Mainstream Weekly

The Assam-Mizoram Border Clash | Barun Das Gupta

Barun Das Gupta — 2021-07-30T17:00:22Z

The death of seven Assam policemen in armed clashes with the Mizoram police on July 26 is deplorable. Assam has “border disputes” with Meghalaya, Nagaland and Mizoram for a long time. This time, according to Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma, the clash with the Mizo police ensued when the Assam police tried to prevent the encroachment of land by the Mizos in the reserved forests of the contiguous region of Barak Valley of Assam. The CM said that there was no “politics” in it. The (…)

- 2021

Bengal BJP Is In Deep Crisis Due To Growing Factionalism In Districts - Many More Saffron Legislators May Join Trinamool Congress Very Soon | Barun Das Gupta

Barun Das Gupta — 2021-07-23T17:13:35Z

(India Press Agency: July 19, 2021) The disastrous defeat of the BJP in assembly elections in Bengal has not only demoralized the party workers at all levels but has also intensified factionalism in the organization. The party which dreamed of winning two hundred plus seats and ruling West Bengal is now taking pride in the fact that its strength has risen from three legislators to 77 and that it has now become the only opposition party in the State Assembly. This is for public consumption. (…)

- 2021

Union Cabinet Reshuffle and Its Impact on Bengal BJP | Barun Das Gupta

Barun Das Gupta — 2021-07-09T18:36:26Z

The Union Cabinet was reshuffled on Wednesday. Four new Ministers of State were inducted from West Bengal and two sitting MoS were sacked. But this time also, West Bengal did not a get a cabinet rank minister in Modi's team, though the State had sent a dozen and a half members to Lok Sabha in 2019. The new ministers from West Bengal have obviously been chosen with an eye on 2024 Lok Sabha polls.
The inclusion of John Barla from North Bengal has raised many eyebrows even in the State BJP (…)

- 2021

After the Supercyclone | Barun Das Gupta

Barun Das Gupta — 2021-05-29T13:59:24Z

Supercyclone Yaas made a landfall between Balasore and Paradip on May 26. Under its impact extensive damage to property, public as well as private was caused in both Odisha and the southern part of West Bengal. The Government of West Bengal undertook a massive evacuation of 1.5 million people from the areas which were to bear the main brunt of the storm. The districts most severely affected were Jhargram, West and East Medinipur and South 24-Parganas. Fourteen thousand relief camps were set (…)

- 2021

The West Bengal Arrests: The Politics of Vendetta | Barun Das Gupta

Barun Das Gupta — 2021-05-22T00:35:40Z

The Kolkattans woke up on Monday morning and learnt that two ministers, Firhad Hakim and Subrata Mukherjee, a former minister, Madan Mitra and a former minister and former mayor of Kolkata, Sobhan Chattopadhyaya, had been arrested by the CBI in connexion with the Sting Operation carried out by one Mathew Samuel around 2014 in which some Trinamool Congress leaders were allegedly seen taking bribe. Though law and order is a State subject, the CBI effected the arrests with the help of the CISF, (…)

- 2021

Inside Story: How Himanta Biswa Sarma Became Assam CM | Barun Das Gupta

Barun Das Gupta — 2021-05-14T15:02:01Z

The unanimous election of Himanta Biswa Sarma as the new Chief Minister of Assam had all the elements of a melodrama. First, all the 60 BJP MLAs were called to Delhi and each was asked to write the name of the person whom he wanted to see as chief minister. All sixty legislators named only Himanta. The first part of “Operation Chief Minister” was thus completed in Delhi.
The next act of the melodrama was played in the big hall of the Assam Assembly in Guwahati which was once the office of (…)

- 2021

West Bengal Stops BJP Juggernaut | Barun Das Gupta

Barun Das Gupta — 2021-05-07T22:51:22Z

The Trinamool Congress led by Mamata Banerjee has won hands down in the West Bengal assembly elections and come back to power for the third time in a row. But in the process, the ultra-Right BJP has emerged as the sole opposition. The CPI-M and the Congress drew blank. So, there will be no Left and democratic opposition in the new Assembly. And for the first time since 1946, there will be no Communist member in the House.
The CPI-M is solely responsible for this. In its anger against (…)

- 2021

Mystery of Sitalkuchi Firing - Where is the CCTV Footage? | Barun Das Gupta

Barun Das Gupta — 2021-04-16T19:18:45Z

The CISF fired on people standing in a queue to cast their votes at a booth at Sitalkuchi in Cooch Behar district of West Bengal on April 10. Four people were killed — all of them belonging to the minority community. The CISF story is that about 50 or 60 women had come menacingly toward them and tried to snatch their firearms. It is then that in self-defence they were forced to open fire. The first question is, if it were women who confronted the CISF, why no woman was killed or injured? The (…)

- 2021

Mockery of Democracy | Barun Das Gupta

Barun Das Gupta — 2021-04-02T18:23:10Z

The widespread violence that was witnessed on Thursday, April 1, 2021, the polling day, at the Nandigram constituency, from which Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee is contesting, was anticipated and preventable. Neither the Election Commission nor the Union Home Ministry under which the Central paramilitary forces are, can escape responsibility for it. Mamata was virtually kept detained for over two hours at the Boyal polling booth which she had gone to visit on receipt of reports that the TMC (…)

- 2021

Conquering West Bengal: BJP's Dream Turns Into a Nightmare | Barun Das Gupta

Barun Das Gupta — 2021-03-19T21:28:56Z

BJP's fond dream of “conquering” West Bengal by winning 200 seats (out of a total of 294) as confidently claimed by Amit Shah, is turning into a nightmare. In the Mahabharata we have read the Mushal Parva and the destruction of the Yadu Vansha. The BJP in West Bengal is facing a similar situation. Lacking the human material to run a government and without a chief ministerial face to present to the public, the BJP thought that the best way out is to organize large-scale defections from the (…)

- 2021