Suvendu Govt suspends three IPS officers for ‘lapses’ in probe into RG Kar rape-murder case

 The West Bengal govt under the supervision of chief secretary and home secretary  will start departmental probe against ex-Kolkata commissioner of police Vineet Goyal, a blue-eyed cop of Mamata regime, and two other officers, said chief minister Suvendu Adhikari.  

He also announced on Friday afternoon that the file of RG Kar rape and murder case of the doctor will be reopened. "But we are not entering into the area that is being probed by the CBI," the chief minister clarified.

The two other officers are Abhishek Gupta, the then deputy Commissioner of police (North) and Indira Mukherjee, deputy Commissioner of police (central).  

Adhikari, at a press conference in Nabanna, further alleged that the officers were involved in offering bribe to the family and conducting press conference without written order. 

Departmental proceedings will be initiated against the three IPS officers.

The CM said that the disciplinary proceedings and departmental inquiry would be spearheaded by the state home secretary under guidance of the chief secretary.

The incident occurred on August 9, 2024. A junior doctor at Kolkata ’s RG Kar Medical College and Hospital was found dead in the hospital building inside a seminar hall. 

A 33-year-old civic volunteer, Sanjay Roy, was arrested on the suspicion of raping and murdering her.  

The incident sparked nationwide protests, with demands for justice for the victim. The victim's mother Ratna Debnath later fought the recently concluded Bengal elections from the Panihati seat on a BJP ticket and won.  

The Union Home Ministry has earlier nitiated disciplinary action against Kolkata Police Commissioner Vineet Goyal and a DCP for allegedly maligning the office of the West Bengal Governor by promoting and spreading canards, a central government official said.

The Union ministry action came after Governor C.V. Ananda Bose submitted a report to it regarding Goyal and Kolkata Police Deputy Commissioner (DCP) Central Indira Mukherjee, alleging that they were "functioning in a manner which is completely unbecoming of a public servant", he said.

Bose's report, submitted to the Home Minister in late June, highlighted issues such as Kolkata Police officers preventing victims of post-poll violence from meeting the Governor despite his permission.

"The Union Home Ministry has initiated disciplinary action against the IPS officers based on a detailed report by Bose," the official said.

The Governor also accused other police officers, posted at the Raj Bhavan, of promoting and encouraging concocted allegations by a woman employee during April-May 2024, the official added.

"These IPS officers through their acts have not only tarnished the office of the Governor but also functioned in a manner which is completely unbecoming of a public servant. They have conveniently chosen to ignore the Conduct Rules," he added.

ends 

Silent drive by RSS to prevent post-poll violence :::: Namo : Shall we live by fear of doubts and possibility of defeats? ::::: "More votes have been cast for Modi than for any politician in human history"

Our mission is to establish the rule of law and end the racket of violence ::: RSS 

RSS members and leaders have been keeping track of any information related to violence, including the capturing of Trinamool Congress offices or threats to and attacks on Opposition leaders and are immediately acting upon such activities with the help of police.

BJP workers tear off banners depicting the social welfare schemes of the previous government near Curzon Gate in Burdwan last week.  (snap - The Telegraph) 

"We are actively working to prevent such acts. We are receiving many calls from different corners of the state, and our swayamsevaks have been preventing troubles by coordinating with the police. 

Our mission is to establish the rule of law and end the racket of violence and extortion in the state," said Jisnu Basu, the Sangh’s purba kshetra prachar pramukh.

The RSS has been spearheading initiatives to ensure the rule of law in Bengal in the aftermath of the Assembly polls, sources in the ideological fountainhead of the BJP said.

Sources said RSS activists had launched a silent drive to prevent post-poll violence, looting and the shifting of extortion rackets to another group.

the beleaguered leader  

The RSS has been spearheading initiatives to ensure the rule of law in Bengal in the aftermath of the Assembly polls.

Sources said RSS activists had launched a silent drive to prevent post-poll violence, looting and the shifting of extortion rackets to another group.  

"We are ready to provide legal support even to Trinamool leaders if they face violence. We want to prevent this practice, else another chapter of extortion and violence will emerge," added the senior RSS leader.

Basu himself prevented at least four such attempts after the election results were out.

"A club belonging to Trinamool leaders in Salt Lake was captured soon after the election results, as a group of people had put up BJP flags there. I personally went there, removed those flags, and freed the club," Basu said. (The Telegraph reports)

Multiple sources in the RSS said that not only in Calcutta, but also in several districts, the RSS had been keeping surveillance and taking up such issues with the state unit to ensure that there were no such moves.

After the change in power, a Trinamool leader from Barasat in North 24-Parganas contacted an RSS leader, informing him about an attack by alleged BJP workers.

"I personally contacted the local police and asked them to take immediate action. The senior police officer expressed surprise over why I had called him to save a corrupt Trinamool leader. He later ensured that there was only an agitation," the RSS leader said.

The BJP leaders said that since the party’s victory, it had become their responsibility to stop violence and send a message across Bengal that not only the power structure but also the political culture of the state had changed. 

BJP leader Sajal Ghosh said: "Just because TMC and its leader did not have humanity as was the case in 2021; that does not mean ... we will also not have"

In terms of governance, new chief minister Suvendu Adhikari has started his part of the job. 

In contrast to the Congress statesmen like B C Roy, Marxist bhadroloks Jyoti Basu and Buddhadeb Bhattacharya and the 'mercurial street-fighter' from Kalighat Mamata Banerjee who came before him, Suvendu is expected to provide a Delhi-driven, unabashedly majoritarian style of administration.  

BJP state president Samik Bhattacharya, chief minister Suvendu Adhikari, and other party leaders repeatedly said that Trinamool workers disguised as BJP supporters had carried out the attacks after the election results.

Bhattacharya also said that the police would take action if anyone was found extorting people in the name of the BJP.

"RSS is not directly involved in politics. So, it is easier for the outfit to get unbiased reports from the ground. BJP workers themselves were victims of post-poll violence in 2021. Therefore, it was not easy to stop them. But we somehow controlled it. Otherwise, there would have been a bloodbath," said a senior BJP leader.

Senior BJP leader and Rajya Sabha member Rahul Sinha on Tuesday admitted that if the party had not prevented such attempts, there could have been large-scale violence against Trinamool workers.

Shall we live by fear of doubts and possibility of defeats?

In his birthday greetings to PM Narendra Modi; his long time friend and Home Minister Amit Shah had said:

"In every Indian's heart lives a surprising/unique (adbhut neta) leader". 

Modi admirers and those tracking his politics closely say Modi has rather always used the crises (or challenges) to reinforce his political position and offer himself to the people as a  "strong Hindu leader" in a country with about one billion Hindus in a population of 1.40 billion (140 crore).

In 2023, one Naga BJP lawmaker and state minister Jacob Zhimomi said - the PM, has "reignited the hopes and dreams of 140 crore citizens of the country".

He even called Modi -- "the Father of New India". 

Observers know, the BJP and the central government's spin doctors are 'hyperactive' in claiming a positive performance for the Prime Minister.

And what suits the official gambit is that there is still no big challenge to Modi either from within the BJP and also from opposition parties notwithstanding some undercurrent of anti-incumbency feelings. 

It is said, Modi's calculated gamble in playing his time-tested pro-Hindutva and often seemingly anti-Muslim cards with some uniqueness and variations has only endeared him to Hindu voters.

One such episode in 2023 was about 'reviving' the name Bharat.

Even the Uniform Civil Code (UCC) is linked to that. The West Bengal Govt may try out implementing UCC in next six months. 

Many Modi’s admirers say his statesmanship always spells confidence and optimism. 

"There will always be two ways of looking at things. Shall we live by fear of doubts and possibility of defeats? Or shall we live by hard work, hopes and by the approach to look at positive things. The second choice makes sense. This is what we have achieved," says a Naga BJP leader. 

"More votes have been cast for Modi than for any politician in human history, by a margin in the hundreds of millions. 

Modi has comfortably outperformed every other democratically elected leader in the world in Morning Consult’s global leader approval tracker for many years, despite the longevity of his tenure,” 

-- wrote Bill Drexel, who is a senior fellow at the Hudson Institute

ends

First increase in over four years ::::: Govt hikes petrol, diesel prices by Rs 3 per litre ::: Petrol in Delhi will now cost Rs 97.77 a litre ::::: In Mumbai, petrol will be - Rs 106.68 per litre

Govt hikes petrol, diesel prices by Rs 3 per litre

Petrol in Delhi will now cost Rs 97.77 a litre, while diesel will be priced at Rs 99.67. 

In Mumbai, petrol will be - Rs 106.68 per litre 

while diesel will cost Rs 93.14.  

Commuters queued up in various parts of Delhi and many state capitals in front of petrol pumps after petrol and diesel prices were hiked by Rs 3 per litre each, 

the first increase in over four years, amid rising global crude oil prices

Former UP chief minister and Samajwadi Party chief Akhilesh Yadav takes ‘cycle’ jab at Centre after fuel price hike !! 

Cycle is SP's election symbol. Elections are due in UP by March 2027. 

The increase also comes shortly after Prime Minister Narendra Modi appealed to citizens to reduce fuel consumption among other measures as rising crude oil prices threaten India’s import bill. 

Experts warn that petrol and diesel prices could continue rising over the coming days — and potentially even months — if the crude oil crisis linked to the escalating West Asia conflict worsens further.

“The fuel price hike was very important. The ground reality is that oil supply has become more expensive and uncertain,” Rahul Ahluwalia, Founder-Director of the Foundation for Economic Development, told IndiaToday.in.

While the immediate impact is visible at fuel stations, economists say the real effect of rising fuel prices spreads much wider. 

Over time, it can influence food prices, transport costs, online deliveries and even monthly household spending.

Modi is "self taught" :::: "He has no one to thank for his career but himself – and Hindu nationalist movement," says a former Norway Minister

Erik Solheim is a Norwegian diplomat and has also served in the Norway Government as Minister of International Development and Minister of the Environment, and as Under-Secretary-General of the United Nations. He was also Executive Director of the UN Environment Programme from 2016 to 2018, 

He wrote an article lately (Views presented are personal)   

Prime Minister Narendra Modi will visit Norway from May 18–19, 2026, marking a historic, first visit by an Indian PM in 43 years. 

Key agenda items for the visit include the 3rd India-Nordic Summit, bilateral talks with PM Jonas Gahr Støre, and meetings with King Harald V to strengthen cooperation in green technology, energy, and maritime sectors.  

"Western leaders to learn from Modi’s consistent focus on environment" - says ex Norway Minister and diplomat  

the article runs:

"On Monday, 18 May, the world’s most popular politician will visit Norway. India’s Prime Minister Narendra Modi will be received by King Harald, promote Indian business, meet with the Indian diaspora and attend an India-Nordic prime ministers’ meeting.

The Nordic prime ministers should listen carefully. They have a lot to learn from their Indian counterpart. Whilst Nordic prime ministers barely enjoy a domestic approval rating of 30 per cent, Modi stands at around 70 per cent in the polls. No leader in any major country is nearly as popular at home as Modi. Modi has been in power in India for more than twelve years. Should he choose to stand again, all the signs suggest he will be re-elected. A distant dream for European leaders. 

His success can be attributed to rapid economic development, a winning ideology, the world’s strongest political party and his own life story. Modi’s background is almost unique in a world where almost all heads of state come from the upper middle class. Modi’s parents owned three stalls where they sold tea at the railway station in Vadnagar, a tiny provincial town that hardly any Indians have heard of.  

He has no one to thank for his career but himself – and the Hindu nationalist movement. 

He is an Indian Einar Gerhardsen – self-taught, an organiser. 

Einar was Norway’s former prime minister. 

He (Modi) is fortunate to be leading a rapidly developing India, and he himself is a strong driving force behind that growth. The Indian economy is currently growing at seven per cent, faster than China’s and far outpacing any other major economy.

Growth is uneven, and there is a wide gap between the richest and poorest States in India. 

India lacks the highly educated workforce that China has. There is still too much bureaucracy, and India has not managed to develop any major export industry for the global market.

But at current growth rates, India’s economy will quadruple by 2050. India will then be the world’s second-largest economy, rivalling the US. I have travelled to almost every State in India and see signs of development everywhere – new, modern airports; better roads leading to the most remote corners of the country; the world’s largest solar park under construction in Gujarat; and the world’s largest solar-wind-hydro power plant in Andhra Pradesh. 

Modi is the garantier of green growth. 

India is now the world’s third-largest producer of solar and wind energy; no one should be surprised if they overtake the US and take second place. 

Last year, coal emissions in India fell for the first time. 

Western leaders can learn a great deal from Modi’s consistent green message.

I attend many conferences where Modi is the keynote speaker. Modi almost never talks about global climate negotiations or emissions.

He asks no one to make sacrifices for the environment. The message is that India can lift 1.5 billion people out of poverty through green growth. There is no longer a choice between the economy and the environment. 

Even if secular parties were to win the next election, India’s ideology will remain Hindu nationalism. Hindu nationalism is India’s answer to the question that all non-Western countries have faced since the Industrial Revolution.

How to modernise without becoming like the West? Japan was the first to untangle that knot – becoming ultra-modern, yet remaining deeply Japanese. Korea is now richer than Japan and a major exporter of Korean culture and music.

China anchors its modernity in its own roots – in Confucianism, Taoism and Buddhism. The BJP is currently the world’s largest political party, with over 100 million members. 

The party has dedicated activists in every single constituency across northern and central India. The party has achieved something truly unique and unprecedented in India: the BJP enjoys the same level of support amongst high-caste, low-caste and untouchable communities. 

It has the support of both India’s billionaires and tribal peoples in the country’s remotest corners. Among Western analysts, it has become something of a pastime to find fault with the BJP. The critics are right in saying that the BJP stands for the unification of Hindus. 

But there is little evidence to suggest that there have been more conflicts between Muslims and Hindus under the BJP.  

There was more violence and more pogroms when the Congress Party was in power. Millions of Muslims are crossing into India from neighbouring countries; hardly any Muslims are fleeing the other way.

But the BJP’s insistence that Islam and Christianity are foreign religions, and that Muslim invasions in the Middle Ages and British colonialism can be equated, creates a sense of insecurity among many Muslims.

Many of the BJP’s proposals are common sense – such as the idea that there should not be a separate marriage law under which Muslim men can divorce more easily than other men. 

But in the emergence of a new, strong India rooted in Hindu dharma, the real test will be whether the BJP can also find room to include the world’s largest minority: the two hundred million Muslims in India. 

India is the only large, poor former British colony to have chosen a democratic model.

This is not down to the British. 

If it were to their credit, as they often claim, surely Pakistan, Myanmar and the Gulf monarchies would also be democracies? 

India is democratic because democracy is deeply rooted in Indian culture and tradition. 

In a world where Norway needs new allies for a rules-based international order and Norwegian business needs new horizons, we have much to gain from closer ties with India. 

But this requires us to be willing to listen, not just to lecture. Then, countless win-win opportunities could open up.

ends 

NEHU ... prestigious varsity in North East hit with --- shortage of staff, falling standards, lack of proper guidance

A BJP Meghalaya delegation, led by Cabinet Minister Sanbor Shullai and BJP MLA A. L. Hek, met with Central Minister of State for Education Dr Sukanta Majumdaar in Delhi and apprised him of the prevailing situation in NEHU.  

The North-Eastern Hill University (NEHU) is a central university located in Shillong, Meghalaya.

It was established on 19 July 1973 under the North-Eastern Hill University Act, 1973 (Act No. 24 of 1973), which received presidential assent on 26 May 1973.

The university was originally established to serve the hill areas of northeastern India, with jurisdiction over Meghalaya, Nagaland, Arunachal Pradesh, and Mizoram.

The university has two campuses; the main campus at Mawkynroh-Umshing in Shillong and a second campus at Chasingre in Tura. The President of India serves as the university's visitor, with the Governor of Meghalaya acting as chief rector

The party delegation and the Minister talked at length about the complete breakdown of administration in the University owing to the long absence of the VC from his head office. 

The shortage of staff, the falling standards of amenities, the lack of proper guidance, the rising grievances, all of which have combined to create an atmosphere that's detrimental to the students. 

The BJP Meghalaya delegation requested urgent intervention by the Central Ministry to ensure smooth functioning of North East's premium university. 

The delegation stressed upon the need for a replacement, a new Vice Chancellor who has indepth understanding of local culture, ethos and needs. 

The Union MoS Education Majumdaar assured BJP Meghalaya members that the matter would be taken up with the Cabinet Minister for Education immediately, keeping in mind the future of students, to ensure that NEHU returns to optimal operational levels at the earliest.

ends 

May 21 full Cabinet and Council of Ministers meet by Namo may clear 'roadmap' for much needed reshuffle :::: What reward awaits Amit Shah ? Dharmendra Pradhan's exit as Education minister one easy possibility

The proposed meeting of full council of ministers on May 21 comvened by Prime Minister Narendra Modi will come shortly after BJP's much appreciated strong performance in the elections in West Bengal and Assam.

The BJP-led National Democratic Alliance (NDA) government has returned in Puducherry as well.

Well, the Prime Minister has periodically held meetings of the full Council of Ministers to discuss governance priorities and policy implementation earlier on a few occasion. However, the May 21 meeting is being closely watched due to the timing and the ongoing speculation over possible changes in the Union Cabinet.

The Cabinet expansion and reshuffle could take place in the second week of June. The Modi 3.0 dispensation was sworn in on June 10, 2024 when the general election mandate had given a much shocking reduced number of MPs to the Lotus party. 

The May 21 meet if takes place according to plans assumes a special political significance as the politics of India has undertaken a sea change since then. While the opposition parties could not capitalise on their pleasantly surprising gains in Lok Sabha polls; in contrast the 'quick corrective' steps taken by PM Modi-Amit Shah duo and other BJP and Sanghparivar strategists now gives the saffron outfit mega advantages in key states such as West Bengal, Maharashtra, Haryana and a few other states. 

Moreover, the cabinet reshuffle is likely to to be linked to coming elections in Punjab and Uttar Pradesh. There is already a buzz from Punjab BJP leaders including Sunil Jakhar -- if West Bengal could be saffronized why not Punjab. 

Raghav Chadha and his colleagues' shift to the BJP in the run up to the polls in Bengal has only added more spice to the speculation industry. 

In the context of UP, a few ministers may be dropped and assigned political assignment in the key northern state that sends 80 MPs to Lok Sabha. The BJP's performance in 2024 in UP despite Ram Mandir was pathetic and the tally fell short to Samajwadi Party. Worse, the talk was about internal sabotage and discomfort among multiple players in the corridors of power vis-a-vis ticket distribution. The defeat of BJP in Ayodhya seat was a shocker and this was largely attributed to fauly policy in ticket distribution. 

There was also 'unhappiness' among RSS leaders and the then BJP president J P Nadda's comments that the BJP can do well on its own was highly damaging. While the neo-Hindu unity is a prize catch for the BJP from two eastern states of West Bengal and Assam; in Uttar Pradesh - the real challenge will be in as regard the caste management. A possible one or two ministers from UP taking care of caste factor is not ruled out. 

  

The party faces a big time challenge in Manipur which too is slated to go to polls by March 2027 along with Punjab, UP, Uttarakhand and Goa. The spate of violence started in this northeastern state in 2023 still continues. 

It has taken a more complex turn because a brief spell of President's Rule, appointment of a Amit Shah confidant as Governor and installation of a new chief minister Khemchand replacing N Biren Singh has so far achieved nothing. 

The Rajya Sabha polls are due in Manipur in June and should Biren Singh be brought to Delhi and what will be the impact remains a question - whose answer only lies in the womb of time. 

The Bengal mandate has perhaps answered many questions which were once considered tough riddles. There is a magnificent trophy. The complex electorate of the eastern state has for the first time in many years voted for a Double Engine government. Since 1970s, the state had been voting for parties which is 'against Delhi'. The same voters have outwitted the Left, humbled the Congress, and now went for Narendra Modi and Hindu unity. 

In political sense, this did not come easily. 

The unprecedented BJP victory in West Bengal is a seismic political event even in the Hindutva camp.

Should it now 'reward' Amit Shah with the title Deputy Prime Minister ?

It can then resolve the dispute - after Modi who!!

It may give signals to Nagpur and Lucknow that it would be wise to play the BJP's 

'MY' card - the Modi-Yogi phenomenon yet again. 

Will the reshuffle also accord any Lok Bhavan or ambassadorial responsibility to veteran Rajnath Singh ?

For Team Modi, winning West Bengal was certainly an important milestone. Now the cabinet reshuffle and polls in UP and managing troubles in Manipur before 2029 would reshape the political arithmetic of India. 

Blogger's date with Teesta 

ends 

A meeting of the two largest economies and not one woman at the table :::: Xi-Trump Summit draw flak

 By the time Donald Trump and Xi Jinping met at Beijing’s Great Hall of the People on Thursday, the bilateral had featured all the expected pomp and pageantry: a meticulously choreographed display of Chinese soldiers, children waving American and Chinese flags, and rows of senior officials and the US’s top business executives.

Conspicuously absent at the table, however, were women from either delegation – a stark visual that quickly drew criticism from observers who saw it as an unmistakable display of patriarchal power.

Tesla CEO Elon Musk arrives with his son

In a tweet that has attracted over 22,000 likes overnight, Gita Gopinath, an economics professor at Harvard University, wrote: “A painting of the end of meritocracy: A meeting of the two largest economies and not one woman at the table.”  

Halima Kazem, associate director for Stanford University’s program in feminist, gender and sexuality studies, echoed similar sentiments.

Trump and Apple CEO Tim Cook walk outside the Great Hall of the People 

Comparing Thursday’s images to bilateral meetings during Barack Obama’s presidency, Kazem said: “We’ve gone backward. Obama-era US-China summits included women at the table. Now neither superpower thinks women belong in the room where great power politics happens. This isn’t just American failure – it’s a bilateral signal that women’s voices don’t matter in shaping the global order.”

Speaking to The Guardian, London, Gopinath elaborated on her comments, saying: “We have somehow gravitated back to this idea that what matters is your network and not your capabilities – and that matters [in terms of] whether or not you get a seat at the table.”

She added: “It’s just inexplicable how you end up with a single gender table, given the many talented women around the world.  

Women seated at previous US-China bilateral meetings during Obama’s presidency included Liu Yandong, China’s then vice-premier, as well as Susan Rice, US national security adviser, and Hillary Clinton, the secretary of state.

Kazem pointed to the type of power being ostensibly signaled by both sides, saying: “This wasn’t about lack of qualified women – both countries have plenty in their diplomatic and security establishments. This was a choice about what kind of authority to project: 

masculine, militarized, and exclusionary.

“When both superpowers perform power this way, they’re jointly defining what ‘serious’ diplomacy looks like and who gets excluded from it,” she added. 

'The New York Times' noted one striking feature of the delegation: the overwhelming dominance of men.  

The US business delegation consists almost entirely of male corporate leaders, including Elon Musk of Tesla, Tim Cook of Apple and Jensen Huang of Nvidia.

The 'New York Times' noted that the gender imbalance extends beyond the corporate delegation into Trump’s official team as well. 

 Women accompanying Trump in Beijing largely hold communications, protocol or support roles, according to the report.

These include Monica Crowley, White House spokeswoman Anna Kelly, presidential aide Natalie Harp, communications adviser Margo Martin and Lara Trump, Trump’s daughter-in-law.

Unlike Trump’s 2017 visit to China during his first term, First Lady Melania Trump is not part of this delegation.

ends