Trinamool Congress

The Trinamool Congress said on Thursday that its MPs in both the Houses of the Parliament will abstain from voting in the poll to elect the next Vice President of India. The decision was taken on Thursday afternoon at a meeting chaired by party supremo and West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee, which was attended by 33 out of the 35 Trinamool MPs.

The CPI(M) and Congress described the decision as a fallout of a subtle understanding between Trinamool Congress and BJP, whose main aim, they said, is to weaken the anti-BJP space in the country. According to state Congress President Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury, two decisions of the Trinamool Congress on Thursday have proved its clandestine understanding with the BJP.

In the FIR, Pranab Chetia, President of the organisation's Sivasagar unit, wrote: "It has been observed that her (Moitra's) Twitter comment is deliberately replacing the word sexual harassment with the word Mr. Gogoi, which is a clear intention to defame and disregard an established ethnic community of Assam, and hence I urge the law of the land to protect the sanctity, integrity and respect of the Ahom community and bring Mohua Moitra to justice."

Sharing a video, West Bengal BJP co-incharge Amit Malviya tweeted, "Y'day, Suvendu Adhikari, BJP's LoP in West Bengal led a massive march in Krishnanagar, constituency represented by TMC MP, whose obnoxious portrayal of Maa Kaali and Mamata Banerjee's silence on it, has angered Hindu Bengalis, both in and outside WB. When will TMC suspend Moitra?"

The ruling TMC is fighting a lonely political battle against these central agencies' probes under which the roles of several TMC leaders including the party’s national general secretary and West Bengal CM Mamata Banerjee’s nephew, Abhishek Banerjee have come under the scanner. While the BJP is going hammer and tongs highlighting the central probe agencies against the TMC, the other anti- BJP opposition parties in the state like the Congress and the Left Front too are welcoming the CBI and ED probes in a big way.

Irrespective of the party in power, the opposition always accuses the ruling party of misusing the investigative agencies, and during the last few decades, the politics of accusation has gained momentum. Opposition parties, including Congress, Trinamool Congress, NCP, RJD, and Shiv Sena, regularly accuse the Central government of misusing the ED, the CBI, and other Central agencies.

Acting on a tip-off, a team of the Baruipur District Police arrested Aftafuddin from his hideout late Friday night. Though Aftafuddin was not among the six persons named in the FIR filed on Friday, he was one of the many suspects.

She also drew references to three popular temples in India -- Maa Tara temple at Tarapith in West Bengal, Shaktipeeth Temple at Ujjain in Madhya Pradesh and Kamkhya Temple in Guwahati. According to Moitra, in BJP-ruled Madhya Pradesh and Assam, the Chief Ministers should inform through affidavits that 'karanbari' (alcohol) and meat are not offered there for worship.

On behalf of the party, veteran Trinamool Congress leader and three-time party Lok Sabha member, Saugata Roy issued a statement saying that the onus is on Moitra and not on the party to take care of the FIRs.

While responding to a question on a controversial film poster showing a woman decked as Goddess Kali smoking, Moitra said that for her Goddess Kali is a meat-eating and alcohol accepting goddess. In support of her arguments, she drew the reference of the iconic Tarapith Shakti Peeth temple in West Bengal's Birbhum district, where meat and alcohol are offered while worshipping Goddess Kali's "Maa Tara" version.