West Bengal

After at least 10 persons were charred to death in the violence that allegedly broke out after the murder of a deputy Panchayat Pradhan at Baguti village in West Bengal's Birbhum district, BJP Lok Sabha member Locket Chatterjee said on Tuesday that Bengal is fast turning into 'terrorists' own country'.

"I have told the agency that I am willing to cooperate, but why here in Delhi. There are elections in Bengal. The BJP can't fight us democratically, so they are resorting to vengeance politics. But I am not cowed down. The BJP lost in Bengal in 2021, and it will again lose in 2024. This washing machine tatic is not going to work for long. If you want to fight, fight democratically. They (BJP) are harassing me by calling me so many kilometres away," he said.

The BJP has fielded Agnimitra Paul for the Lok Sabha by-polls from Asansol in West Bengal against TMC candidate and former union minister Shatrughan Sinha. Paul is the MLA from Asansol South assembly constituency and general secretary of the West Bengal BJP. In a statement BJP national general secretary Arun Singh said, "The BJP Central Election Committee has approved the following names for biennial polls of Rajya Sabha."

The agency has asked Banerjee and his wife to join the investigation on March 21-22. Abhishek Banerjee had on September 6, 2021, recorded his statement before the ED officials. He was interrogated for around six hours. But the probe agency was not satisfied and hence summoned him again along with his wife.In September 2021, the couple, via their counsel, had moved a plea before the Delhi High Court against the ED's summon.

In a major development, West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee on Sunday announced that two former Union Ministers -- Shatrughan Sinha and Babul Supriyo -- will contest the upcoming West Bengal bypolls for the Trinamool Congress.The chief minister announced that Shatrughan Sinha will be the party's candidate for bypoll to Asansol Lok Sabha seat, and Babul Supiyo will be the candidate for Ballygunge Assembly constituency.

West Bengal Governor Jagdeep Dhankhar failed to deliver his budget speech in the Assembly on Monday following continuous protests by the MLAs of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP). The BJP MLAs, led by Suvendu Adhikhari, were protesting against the violence during the recently-concluded civic polls.