Mamata sees reds in TV studio, wants probe

May 20, 2012
mamatha_blaze
Kolkata, May 20: Moments after walking off the stage where a discussion hosted by a television channel on Friday evening was being recorded, an angry West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee instructed the police to take photographs of those in the audience who had asked questions which did not go down well with her.

The police, according to unofficial reports on Saturday, have begun enquiries.

The questions that drew Ms. Banerjee's ire were on the increasing attacks on women in the State, the infringement of democratic rights by the authorities, and the police action following the recently circulated e-mail by a Jadavpur professor with graphics directed at her.

“I must tell you that you are CPI(M) cadres, Maoist cadres … I cannot reply to CPI(M) questions,” Ms. Banerjee furiously responded before walking out in a huff from the interactive programme organised by CNN-IBN with the channel's deputy editor, Sagarika Ghose, as the moderator.

Shouting

The Chief Minister shouted and pointed fingers at the students of Jadavpur University and Presidency University present in the audience and told them to go back to the jungles as they were Maoists. “The students are only asking Maoist questions and the CPI(M) questions,” she complained as Ms. Ghose sought her answer to the issues raised. “They are the Maoist students.”

When Ms. Ghose tried to pacify her by saying that those in the audience were indeed university students, Ms. Banerjee said, “So what … they are only selected for Maoist activities.”

“I am shocked and horrified by what happened on Friday. For a Chief Minister who keeps screaming democracy, this is not expected of her,” a participant in the aborted TV programme told The Hindu, requesting anonymity for fear of retribution by the police.

Two days before her government completes its first year in office, Ms. Banerjee's response to the studio audience has given fresh ammunition to those who accuse her of running an intolerant administration.

Comments

Add new comment

  • Coastaldigest.com reserves the right to delete or block any comments.
  • Coastaldigset.com is not responsible for its readers’ comments.
  • Comments that are abusive, incendiary or irrelevant are strictly prohibited.
  • Please use a genuine email ID and provide your name to avoid reject.
Agencies
July 31,2020

Thiruvananthapuram, Jul 31: People offered Eid-al-Adha namaz while ensuring social distancing norms at mosques in Thiruvananthapuram and Mallapuram on Friday.

Kerala Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan had on Thursday announced that the Eid-al-Adha prayers can be offered in mosques of the state on Friday with a limited number of people due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

Kerala is celebrating the festival of Eid-al-Adha on Friday.

Eid al-Adha or Bakrid, also known as "Sacrifice Feast" is marked by sacrificing an animal, usually a sheep or a goat to prove their devotion and love for Allah. Post the sacrifice, devotees distribute the offering to family, friends, neighbours and especially to the poor and the needy. 

Comments

Add new comment

  • Coastaldigest.com reserves the right to delete or block any comments.
  • Coastaldigset.com is not responsible for its readers’ comments.
  • Comments that are abusive, incendiary or irrelevant are strictly prohibited.
  • Please use a genuine email ID and provide your name to avoid reject.
News Network
April 11,2020

Thiruvananthapuram, Apr 11: The effective handling of Covid-19 pandemic by the Kerala Government has received a big endorsement in the International media with the latest being a report in Washington Post which suggests that the State’s success could prove instructive to the entire country.

The Washington Post quoted Kerala Health Minister K K Shailaja Teacher as saying “We hoped for the best but planned for the worst. Now, the curve has flattened, but we cannot predict what will happen next week.”

"The Minister said six states had reached out to Kerala for advice. She, however, noted that it might not be easy to replicate Kerala’s lessons elsewhere," according to the Minister's office quoting the report here on Saturday.

Comments

Add new comment

  • Coastaldigest.com reserves the right to delete or block any comments.
  • Coastaldigset.com is not responsible for its readers’ comments.
  • Comments that are abusive, incendiary or irrelevant are strictly prohibited.
  • Please use a genuine email ID and provide your name to avoid reject.
Agencies
July 28,2020

New Delhi, Jul 28: India on Wednesday reported 47,704 more COVID-19 cases in the last 24 hours, taking the country's count of coronavirus cases to 14,83,157, informed the Union Ministry of Health and Family Welfare.

Out of the total cases, there are 4,96,988 active cases in the country while the number of patients cured/discharged and migrated stands at 9,52,744.

With 654 deaths due to COVID-19 in the country reported in the last 24 hours, the death toll rises to 33,425.

The recovery rate among COVID-19 patients has increased to 64.23 per cent. The recoveries to deaths ratio is 96.6 per cent:3.4 per cent, informed the Centre.

As per the data provided by the Ministry, Maharashtra continues to be the worst-affected state from the infection with 1,48,905 active cases and 13,656 deaths due to COVID-19. Tamil Nadu has a total of 53,703 active cases and 3,494 deaths.

Delhi has a total of 11,904 active cases and 3,827 deaths.

The Health Ministry further informed that more than 5 lakh COVID-19 tests were conducted in a single day over two consecutive days. On 26th July, India tested a total of 5,15,000 samples and on 27th July, a total of 5,28,000 samples were tested.

The total number of COVID-19 samples tested up to July 27 is 1,73,34,885 including 5,28,082 samples tested yesterday, said the Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR).

Comments

Add new comment

  • Coastaldigest.com reserves the right to delete or block any comments.
  • Coastaldigset.com is not responsible for its readers’ comments.
  • Comments that are abusive, incendiary or irrelevant are strictly prohibited.
  • Please use a genuine email ID and provide your name to avoid reject.