody had the guts to stand up to the communists, she did and knocked them out,” he said.

“I am in touch (with Mamata).... I met her about 10 days ago, but nobody knows about it. The conversation was about what 2024 should be, how the economy should be,” he said.

He stressed the importance of the nation having a genuine Opposition — on the sidelines, he said he was sure theBJP would retain power in 2024, but not so sure about Modi remaining Prime Minister and said a lot would be determined by the outcome of Assembly polls in a number of states.

“I do think the country needs a genuine Opposition, which cannot be blackmailed by people in power. She (Mamata) is impossible to blackmail...,” said Swamy.

“But I know a lot of politicians today will not go beyond a point in dealing with the present government, because they are afraid the ED will turn up, the CBI will turn up....,” he said.

He rued the state of media in Modi’s so-called NewIndia.

“Today, the status of our media is pathetic. They are told by one junior joint-secretary of the PMO (Prime Minister’s Office) everyday, why did you publish this, why did you show that… (they threaten to) cut off all the government advertisements. This is what is called creeping fascism,” said Swamy.

During the course of the chat, Swamy also expressed many hardline Hindutva views and bitterly criticised Congress leaders Rahul Gandhi and Sonia Gandhi.

Asked to comment on the Narendra Modi government’s role in handling the recent Adani debacle, he said: “There is only way proper to deal with the Adani issue, and that is by Prime Minister Modi resigning his post.”

“He (Gautam Adani) could not have done anything without Modi’s clearance...,” said Swamy.

Critical of Modi for allegedly hogging credit for the Ram temple in Ayodhya, Swamy said: “He did nothing and took all the credit.”

“This craze for position is not Hindu…. I nowadays compare Modi to Ravan,” he added.

source : Telegraph

North Bengal University, Indian army team up for new research centre to help defence forces

North Bengal University.File photo

Writes : Binita Paul

The North Bengal University here has teamed up with the Indian army to set up a new research centre to help the defence forces.

On Monday, varsity authorities held a meeting with officers of Trishakti Corps, the army headquarters in Sukna on the outskirts of Siliguri, which looks after the north Bengal region and Sikkim that sits on the India-China border, for a “collaborative approach” for the research centre.

“The new facility will be named the North Bengal University Research Centre on Diplomacy and War and will take up research works across different fields in association with the defence forces. The research work and analysis of information will help the army. Furthermore, it would also take up the task to apprise defence personnel aboutthis region which is astrategic area in terms of national security,” said a source at the varsity.

The Siliguri corridor, also known as the chicken’s neck, is the slimmest area of the Indian subcontinent. Here, the width of the country is around 24km, perched between Nepal in the north and Bangladesh in the south, and China and Bhutan nearby.

“This area connects to the entire northeast India and sensitive areas like Doklam and Arunachal Pradesh.... A research centre at the oldest varsity of this region (the NBU was set up in 1962), with a focus on various aspects of the region like demography, political history, geography, flora and fauna can surely help the defence forces with a better understanding of this region,” said a retired army officer.

For the new centre, the varsity has deputed Soumitra Dey, a professor of political science department, as the founder and director of the Centre.Three other faculty members from the Centre for Himalayan Studies, history and political science have been included in the team, said sources.

“It will be a collaborative approach. The varsity will use its resource persons and experts to disseminate more comprehensive information about this region, ranging from the local economy to local cultural practices. The research will be vital, considering the geo-political scenario of north Bengal and Sikkim and international relations with neighbouring countries,” said a senior NBU faculty member.

In recent times, the Indian army has started various activities to hone the skills of its personnel, keeping in mind China’s aggressive overtures.

Last May, the army signed an MoU with Sikkim University for a six-week Tibetology cadre course for an insight into the history, religion, language, culture, politics, demography and geography of Tibet and China. This April, an MoU was signed between Tezpur University of Assam and the army to teach Mandarin to the defence personnel.

source : Telegraph