Mamata Banerjee

Mamata Banerjee (Bengali: Bengali pronunciation: [mɔmota bɔndoˈpaddʱˈae̯] (Mamata Bandhopadhyaya) born 5 January 1955[3]) is an Indian politician who is serving as the 8th and current Chief Minister of West Bengal since 2011 being the first woman to hold the office. She founded the party All India Trinamool Congress (AITC or TMC) in 1998 after separating from the Indian National Congress, and became its chairperson.[4] She is often referred to as Didi (meaning: elder sister in Hindi and Bengali).[5][6]

Mamata Banerjee
8th Chief Minister of West Bengal
Assumed office
20 May 2011
GovernorM. K. Narayanan
D. Y. Patil
Keshari Nath Tripathi
Jagdeep Dhankhar[1]
Preceded byBuddhadeb Bhattacharjee
Member of West Bengal Legislative Assembly
Assumed office
16 November 2011
Preceded bySubrata Bakshi
ConstituencyBhabanipur
Chairperson of the All India Trinamool Congress
Assumed office
1 January 1998
Preceded byOffice established
Minister of Railways
In office
22 May 2009 – 19 May 2011
Prime MinisterManmohan Singh
Preceded byLalu Prasad Yadav
Succeeded byDinesh Trivedi
In office
13 October 1999 – 15 March 2001
Prime MinisterAtal Bihari Vajpayee
Preceded byRam Naik
Succeeded byNitish Kumar
Member of Parliament, Lok Sabha
In office
1991–2011
Preceded byBiplab Dasgupta
Succeeded bySubrata Bakshi
ConstituencyKolkata Dakshin
In office
1984–1989
Preceded bySomnath Chatterjee
Succeeded byMalini Bhattacharya
ConstituencyJadavpur, West Bengal
Personal details
Born (1955-01-05) 5 January 1955[2]
Kolkata, West Bengal, India
Political partyAll India Trinamool Congress (1998–present)
Other political
affiliations		Indian National Congress (until 1998)
ResidenceKolkata, West Bengal, India
Alma materUniversity of Calcutta (BA, MA, B.Ed, LLB)
Signature
WebsiteAITC official

Banerjee has previously served twice as the Minister of Railways, the first woman to do so.[7] She is also the first female Minister of Coal, and Minister of State for Human Resource Development, Youth Affairs, Sports, Women and Child Development in the cabinet of the Indian government.[8] She rose to prominence after opposing the erstwhile land acquisition policies for industrialisation of the Communist government in West Bengal for Special Economic Zones at the cost of agriculturalists and farmers at Singur.[9] In 2011 Banerjee pulled off a landslide victory for the AITC alliance in West Bengal, defeating the 34-year-old Communist Party of India (Marxist)-led Left Front government, the world's longest-serving democratically elected communist government in the process.[10][11][12]

Early life and education

Banerjee was born in Kolkata (formerly called Calcutta) West Bengal to a Bengali Hindu family.[13][14] Her parents were Promileswar Banerjee and Gayetri Devi.[15] Banerjee's father, Promileswar died due to lack of medical treatment, when she was 17.[16] She identifies herself as a Hindu.[17]

In 1970, Banerjee completed the higher secondary board examination from Deshbandhu Sishu Sikshalay.[16] She did her Bachelor's in History from the Jogamaya Devi College.[18][19] Later she earned her master's degree in Islamic history[20] from the University of Calcutta. This was followed by a degree in Education from the Shri Shikshayatan College and a Law degree from the Jogesh Chandra Chaudhuri Law College, Kolkata.[21] She also received an honorary doctorate from Kalinga Institute of Industrial Technology, Bhubaneswar.[22] She was also honoured with a Doctorate of Literature (D.Litt.) degree by the Calcutta University.[23]

Banerjee became involved with politics when she was only 15. While studying at the Jogamaya Devi College she established Chhatra Parishad Unions, the student's wing of the Congress (I) Party, defeating the All India Democratic Students Organisation affiliated with the Socialist Unity Centre of India (Communist).[16] She continued in Congress (I) Party in West Bengal serving a variety of positions within the party and in other local political organisations.

Early political career, 1984–2011

Political career with Congress
Banerjee assumes the charge of the Minister for Coal and Mines in New Delhi on 9 January 2004
Mamata Banerjee at Ramakrishna Mission Vivekananda Centre for Human Excellence and Social Sciences, Rajarhat, New Town, Kolkata

Banerjee began her political career in the Congress party as a young woman in the 1970s She quickly rose in the ranks of the local Congress group, and remained the general secretary of Mahila Congress (I), West Bengal, from 1976 to 1980.[24] In the 1984 general election, Banerjee became one of India's youngest parliamentarians ever,[25] defeating veteran Communist politician Somnath Chatterjee, to win the Jadavpur parliamentary Constituency in West Bengal. She also became the general secretary of the Indian Youth Congress. Losing her seat in the 1989 general elections in an anti-Congress wave, she was re-elected in the 1991 general elections, having settled into the Calcutta South constituency. She retained the Kolkata South seat in the 1996, 1998, 1999, 2004 and 2009 general elections.[26]

Banerjee was appointed the Union Minister of State for Human Resources Development, Youth Affairs and Sports, and Women and Child Development in 1991 by prime minister P. V. Narasimha Rao. As the sports minister, she announced that she would resign, and protested in a rally at the Brigade Parade Ground in Kolkata, against the Government's indifference towards her proposal to improve sports in the country.[27] She was discharged of her portfolios in 1993. In April 1996, she alleged that Congress was behaving as a stooge of the CPI-M in West Bengal. She claimed that she was the lone voice of reason and wanted a "clean Congress".[28]

Founding Trinamool Congress
Mamata Banerjee speaking to the elected members and party workers at Bongaon stadium after the West Bengal panchayat elections.

In 1997, Banerjee left the Congress Party in West Bengal and became one of the founding members of the All India Trinamool Congress along with Mukul Roy. It quickly became the primary opposition party to the long-standing Communist government in the state. On 11 December 1998, she controversially held a Samajwadi Party MP, Daroga Prasad Saroj, by the collar and dragged him out of the well of the Lok Sabha to prevent him from protesting against the Women's Reservation Bill.[29]

In 1999, she joined the BJP-led National Democratic Alliance (NDA) government and was allocated the Railways Ministry.[26]

Railway Minister (first tenure)

In 2000, Banerjee presented her first Railway Budget. In it she fulfilled many of her promises to her home state West Bengal.[30] She introduced a new biweekly New Delhi-Sealdah Rajdhani Express train and four express trains connecting various parts of West Bengal, namely the Howrah-Purulia Rupasi Bangla Express, Sealdah-New Jalpaiguri Padatik Express, Shalimar-Adra Aranyak Express, Sealdah-Ajmer Ananya Superfast Express and the Sealdah-Amritsar Akal Takht Superfast Express.[30] She also increased the frequency of the Pune-Howrah Azad Hind Express and the extension of at least three express train services. Work on the Digha-Howrah Express service was also hastened during her brief tenure.[31]

She also focused on developing tourism, enabling the Darjeeling Himalayan Railway section to obtain two additional locomotives and proposing the Indian Railway Catering and Tourism Corporation Limited. She also commented that India should play a pivotal role in the Trans-Asian Railway and that rail links between Bangladesh and Nepal would be reintroduced. In all, she introduced 19 new trains for the 2000–2001 fiscal year.[31]

In 2000, she and Ajit Kumar Panja resigned to protest the hike in petroleum prices,[32] and then withdrew their resignations without providing any reasons.[33]

Alliance with NDA

In early 2001, after Tehelka's exposure of Operation West End,[34] Banerjee walked out of the NDA cabinet and allied with the Congress Party for West Bengal's 2001 elections, to protest the corruption charges levelled by the website against senior ministers of the government.[35]

She returned to the NDA government in January 2004, and held the Coal and Mines portfolios till the Indian general election of 20 May 2004, in which she was the only Trinamool Congress member to win a Parliamentary seat from West Bengal.[26]

On 20 October 2005, she protested against the forceful land acquisition and the atrocities perpetrated against local farmers in the name of the industrial development policy of the Buddhadeb Bhattacharjee government in West Bengal. Benny Santoso, CEO of the Indonesia-based Salim Group had pledged a large investment in West Bengal, and the West Bengal government had given him farmland in Howrah, sparking protests. In soaking rain, Banerjee and other Trinamool Congress members stood in front of the Taj Hotel where Santoso had arrived, shut out by the police. Later, she and her supporters followed Santoso's convoy. A planned "black flag" protest was avoided, when the government had Santoso arrive three hours ahead of schedule.[36][37]

Banerjee suffered further setbacks in 2005 when her party lost control of the Kolkata Municipal Corporation and the sitting mayor defected from her party. In 2006, the Trinamool Congress was defeated in West Bengal's Assembly Elections, losing more than half of its sitting members.

On 4 August 2006, Banerjee hurled her resignation papers at the deputy speaker Charanjit Singh Atwal in Lok Sabha. She was provoked by Speaker Somnath Chatterjee's rejection of her adjournment motion on illegal infiltration by Bangladeshis in West Bengal[38][39][40] on the grounds that it was not in the proper format.[41][42]

In November 2006, Banerjee was forcibly stopped on her way to Singur for a rally against a proposed Tata Motors car project. Banerjee reached the West Bengal assembly and protested at the venue. She addressed a press conference at the assembly and announced a 12-hour shutdown by her party on Friday.[43] The Trinamool Congress MLAs protested by damaging furniture and microphones in the West Bengal Assembly.[43][44] A major strike was called on 14 December 2006.

Mamata Banerjee, Chief Minister Government of West Bengal speaking at an event in London.

Alliance with UPA

Before the 2009 parliamentary elections she forged an alliance with the United Progressive Alliance (UPA) led by Indian National Congress. The alliance won 26 seats. Banerjee joined the central cabinet as the railway minister (second tenure). In the 2010 Municipal Elections in West Bengal, TMC won Kolkata Municipal Corporation by a margin of 62 seats. TMC also won Bidhan Nagar Corporation by a seven-seat margin.[45] In 2011, Banerjee won a sweeping majority and assumed the position of chief minister of the state of West Bengal. Her party ended the 34-year rule of the Left Front.

TMC threatened to withdraw support from UPA in protest at the government's decision to allow foreign direct investment (FDI) in retail markets, and also against a hike of petrol diesel prices and gave a deadline of 72 hours to withdraw the reforms. On 18 September 2012, Banarjee declared her party had withdrawn support from the UPA and ran independently. The TMC's minister submitted her resignation on 21 September 2012.

Nandigram protests
Main article: Nandigram violence

The Nandigram violence was an incident in Nandigram, West Bengal where, a battalion of armed police stormed the rural area in the district of Purba Medinipur with the aim of quashing protests against the West Bengal government's plans to expropriate 10,000 acres (40 km2) of land for a Special Economic Zone (SEZ) to be developed by the Indonesian-based Salim Group. At least 14 villagers were shot dead and 70 more were wounded. This led to a large number of intellectuals to protest on the streets..[46][47][48]

Banerjee wrote letters to Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and Union Home Minister Shivraj Patil to stop what she called "state sponsored violence" promoted by CPI(M) in Nandigram. Her political activism during the movement is widely believed to be one of the contributing causes to her landslide victory in 2011.

The CBI report on the incident clearly vindicated CPI(M)'s stand that Buddhadeb did not order the police to open fire. They did so only to disperse the unlawful assembly after every other standard operating procedure had failed.[49][50]

2009 Indian election

Trinamool Congress performed well in the 2009 parliamentary election, winning 19 seats. Its allies in congress and SUCI also won six and one seat respectively marking the best performance by any opposition party in West Bengal since the beginning of the Left's regime. Until then, the Congress victory of 16 seats in 1984, was considered their best show in opposition.

Railway Minister (second tenure)

In 2009, Mamata Banerjee became the railway minister for the second time. Her focus was again on West Bengal.[51]

She led Indian Railways to introduce a number of non-stop Duronto Express trains connecting large cities[52] as well as a number of other passenger trains,[53] including women-only trains.[54][55][56] The Anantnag-Qadigund segment of the Jammu–Baramulla line that had been in the making since 1994[57] was inaugurated during her tenure.[58] She also declared the 25 km (16 mi) long line-1 of the Kolkata Metro as an independent zone of the Indian Railways[59] for which she was criticised.[60]

She stepped down as railway minister to become the chief minister of West Bengal. She commented: "The way I am leaving the railways behind, it will run well. Don’t worry, my successor will get all my support."[61] Her nominee from her party, Dinesh Trivedi, succeeded her as railway minister.

Banerjee's tenure as railway minister was subsequently questioned as most of the big-ticket announcements made by her when she held the post, saw little or no progress.[62] Reuters reported that "Her two-year record as railway minister has been heavily criticized for running the network into more debt to pay for populist measures such as more passenger trains."[63] The Indian Railways became loss-making during her two-year tenure.[64]

Chief Minister of West Bengal

First term, 2011–16
Mamata Banerjee, Chief Minister Government of West Bengal shown at an event in London on 27 July 2015.

In 2011, the All India Trinamool Congress along with SUCI and the INC won the West Bengal legislative assembly election against the incumbent Left Alliance by securing 227 seats. TMC won 184 seats with the INC winning 42 seats and the SUCI secured one seat. This marked the end of the longest ruling democratically elected Communist party in the world.

Banerjee was sworn in as chief minister of West Bengal on 20 May 2011. As the first female chief minister of West Bengal, one of her first decisions was to return 400 acres of land to Singur farmers. "The cabinet has decided to return 400 acres to unwilling farmers in Singur," the chief minister said. "I have instructed the department to prepare the papers for this. If Tata-babu (Ratan Tata) wants, he can set up his factory on the remaining 600 acres, otherwise we will see how to go about it."[65]

She has also been credited for setting up of the Gorkhaland Territorial Administration.[66]

She began various reforms in the education and health sectors. Some of the reforms in the education sector included the release of teachers' monthly pay on the first of every month[67][68] and quicker pensions for retiring teachers.[69] In the health sector Banerjee promised: "A three-phase developmental system will be taken up to improve the heath infrastructure and service."[70] On 30 April 2015, a representative of UNICEF India congratulated the government for making Nadia the first Open Defecation Free district in the country.[71] In a statement on 17 October 2012, Banerjee attributed the increasing incidence of rape in the country to "more free interaction between men and women". She said that "Earlier if men and women would hold hands, they would get caught by parents and reprimanded but now everything is so open. It’s like an open market with open options." She was criticised in the national media for these statements.[72]

She was also instrumental in the rollback of the petrol price hikes[73] and the suspension of FDI in the retail sector until a consensus is evolved.[74] In a bid to improve the law and enforcement situation in West Bengal, police commissionerates were created at Howrah, Barrackpore, Durgapur-Asansol and Bidhannagar. The total area of Kolkata Municipal Corporation has been brought under the control of the Kolkata Police.

Banerjee had shown a keen interest in making the public aware of the state's history and culture. She named several stations of the Kolkata Metro after freedom fighters,[75] and plans on naming upcoming stations after religious leaders, poets, singers and the like.[76] Mamata Banerjee has been criticised for starting controversial stipends to imams (Iman Bhatta)[77][78][79] which was ruled unconstitutional by Calcutta High Court.[80][81][82]

Priti Patel, Minister for Employment and UK Indian Diaspora Champion meeting Mamata Banerjee, Chief Minister Government of West Bengal in London.

On 16 February 2012, Bill Gates, of the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, sent a letter to the West Bengal government praising Banerjee and her administration for achieving a full year without any reported cases of polio. The letter said this was not only a milestone for India but also for the whole world.[83]

In June 2012, she launched a Facebook page to rally and gather public support for A.P.J Abdul Kalam, her party's choice for the presidential elections.[84] After he refused to stand for the second time, she supported Pranab Mukherjee for the post, after a long tussle over the issue, commenting she was personally a "great fan" of Mukherjee and wishing that he "grows from strength to strength".[85]

She is against calling bandhs (work stoppage) although actively supported them when she was in opposition.[86]

Her tenure was also heavily marred by the Saradha Scam - a financial embezzlement which led to the imprisonment of Madan Mitra - a former minister in her cabinet, Kunal Ghosh-a party MP, and rigorous grilling of several party men holding important posts.

Second term, 2016–present
Main article: 2016 West Bengal Legislative Assembly election

2016 West Bengal Legislative Assembly election was held for 294 seats (out of 295 seats) of the Vidhan Sabha in the state of West Bengal in India. All India Trinamool Congress won the elections with a landslide two-third majority under Mamata Banerjee winning 211 seats out of total 293,[87] who has been elected as Chief Minister West Bengal for the second term.[88] All India Trinamool Congress won with an enhanced majority contesting alone and became the first ruling party to win without an ally since 1962 in West Bengal.

Controversies and criticisms

Saradha scam
Main article: Saradha Group financial scandal

The Saradha Group financial scandal and the Rose Valley financial scandal came to light during her tenure and some of her cabinet ministers were accused of money laundering and have been incarcerated.[89] One of her paintings was also sold to Sudipto Sen (central figure in the Saradha scam) for ₹1.8crore, while 20 more of her pictures were seized from other Saradha Group shareholders.[90][91][92][93][94] She has been criticised by opposition parties for not taking adequate steps against her own ministers who tried to cover-up their deeds.[95][96]

Rose Valley scam
Main article: Rose Valley financial scandal

The Rose Valley financial scandal was a major financial scam and alleged political scandal in India caused by the collapse of a Ponzi scheme run by Rose Valley Group where multiple MPs from Banerjee's party was accused of money laundering.[97][98][99]

Narada scam
Main article: Narada sting operation

The Narada sting operation was carried out by Mathew Samuel in 2011 for the Indian newsmagazine Tehelka and published on Naradanews.com just before the 2016 West Bengal Assembly elections. The sting targeted high-ranking officials and politicians of Banerjee's political party All India Trinamool Congress (AITC).[100][101]

During her tenure she challenged the federal system of India when she ordered the arrest of CBI officials, who arrived in Kolkata to investigate the Saradha Group financial scandal.[102]

Allegations of Muslim appeasement

Iman Bhatta Controversy

Mamata Banerjee has been criticised for starting controversial stipends to imams (Iman Bhatta).[103][104][105] which was ruled unconstitutional by Calcutta High Court and ordered the West Bengal government to stop payment of a monthly stipend to thousands of imams and muezzins in the state.[106][107][108]

Durga Idol Immersion Controversy

In October 2016, the West Bengal government banned the Durga Puja festival immersion after 4:00 pm. Durga Puja was to take place on 12 October and Muharram on 13 October. This was seen by a section of the West Bengal population as another example of the "Muslim Appeasement" policy of Banerjee's government. The Calcutta High Court overturned the decision and called it "a bid to appease minorities".[109][110][111]

Suppressed Campus Democracy and Youth Agitations

According to Mayukh Biswas, a leftist student leader, Mamata Banerjee denied permission for Anti-CAA rallies and badly suppressed campus democracy in West Bengal.[112][113][114][115]

COVID19 mismanagement
Further information: 2020 Tablighi Jamaat coronavirus hotspot in Delhi

Banerjee and her government was widely criticised of the handling of the Coronavirus pandemic and was accused of concealing facts by the opposition, critics[116][117][118] and many doctors.[119]

The opposition accused Mamata of playing “appeasement politics” amid the Covid-19 crisis. On 1 April, Banerjee claimed that the West Bengal Government have already traced 54 people who attended the Tablighi Jamaat religious gathering during the COVID19 Outbreak, and 44 of them are foreigners. Although according to a report by central security agencies, 232 people had attended the Delhi's Tablighi Jamaat event from West Bengal. Of this, 123 are Indian nationals and 109 are foreigners.[120][118]

The West Bengal Government has been also criticised for not sending enough samples to the National Institute of Cholera and Enteric Diseases(NICED) for testing.[121][122][123] The government later banned use of cellphones in hospitals.[124]

Personal life and Recognitions

Throughout her political life, Banerjee has maintained a publicly austere lifestyle, dressing in simple traditional Bengali clothes and avoiding luxuries.[125][126] In an interview in April 2019, Prime minister Narendra Modi claimed that despite their political differences, Banerjee sends her own selected kurtas and sweets to him every year.[127]

Banerjee is a self-taught painter and a poet.[128][129] Her 300 paintings were sold for ₹9crore (₹90 million, £990,000 or US$1,350,000).[130]

In 2012, Time magazine named her as one of the 100 Most Influential People in the World.[131] Bloomberg Markets magazine listed her among the 50 most influential people in the world of finance in September 2012.[132] In 2018, she was conferred the Skoch Chief Minister of the Year Award.[133]

Baghini, a Bengali film, based on her life, was released on 24 May 2019.[134][135][136][137][138]

gollark: ++execute_protocol_epsilon
gollark: ++execute_protocol_epsilon
gollark: ++exec```python3print("hello")```
gollark: Why does it randomly type *afterward*?!
gollark: ++exec```python3print("hello")```

See also

References
  1. "Jagdeep Dhankar To Be Sworn In As New West Bengal Governor On July 30". NDTV. 26 July 2019.
  2. "Mamata Banerjee's Biodata in Lok Sabha's Document". loksabha.nic.in. Archived from the original on 25 May 2012.
  3. "CM Mamata reveals her true age; says she is 5 years younger". OneIndia. Archived from the original on 27 December 2013.
  4. Kohari, Alizeh (20 May 2011). "Mamata Banerjee sworn in as West Bengal chief minister". BBC News. Archived from the original on 20 May 2011.
  5. "Mamata Banerjee's hard-hitting poem targets PM Modi's demonetisation decision, but fails to woo Netizens". The Indian Express. 12 November 2016. Archived from the original on 7 October 2017. Retrieved 7 October 2017.
  6. "The 1.8 crore question: Is Mamata Banerjee India's most underrated artist?". Firstpost. 17 October 2014. Archived from the original on 7 October 2017. Retrieved 7 October 2017.
  7. "The Tribune, Chandigarh, India – R A I L W A Y B U D G E T". The Tribune. 26 February 2000. Archived from the original on 26 October 2012. Retrieved 16 October 2012.
  8. "Detailed Profile = Km. Mamata Banerjee". Government of India. Archived from the original on 26 August 2010. Retrieved 11 August 2010.
  9. Yardley, Jim (14 January 2011). "The Eye of an Indian Hurricane, Eager to Topple a Political Establishment". The New York Times. Archived from the original on 13 January 2012. Retrieved 14 January 2011.
  10. "India: Mamata Banerjee routs communists in West Bengal". BBC News. 13 May 2011. Archived from the original on 13 May 2011. Retrieved 14 May 2011.
  11. "Indian state election expected to end Kolkata's 34-year communist rule". The Guardian. UK. 18 April 2011. Archived from the original on 31 December 2013. Retrieved 18 April 2011.
  12. "The woman taking on India's communists". BBC World News. 15 April 2011. Archived from the original on 15 April 2011. Retrieved 15 April 2011.
  13. kheya bag. "Kheya Bag: Red Bengal's Rise and Fall". New Left Review. Archived from the original on 30 March 2013. Retrieved 16 October 2012.
  14. "Political Eclipse of Once Formidable Brahmins". Archived from the original on 7 May 2016. Retrieved 7 July 2016.
  15. "Mamata's 5 years younger". Archived from the original on 7 March 2012. Retrieved 29 February 2012.
  16. "A Fire-Dweller At The Kiln". Outlook India. 5 November 2012. Archived from the original on 16 November 2018. Retrieved 5 February 2019.
  17. "Watch: Nusrat's Muslim, I am Hindu but we are exactly alike except she's beautiful and I am not, says Mamata". DNA. 12 May 2019. Retrieved 8 June 2019.
  18. "History of the College". Jogamayadevicollege.org. Archived from the original on 26 July 2011. Retrieved 13 May 2011.
  19. "Hindustan Times - Archive News". Hindustan Times. Archived from the original on 25 April 2011. Retrieved 22 October 2019.
  20. "15 facts about Mamata Banerjee that you probably don't know - 15 facts about Mamata Banerjee that you probably didn't know". The Economic Times. Archived from the original on 26 June 2017. Retrieved 19 April 2019.
  21. "Parliament of India-Biodata". Archived from the original on 26 July 2010.
  22. "Odisha varsity to confer doctorate on Mamata | Kolkata News - Times of India". The Times of India. Retrieved 22 October 2019.
  23. "Mamata Banerjee receives D Litt degree, says intolerance is rising in the country". The Indian Express. 11 January 2018. Archived from the original on 30 April 2019. Retrieved 30 April 2019.
  24. "Mamta Banerjee Profile". incredible-people.com. Archived from the original on 14 July 2012.
  25. "Only Mamata Banerjee could defeat Somnath Chatterjee". Prabhash K Dutta. India Today. 13 August 2018. Retrieved 24 March 2020.
  26. "Mamata, the street-fighting politician and Left nemesis". India Today. 13 May 2011. Archived from the original on 18 May 2011.
  27. "Mamata mum on relations with BJP". 6 January 2003. Archived from the original on 10 January 2007. Retrieved 2 December 2006.
  28. "Trinamool Congress chief Mamata Banerjee biography". India Today. 12 May 2011. Archived from the original on 26 December 2014. Retrieved 26 December 2014.
  29. "National Events in December 1998". The Hindu. India. Archived from the original on 24 April 2011. Retrieved 12 November 2007.
  30. "New trains for West Bengal". The Tribune. India. 26 February 2000. Archived from the original on 30 September 2007. Retrieved 12 November 2007.
  31. "Railways to focus on tourism, trans-Asian role, hardselling freight services". Rediff.com. 25 February 2000. Archived from the original on 28 January 2005. Retrieved 12 November 2007.
  32. "PETROL IGNITES MAMATA RESIGNATION". The Telegraph (Calcutta). Calcutta, India. 1 October 2000. Archived from the original on 27 November 2013. Retrieved 24 February 2012.
  33. Gupta, Subhrangshu (9 October 2000). "Mamata's antics invite criticism". Tribune India. Archived from the original on 19 March 2012. Retrieved 24 February 2012.
  34. "Sting on a shoestring". The Guardian. Archived from the original on 12 January 2016. Retrieved 23 December 2014.
  35. "West Bengal: Elections 2001 Countdown". Outlook India. 3 May 2001. Archived from the original on 7 December 2013. Retrieved 24 February 2012.
  36. "Weather plays spoilsport for TMC". 21 October 2005. Archived from the original on 18 February 2007. Retrieved 2 December 2006.
  37. "Missing on bandh day: its champions – Mamata stays indoors, Cong scarce". The Telegraph. Calcutta. 10 October 2006. Archived from the original on 30 September 2007. Retrieved 2 December 2006.
  38. "Mamata Banerjee cartoons - itimes". 26 February 2013. Archived from the original on 7 August 2016. Retrieved 7 July 2016.
  39. "Trinamool Congress chief Mamata Banerjee biography". Archived from the original on 6 August 2016. Retrieved 7 July 2016.
  40. "The Tribune, Chandigarh, India - Opinions". Archived from the original on 7 March 2016. Retrieved 7 July 2016.
  41. "Mamata Banerjee's unending tantrums". The Hindu. Chennai, India. 8 August 2005. Archived from the original on 20 March 2007. Retrieved 2 December 2006.
  42. "Mamata casts shame at House Paper throw at Speaker". The Telegraph. Calcutta, India. 4 August 2005. Archived from the original on 22 August 2007. Retrieved 2 December 2006.
  43. "Trinamool unleashes violence in W Bengal". 30 November 2006. Archived from the original on 30 September 2007. Retrieved 2 December 2006.
  44. "Heritage vandalised in Bengal House". The Times of India. 2 December 2006. Archived from the original on 3 November 2012. Retrieved 2 December 2006.
  45. Singh, Raj (20 April 2014). "Who is Mamata Banerjee?". India TV. Archived from the original on 9 January 2015. Retrieved 24 December 2014.
  46. "Nandigram people's struggle "heroic": Clark". One India. Archived from the original on 17 February 2012.
  47. Kirschbaum, Stevan. "Nandigram says 'No!' to Dow's chemical hub". International Action Center. Archived from the original on 6 July 2009.
  48. "The Great Left Debate: Chomsky to Saddam, Iraq to Nandigram". The Indian Express. India. 5 December 2007. Archived from the original on 16 April 2008.
  49. Sen, Saibal (31 January 2014). "Nandigram firing: Full text of CBI's Nandigram chargesheet". The Times of India. Archived from the original on 1 February 2014. Retrieved 17 March 2014.
  50. "Red-hand Buddha: 14 killed in Nandigram re-entry bid". The Telegraph. Calcutta, India. 15 March 2007. Archived from the original on 17 March 2007. Retrieved 15 March 2007.
  51. "Mamata gifts new projects to north Bengal". The Hindu. Chennai, India. 29 January 2011. Archived from the original on 6 December 2013. Retrieved 24 February 2012.
  52. "mamata-flags-off-sealdah-new-delhi-duronto-express". Armoks News. Archived from the original on 14 October 2009. Retrieved 16 October 2009.
  53. Chatterji, Saubhadro (4 February 2010). "Mamata Banerjee to start 19 new trains on 7 February". Business Standard. Archived from the original on 3 March 2012. Retrieved 4 February 2010.
  54. "A New Way to Commute: Women-Only Trains in India". Marie Claire. 27 January 2010. Archived from the original on 28 January 2010. Retrieved 27 January 2010.
  55. "Ladies Special Rolls Out". Express India. Archived from the original on 10 October 2012. Retrieved 16 October 2009.
  56. "New CST Panvel Ladies Special". Bombay-Local. Archived from the original on 29 October 2009. Retrieved 16 October 2009.
  57. Arun Sharma (10 October 1998). "Destination nowhere". The Indian Express. Archived from the original on 18 March 2012. Retrieved 14 August 2008.
  58. "Prime Minister dedicates Anantnag-Quazigund rail line in Kashmir to nation". Press Release, Press Information Bureau, Government of India. 28 October 2009. Archived from the original on 12 January 2016. Retrieved 2 December 2009.
  59. "Kolkata Metro gets railway zone status". The Hindu. Chennai, India. 30 December 2010. Archived from the original on 29 September 2011. Retrieved 24 February 2012.
  60. "Rail budget: Parliament uproar over Kolkata metro plan". Asian Age. 25 February 2011. Archived from the original on 24 March 2011. Retrieved 24 February 2012.
  61. "Job done, successor only has to monitor". The Telegraph. Calcutta, India. 18 May 2011. Archived from the original on 27 November 2013. Retrieved 24 February 2012.
  62. "Mamata's big rail plans of 2011–12 still stuck on performance track". Archived from the original on 7 July 2012. Retrieved 13 March 2012.
  63. Scrutton, Alistair (12 May 2011). "SPECIAL REPORT – "Big Sister" Mamata set to evict Left from Kolkata". Reuters. Archived from the original on 3 March 2012. Retrieved 24 February 2012.
  64. "Why Indian Railways is incurring losses under Mamata". Rediff.com. 28 January 2011. Archived from the original on 20 January 2012. Retrieved 24 February 2012.
  65. "Singur Land Given Back". The Times of India. Archived from the original on 8 January 2014. Retrieved 30 June 2013.
  66. "Gorkhaland Autonomous Council". The Times of India. 19 July 2011. Archived from the original on 8 January 2014. Retrieved 30 June 2013.
  67. "College teachers to get salary by the first of every month". The Hindu. Chennai, India. 4 June 2011. Archived from the original on 25 August 2011.
  68. "Mamata effect: Salaries on first day of the month". Archived from the original on 21 July 2012.
  69. "Quicker pensions for retiring teachers: Mamata". The Times of India.
  70. "Mamata Banerjee announced health sector reform". Archived from the original on 19 August 2011. Retrieved 3 August 2011.
  71. "Mamata declares Nadia first 'open defecation-free' district in India". THE HINDU. 30 April 2015. Archived from the original on 12 January 2016.
  72. "Mamata blames media, 'free interaction of men-women' for rising cases of rape!". Daily Bhaskar. 17 October 2012. Archived from the original on 1 January 2013.
  73. "Petrol price cut a positive step: Mamata Banerjee". Zee News. Archived from the original on 10 December 2013.
  74. "Don't want government to fail, but can't support FDI". The Indian Express.
  75. Das, Soumitra (26 July 2009). "Game of the name". The Telegraph India. Calcutta, India. Archived from the original on 27 November 2013. Retrieved 29 February 2012.
  76. Mandal, Sanjay (16 January 2011). "Didi's metro name game". The Telegraph India. Calcutta, India. Archived from the original on 17 April 2012. Retrieved 29 February 2012.
  77. Gupta, Smita (25 April 2016). "Mamata, Muslims and paribartan". The Hindu. ISSN 0971-751X. Archived from the original on 1 January 2018. Retrieved 2 January 2018.
  78. "Opinion: Mamata Banerjee's Appeasement Policies Have Created Real Danger". NDTV.com. Archived from the original on 3 January 2018. Retrieved 2 January 2018.
  79. "Bengal's people must step in to save the state from communal politics". hindustantimes.com/. 11 July 2017. Archived from the original on 3 January 2018. Retrieved 2 January 2018.
  80. "Mamata's allowance to Imams unconstitutional, rules Calcutta HC". Firstpost. 3 September 2013. Archived from the original on 3 January 2018. Retrieved 2 January 2018.
  81. Chatterjee, Garga (6 April 2013). "A dangerous connivance". The Hindu. ISSN 0971-751X. Archived from the original on 30 April 2014. Retrieved 2 January 2018.
  82. "Calcutta High Court scraps Mamata Banerjee's stipend to imams". NDTV.com. Archived from the original on 3 January 2018. Retrieved 2 January 2018.
  83. "Bill Gates appreciates Mamata Banerjee for polio eradication". Archived from the original on 23 February 2012.
  84. "Mamata launches Facebook page – seeks support for APJ Abdul Kalam". 16 June 2012. Archived from the original on 16 June 2012.
  85. "Mamata didi is a big fan of Pranab Mukherjee". Economic Times. 3 May 2012. Archived from the original on 26 February 2015. Retrieved 26 February 2015.
  86. R.N. Subrahmanyam (3 May 2012). "Prez polls: Mamata throws surprise on Pranab Mukherjee". The Indian Express. Retrieved 16 October 2012.
  87. "NDTV Live Results". Archived from the original on 17 May 2016. Retrieved 19 May 2016.
  88. "TMC storms back to power in Bengal, Cong-Left alliance loses". The Financial Express. Archived from the original on 20 May 2016. Retrieved 21 May 2016.
  89. "WB Minister Madan Mitra arrested in Saradha scam". Archived from the original on 15 December 2014. Retrieved 15 December 2014.
  90. "Saradha scam: Sale of Mamata Banerjee's painting for Rs 1.8 crore under CBI lens - Times of India ►". The Times of India. Archived from the original on 28 June 2018. Retrieved 12 May 2018.
  91. "Sale of Mamata Banerjee's Paintings Under Scrutiny as CBI Asks For Trinamool Income". NDTV.com. Archived from the original on 13 May 2018. Retrieved 12 May 2018.
  92. "The 1.8 crore question: Is Mamata Banerjee India's most underrated artist? - Firstpost". www.firstpost.com. Archived from the original on 13 May 2018. Retrieved 12 May 2018.
  93. "From Rs 2 Cr to 9 Cr in 48 Hrs: Mamata Paints Bank Balance Green". The Quint. Archived from the original on 7 October 2017. Retrieved 12 May 2018.
  94. Das, Madhuparna (19 December 2018). "CBI seizes Didi's 20 paintings from chit fund firm owners". The Economic Times. Retrieved 22 October 2019.
  95. "Sudip Bandyopadhyay arrested: All you need to know about Rose Valley chit fund scam - Firstpost". firstpost.com. Archived from the original on 4 January 2017. Retrieved 5 January 2017.
  96. "Rose Valley chit fund scam: TMC leaders' nexus with the investment firm : India, News - India Today". indiatoday.intoday.in. Archived from the original on 4 January 2017. Retrieved 5 January 2017.
  97. "Sudip Bandyopadhyay arrested: All you need to know about Rose Valley chit fund scam - Firstpost". firstpost.com. Retrieved 5 January 2017.
  98. "Rose Valley chit fund scam: TMC leaders' nexus with the investment firm : India, News - India Today". indiatoday.intoday.in. Retrieved 5 January 2017.
  99. "All you wanted to know about Rose Valley scam". thehindubusinessline.com. Retrieved 5 December 2018.
  100. সংবাদদাতা, নিজস্ব (20 March 2017). "তৃণমূল সাংসদ কে ডি সিংহের নির্দেশেই স্টিং অপারেশন, বিস্ফোরক ম্যাথু". anandabazar.com. Archived from the original on 26 April 2017. Retrieved 24 April 2017.
  101. "Didi sees 'blackmail conspiracy' in Narada". The Times of India. 18 June 2016. Archived from the original on 6 August 2016. Retrieved 24 April 2017.
  102. "Kolkata police 'nab' CBI men, Mamata Banerjee at war with Centre - Times of India". Archived from the original on 12 February 2019. Retrieved 11 February 2019.
  103. Gupta, Smita (25 April 2016). "Mamata, Muslims and paribartan". The Hindu. ISSN 0971-751X. Archived from the original on 1 January 2018. Retrieved 2 January 2018.
  104. "Opinion: Mamata Banerjee's Appeasement Policies Have Created Real Danger". NDTV.com. Archived from the original on 3 January 2018. Retrieved 2 January 2018.
  105. "Bengal's people must step in to save the state from communal politics". hindustantimes.com/. 11 July 2017. Archived from the original on 3 January 2018. Retrieved 2 January 2018.
  106. "Mamata's allowance to Imams unconstitutional, rules Calcutta HC". Firstpost. 3 September 2013. Archived from the original on 3 January 2018. Retrieved 2 January 2018.
  107. Chatterjee, Garga (6 April 2013). "A dangerous connivance". The Hindu. ISSN 0971-751X. Archived from the original on 30 April 2014. Retrieved 2 January 2018.
  108. "Calcutta High Court scraps Mamata Banerjee's stipend to imams". NDTV.com. Archived from the original on 3 January 2018. Retrieved 2 January 2018.
  109. "Calcutta HC lifts Puja curbs, slams Bengal 'bid to appease minorities'". The Indian Express. 9 October 2016. Archived from the original on 3 April 2017. Retrieved 2 April 2017.
  110. "Calcutta HC pulls up state for puja restrictions meant to 'appease' minorities". hindustantimes.com/. 9 October 2016. Retrieved 2 April 2017.
  111. "Calcutta HC rejects bar on Durga Puja immersion; slams state for 'minority appeasement'". The New Indian Express. Archived from the original on 3 April 2017. Retrieved 2 April 2017.
  112. "Permission denied for JNUSU president Aishe Ghosh's rally in Durgapur". The New Indian Express. Retrieved 24 April 2020.
  113. DelhiOctober 18, Shreya Biswas New; October 18, 2016UPDATED; Ist, 2016 19:42. "For criticising Mamata Banerjee on Facebook, Kolkata girl gets shamed on a 5-foot hoarding". India Today. Retrieved 24 April 2020.CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link)
  114. "Mamata allows elections in four Bengal varsities after 2 years: Students demand polls in every campus". The New Indian Express. Retrieved 24 April 2020.
  115. July 8, Romita Datta; July 17, 2017 ISSUE DATE; July 8, 2017UPDATED; Ist, 2017 18:39. "West Bengal: Mamata Banerjee wants youth wings of political parties banned". India Today. Retrieved 24 April 2020.CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link)
  116. Rohini Chatterji (2 April 2020). "Only 3 Dead In West Bengal, Says Mamata; 54 Tablighi Jamaat Attendees Quarantined". huffingtonpost.in. HuffPost. Retrieved 10 April 2020. Confusion prevailed on the death toll from the novel coronavirus in West Bengal with Mamata Banerjee claiming only three people had been confirmed to have died of the coronavirus. However, a state health department official told PTI the death toll was now at 7.
  117. Debobrat Ghose (8 April 2020). "Coronavirus Outbreak: Mamata Banerjee displays little cooperation even as Opposition unites to stand behind Centre". Firstpost. Retrieved 9 April 2020. Again, on 2 April, while seven coronavirus deaths in the state were confirmed by its health department, the figure was soon revised to three.
  118. "Is hiding Jamaat cases about vote bank: BJP asks Mamata on Bengal coronavirus numbers". India Today. 8 April 2020. Retrieved 9 April 2020. The BJP has accused Mamata Banerjee of indulging in vote bank politics after the West Bengal Chief Minister refused to share update on those who attended the Tablighi Jamaat event in Delhi, identified as a hotspot for the spread of novel coronavirus.
  119. ANI (23 April 2020). "'Gross under-testing, misreporting of Covid data': Non-resident Bengali doctors write to Mamata Banerjee". timesofindia.com. Kolkata: Times of India. Retrieved 23 April 2020. Citing a media report, the doctors said that West Bengal has conducted just 33.7 tests per million, compared to a national average of around 156.9 per million, despite having the capacity to conduct around 1,000 tests a day.
    -Prachi Mankani (11 April 2020). "West Bengal Doctors Forum: transparency in COVID-19 Data". republicworld.com. Kolkata.
    -Manogya Loiwal (15 April 2020). "West Bengal doctors forum hits out at govt, says not enough tests being conducted". indiatoday.in. Kolkata.
  120. Madhuparna Das (7 April 2020). "Mamata calls questions on Tablighi event 'communal', avoids giving any answers". ThePrint. Retrieved 9 April 2020. West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee Tuesday declined to give an update on the status of the people from the state who had attended Delhi’s Tablighi Jamaat congregation, telling the media to not ask “communal questions”.
  121. Indrajit Kundu (13 April 2020). "Mamata govt not sending enough samples for Covid-19 testing, says central lab director". Kolkata: India Today. Retrieved 14 April 2020. Responding to Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee’s complaints about lack of testing kits in West Bengal, Dutta said ICMR has dispatched 42,500 kits to NICED so far.
  122. Himadri Ghosh (11 April 2020). "COVID-19: Data Shows West Bengal's Testing Is the Lowest Among Larger States". Kolkata: The Wire. Retrieved 14 April 2020. West Bengal has conducted 1,889 tests as on April 9, according to the data furnished by the state health department. A total of 144,910 samples from 130,792 individuals have been tested as on April 9 2020, 9 pm across India, the Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR) said.
  123. Shantanu Guha Ray (18 April 2020). "Bengal sitting on a coronavirus time bomb". sundayguardianlive.com. The Sunday Guardian. Retrieved 20 April 2020. Doctors complain that state authorities’ approval is needed for each Covid-19 test, and is regularly refused. As a result, patients suspected to be suffering from Covid-19 are not being isolated soon enough.
  124. Ajanta Chakraborty, Dwaipayan Ghosh, Tamaghna Banerjee (23 April 2020). "West Bengal: No mobile in coronavirus facilities, says health department". timesofindia.com. Kolkata: Times of India. Retrieved 23 April 2020. Union minister Babul Supriyo tweeted on the ban on mobiles in hospitals, questioning its timing. He questioned whether the person who recorded the video had been “booked”. Kolkata Police responded it was completely incorrect and a misinformation.CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
  125. "Mamata saris the rage in Kolkata this Durga Puja". FirstPost. Archived from the original on 7 January 2012. Retrieved 11 March 2012.
  126. "Blog article in IBNLive.in.com". CNN-IBN. Archived from the original on 6 June 2010. Retrieved 3 June 2010.
  127. "On Wednesday, Bollywood star Akshay Kumar interviews PM Modi". BBC. Archived from the original on 9 April 2019. Retrieved 25 April 2019. West Bengal chief minister and arch rival Mamata Banerjee sends him sweets and kurtas every year
  128. "The poet and painter in Mamata Banerjee's looks beyond Bengal". Indian Express. 18 February 2013. Retrieved 2 April 2013.
  129. "Publications, Poetry and Paintings : All India Trinamool Congress". aitcofficial.org. Archived from the original on 4 November 2017. Retrieved 7 October 2017.
  130. "WTF: Mamata Banerjee Paintings Sold For 9 Crores". indiatimes.com. Archived from the original on 13 May 2018. Retrieved 12 May 2018.
  131. "Time 100: Mamata Banerjee, Populist". Time. 18 April 2012. Archived from the original on 19 April 2012. Retrieved 18 April 2012.
  132. "Mamata Banerjee among world's 50 influential leaders in finance". Zeenews.india.com. 6 September 2012. Archived from the original on 14 December 2013. Retrieved 16 October 2012.
  133. PTI (20 December 2018). "Mamata Banerjee is the Skoch Chief Minister of the Year". The Economic Times. Retrieved 26 April 2019.
  134. "After Narendra Modi, Baghini: Bengal Tigress evokes Mamata Banerjee". Cinestaan. Archived from the original on 15 April 2019. Retrieved 16 April 2019.
  135. "Mamata Banerjee's life inspires Bengali film Baghini". india.com. 29 February 2016. Archived from the original on 15 April 2019.
  136. "Mamata Banerjees life inspires Bengali film Baghini". India Today. Archived from the original on 15 April 2019.
  137. "Coming soon! 'Baghini', a film on West Bengal CM Mamata Banerjee's life story". Economic Times. March 2016. Archived from the original on 13 August 2018. Retrieved 16 April 2019.
  138. "Mamata in making on big screen". The Telegraph. Archived from the original on 15 April 2019.
This article is issued from Wikipedia. The text is licensed under Creative Commons - Attribution - Sharealike. Additional terms may apply for the media files.