Kolkata: West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee last week announced a cabinet reshuffle and changed major portfolios.
While addressing the media after a cabinet meeting, State Industry Minister Partha Chatterjee said, “After the demise of Subrata Mukherjee, Pulak Roy has been appointed as the new Panchayat and Rural Development Minister.” Roy is now in charge of the Public Health Engineering department.
Last Monday, the six-month tenure of State Finance Minister Amit Mitra also came to an end. Since he did not contest the by poll, his department automatically went under the Chief Minister’s control.
The CM made Chandrima Bhattacharya as the Minister of State of the Finance department and urged Mitra to stay in the government. The CM retained Mitra in the finance department as an adviser with the status of a full-fledged minister.
The Consumer Affairs department, which was under Sadhan Pande who is currently hospitalised over a prolonged illness, was handed over to Water Resource Development Minister Manas Bhuyian as an additional charge.
Women and Child Development minister Sashi Panja was also given an additional charge of the Self Help Group department while Becharam Manna was given additional charge as Minister of State of the Panchayat department. However, during the cabinet meeting, the Chief Minister said, “This change is for the time being. The changes will be reviewed next month and further reshuffle may take place.”
TMC gets SC boost for Tripura local body polls
New Delhi: Taking note of the allegation of All India Trinamool Congress (AITC) that it’s leaders were being prevented from campaigning in the municipal elections in Tripura because of “actual and threatened violence”, the Supreme Court directed the state government to ensure that right of the political party to participate in election process is not impeded and make all arrangements for free and fair election.
A bench of Justices D Y Chandrachud, Surya Kant and Vikram Nath passed an interim order directing the director general of police and the home secretary of the state to address the grievance raised by AITC and its leaders and take appropriate measures to maintain law and order. The bench noted in its order several incidents of violence which took place after August 2 as pointed out by the petitioner party.
“We accordingly direct the respondents, by way of an ad-interim order, to duly consider the grievance which has been placed before the Court in these proceedings, which has been briefly adverted to in the earlier part of this order so that appropriate arrangements are made to ensure the maintenance of law and order in a manner that would further the unimpeded right of political participation in the course of the ensuing municipal elections. As regards the plea for individual security, the concerned superintendents of police who are impleaded as respondents shall take a decision having regard to the threat perception with reference to each case and area and take necessary action for maintenance and provision of security, ” the bench said.
