JournaBulletin - Local - Week 8

STATE THIS WEEK:

Congress leader Sushmita Dev quits party, shifts to TMC 

Sushmita Dev with Abhishek Banerjee and Derek O'Brien. (Image via: TMC media)

Former Silchar MP Sushmita Dev departed the Congress on Monday to join the Trinamool Congress (TMC), sparking resentment within the main opposition party and perhaps helping Bengal's governing party expand its electoral footprint in the north-east.

Dev was the Congress's national spokesman and the All India Mahila Congress's president. She resigned in a letter dated August 15 to Congress president Sonia Gandhi, although she did not provide any grounds for her departure. 

CPM suspends Ajanta Biswas for 6 months over her articles 

Dr. Ajanta Biswas. (Image via: LinkedIn/Dr. Ajanta Biswas)

The CPI(M) dismissed Ajanta Biswas, the late party leader Anil Biswas's daughter, from its membership for three months on Saturday for publishing a series of articles in the TMC publication Jago Bangla.

In her four-part article, Ajanta discussed prominent women in Bengal politics, including Basanti Devi, Sarojini Naidu, Suniti Devi, and Mamata Banerjee. She wrote extensively on Banerjee's political career and referred to the Singur uprising as "Gana Bikhobh” (mass movement), raising eyebrows. The opinions stated, according to CPM leaders, were not in line with the party position. 

TMC celebrates ‘Khela Hobe Diwas’ across West Bengal 

The Trinamool Congress commemorated ‘Khela Hobe Diwas' across West Bengal on Monday, August 16, with party officials organising football matches in every corner of the state. The festivities are intended to promote sports and to pay tribute to the 16 people who died in a stampede at a football match in Kolkata on this day in 1980.

The TMC's war cry during the high-octane Assembly polls in April-May this year was "Khela Hobe" (will play), as the party beat the BJP to return to power in West Bengal for the third time in a row. 

The University of Calcutta ranked country’s second-best institution in the Shanghai Ranking 

University of Calcutta. (Image via: caluniv.ac.in)

The University of Calcutta (in the 601-700 rank range) trails only the Indian Institute of Science (in the 401-500 rank range) among Indian institutions listed in the 2021 Academic Ranking of World Universities — or the Shanghai Ranking — but is ahead of other top universities in the country and even the Indian Institutes of Technology (IITs). Harvard University has been ranked first in the world.

CBI to probe Bengal post-poll violence 

The Calcutta high court on Thursday ordered a Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) probe into the allegations of post-poll violence in the state. The CBI will investigate claims of murder and rape made immediately after the Trinamool Congress (TMC) defeated the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) in the elections.

According to reports, Calcutta High Court further ordered the formation of a second Special Investigation Team (SIT) comprised of senior officers from the West Bengal cadre to investigate the case. 

Author: 

Vasundhara Tiwari