Eggs, stones thrown at Mamata's 'bhaipo' Abhishek Banerjee in West Bengal's Sonarpur ::: Locals raise 'chor chor' slogan

Eggs, stones thrown at TMC leader Abhishek Banerjee in Bengal's Sonarpur, locals raise 'chor chor' slogan  

to be updated 

Several TMC MPs, MLAs want to join party, but 'door is closed' -- West Bengal BJP chief :::: BJP under no compulsion to induct leaders from rival camps, especially TMC" ::::: ".... today's religion is democracy and today's politics is development"

 Samik Bhattacharya: BJP under no compulsion to induct leaders from rival camps 

"The days of Dar-ul-Islam and Dar-ul-Harb politics are over.

Radicalisation is dangerous for Hindus, for the country and for Muslims as well," he said.

Several TMC MPs, MLAs want to join party, but 'door is closed' for now 

West Bengal BJP president Samik Bhattacharya has asserted that the party is in no hurry to induct leaders from the Trinamool Congress (TMC), claiming that several sitting TMC MPs and MLAs are keen to join the BJP following its victory in the state but that the party has currently shut its doors to such entrants.

In an interview with news agency PTI, Bhattacharya said the BJP, having secured a decisive mandate on its own, was under no compulsion to accommodate leaders from rival parties and had learned lessons from the large-scale defections that preceded the 2021 Assembly elections.

Without naming any leader or disclosing figures, he said, 

“Several TMC MPs and MLAs are willing to join us, but I don't want to comment on figures.”

He maintained that the BJP no longer required political imports to strengthen its position in the state. 

“Right now, the door is closed. We don't need any TMC leader to win elections anymore. We have won on our own,” the state BJP chief said.

However, Bhattacharya left open the possibility of future inductions under certain conditions.

“In politics, two plus two is not always four; we won’t open our door for any tainted leader…this decision would be a collective decision and not of an individual,” he said.  

Even if the party eventually considers fresh entrants, those tainted by allegations of corruption, involvement in recruitment scams or links with the TMC's alleged syndicate network would not be welcome, the Bengal party president asserted. 

Seeking to clarify his stand on the TMC rank and file, Bhattacharya categorically rejected suggestions that he had ever classified sections of the ruling party as either a "good TMC" or a "bad TMC".

"I have never said there is a good TMC or a bad TMC. TMC and corruption have become synonymous," he said.

He, however, maintained that a section of TMC supporters and workers had remained untouched by corruption and had backed the BJP in the election.

"There are people who were part of the TMC but stayed outside that corrupt ecosystem. Many of them voted for us," he said.

Bhattacharya said any future decision on whether such individuals could formally join the BJP would be taken collectively by the party and not by any individual leader.

Recalling the BJP's experience ahead of the 2021 assembly elections, he said the party had learnt from the consequences of inducting large numbers of leaders from the TMC.

"We had shown excessive interest in TMC leaders in 2021, and that proved to be our undoing. We have learnt from that mistake... and we will keep that in mind for the future," he said.

Bhattacharya said Muslims should shed their "minority mindset" and see themselves as citizens first, asserting that the BJP's two-thirds majority in West Bengal had demonstrated that governments could be formed without depending on minority votes.

"This perception among Muslims that they are a minority has to go. 

The BJP has demonstrated that it can come to power with a two-thirds majority without fielding a single Muslim candidate and without depending on minority votes," he said.

The state BJP chief said, "We want Muslims to behave not as minorities but as citizens of West Bengal and India." At the same time, he warned against religious radicalisation, saying it posed a threat not only to the country but also to Muslims themselves.

Despite the BJP's emphatic mandate, Bhattacharya insisted that the party organisation would not interfere in governance.

"For the BJP, today's religion is democracy and today's politics is development. 

This is the Government of West Bengal, not a BJP government. It is run by the chief minister and his council of ministers. The party's role is to ensure that promises made to the people are fulfilled,” he said.

"The BJP will act as a watchdog. We will extend all support whenever required, but there will be no interference in day-to-day administration. We want to bring that change to West Bengal," he said.

One of the principal architects of the BJP's breakthrough victory, Bhattacharya admitted that the magnitude of the achievement was still taking time to sink in.

"The biggest challenge before us is to weed out those four-hour BJP workers who picked up BJP flags after noon on May 4, the day of the assembly election results," he said.

He also sought to distinguish political change and political revenge, saying the BJP had consciously restrained its cadre despite years of political violence.

"Since 2016, 329 BJP workers have lost their lives due to political violence. 

Yet we have protected several former TMC ministers and leaders from possible attacks and public anger. That is one of our biggest achievements.

"Many party workers criticised me on social media for saying this. But I continue to stand by it because we are not the TMC. We are a party with a difference," Bhattachrya added.

Myanmar's junta chief turned president Min Aung Hlaing heads to India with an eye on China :::: "He is seeking more and more regional and international respectability"

 Myanmar's junta chief turned president Min Aung Hlaing heads to India with an eye on China

For India, the visit is an opportunity to dilute China's outsized influence on Myanmar while working to secure access to the country's deposits of critical rare earths, and bolster security along its northeastern borders, analysts said.

Less than two months after he completed a carefully engineered transition from Myanmar's junta chief to become president, Min Aung Hlaing will fly to India on an official visit on Saturday, his first overseas visit since taking the civilian role.

The five-day trip, during which the former general will hold talks with Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi, underscores the gradual return of regional re-engagement for Myanmar, five years after many of its neighbours shunned the Southeast Asian nation's military leadership following a coup.  "After changing into civilian clothes as president, Min Aung Hlaing is looking to boost diplomatic engagement across the region," said Richard Horsey, senior Myanmar adviser at Crisis Group.

"He expects more normal ties with ASEAN," Horsey added, referring to the grouping of 11 southeast Asian countries, "with support from Thailand and some other member states. He is also likely to visit Beijing soon to meet Xi Jinping. India is Myanmar's other key neighbour."

An official from Myanmar's presidential office, reached via phone, declined to comment on the visit.

Indian foreign ministry spokesman Randhir Jaiswal told reporters on Friday: "All issues that form part of the gamut of relations between Myanmar and India will come up for discussion."

Junta was diplomatically isolated

In a dawn takeover on February 1, 2021, Min Aung Hlaing ousted the elected civilian government led by Nobel Peace Prize winner Aung San Suu Kyi, sparking a protest movement that transformed into a nationwide armed uprising against the military.

The coup drew widespread condemnation, including from the ASEAN bloc that barred Myanmar's generals from its summits, and the new military-led administration found itself increasingly isolated.

A devastating earthquake last year provided a diplomatic opening for Min Aung Hlaing, who made a rare visit to a regional summit in Bangkok, which he is seeking to build on following a widely criticised election that paved the way for his presidency.

"He is seeking more and more regional and international respectability post-election," said Gautam Mukhopadhaya, a former Indian ambassador to Myanmar.

Frontier area offensives

Although long backed by Beijing, which has a range of investments in Myanmar, Min Aung Hlaing's move to travel to India for his first overseas visit would in part be to counter China's deep influence, analysts said.

"This has been part of Myanmar's way of dealing with India and China, capitulating more to China and trying to sort of balance it with India," said Mukhopadhaya.

The visit comes as Myanmar's military has launched renewed offensives in a frontier area where the rare-earth deposits are found as well as other ​vital trade routes into India and Thailand.

"Min Aung Hlaing will almost certainly seek India's help in countering the Arakan Army and Chin armed groups," Horsey said, referring to rebels fighting the military in Myanmar's Chin state, which borders India, and nearby Rakhine state.

India, on its part, has been interested in finding a way to access Myanmar's resources, including working to obtain mineral samples with the assistance of a powerful rebel group, Reuters has reported.

"The bottom line behind this visit from the Indian side is what they can get out of it in terms of raw materials, rare earths (and) business propositions," Mukhopadhaya said.

"And that's exactly what the Myanmar military wants, because it wants its military enterprises strengthened."

Manipur violence ::: Villagers attending a funeral service at TM Kasom in Manipur’s Ukhrul district allegedly came under attack !!

A civilian truck driver from 'outside the state' was killed in firing allegedly by Kuki militants near Patlejang village between 11:00 am and 11:20 am on May 29.

BSF took the body to RIMS, Imphal for postmortem, reports said. 

The driver Killed in ambush on civilian trucks by Kuki Terrorist KNA and KNA-BURMA is reportedly a native of Bihar and at present settled in West Bengal.

Videos available and reports also claimed that Villagers attending a funeral service at TM Kasom in Manipur’s Ukhrul district allegedly came under attack from suspected militants on Manipur 29.

According to local sources, armed militants allegedly from nearby Patleijang opened fire while mourners were conducting the last rites of an elderly villager who had reportedly died due to a kidney-related illness. 

The firing reportedly took place near the cemetery area, triggering panic among those attending the funeral.

Zeliangrong Civil Society Organizations of Nagaland (ZBN) appeals for safe release of six abducted Naga men ::::: Four arrested in Naga hostage case as Manipur widens anti-insurgency operations

 The Zeliangrong Baudi Nagaland on Friday organised a massive solidarity protest under the theme “Bring Them Home” at Jalukie in Peren district, Nagaland, in support of six Naga civilians allegedly abducted by Kuki militants on May 13 from Leilon village in Manipur’s Kangpokpi district.

Nearly 10,000 people from different walks of life from different communities and organisations turned up for the rally to express solidarity with the affected families. The protestors demanded the immediate safe release of the six Naga hostages, whose whereabouts remain unknown till date.

Manipur CM Khemchand meeting internally displaces people at Makhan Naga village 

Later a memorandum was submitted to the Governor of Nagaland by Zeliangrong Baudi and along with the CSO, Nagaland-NZPO, ZB (AMN) ZCN, LCN, RCN, ZMON, ZWO, ZSUN, ZSU, & ZYO, Peren District, Nagaland seeking the governor’s immediate intervention. 

“The current unrest situation in Manipur is bound to affect the whole region due to which the Zeliangrong Civil Society Organizations of Nagaland (ZBN) appeal for the safe release of six Naga men abducted by the National Kuki Front KNF-P operating under the Kuki Militants in connivance with the Leilon village community. 

To de-escalate the grave situation and restore peace and tranquility within the region,” the memorandum stated.

Four arrested in Naga hostage case as Manipur widens anti-insurgency operations 

Chief Minister Khemchand Singh visited displaced Naga families in Kangpokpi & assured swift action to rescue abducted civilians safely.

Amid growing concern over the abduction of six Naga civilians in Manipur, Chief Minister Y Khemchand Singh on Thursday visited Makhan Naga village in Kangpokpi district, where he met internally displaced persons (IDPs) sheltering in a relief camp and assured swift action to secure the hostages.  

The Chief Minister told media that four suspected persons, believed to be involved in the abduction, have already been arrested, while search and combing operations are continuing to trace the whereabouts of the hostages.  

“The government shares the sentiments and concerns of the people regarding the hostage issue. Necessary steps are being taken and we are hopeful that the abducted civilians will be traced soon,” he said.

ends 

First 100 days of Tarique Govt ::::: Even luck has not quite favoured the new BNP dispensation ::::: Mamata Banerjee was a hurdle for Teesta. Into that vacuum stepped China !!

 Bangladeshis must have already learned that everything could be made NEGOTIABLE with a directionless political leadership.

More so; if the leadership is 'weak' due to more reasons than one and the nation has foremost of all - an economic crisis again due to multiple reasons. 

We can reflect upon these situations while examining the first 100 days of the BNP Govt.  

What is Bangladesh 'not famous for' ?  

Blogger in Dhaka: 2017 Music Fest 

Tarique Rahman or anyone else. The Bangladesh government will always need to work on something which it lacks.

That means it needs to energise an often inert bureaucracy, 

strengthen law and order, stabilise an economy weakened by money laundering, crony capitalism and restore the effectiveness of democratic institutions chiefly - Parliament and the Election Commission.

This is a tall order. Nobody's perfect. More so among the Netas in South Asia. The problem is bigger because a 'realistic clear-sightedness' has been lacking more with the Bangladeshi political class. They are always in 'sea' like the proverbial old men - undecided - can Pakistan be their friend or benefactor. 

Or should they trust India - who helped them attain freedom; but it remains Hindu majority and under PM Narendra Modi; Bharat is Hindutva-infected ? 

Baul singers - linked to Krishna Bhakti and Mysticism 

An overwhelming section of intellectuals and TV commentators are now upset because a corrupt and 'anti-New Delhi and anti-Hindu' dispensation under Mamata Banerjee has been voted out in Kolkata? 

Worse; as of now the future prospects of "Bangladeshi-infiltrators" friendly TMC has been thrown into the deep waters of Padma, Teesta and Ganga. 

Of course, common Bangladeshis are smart enough and they have drawn their priorities. 

People no longer want rhetoric, they want results. They will measure this administration by whether prices remain steady, streets grow safer, institutions gain strength, and democratic promises are truly honoured.

 (Note: Every Eid-ul-Azha, Bangladesh conducts one of the largest concentrated acts of animal sacrifice in the world. In 2024, around 1.04 crore animals were sacrificed in roughly 72 hours, including 47.7 lakh cows, 1.13 lakh buffaloes, 50.6 lakh goats, and 4.7 lakh sheep) 

Even luck has not quite favoured the new BNP dispensation notwithstanding the fact their election victory came easier than it was expected.  

Just 10 days after Tarique assumed office, the US and Israel attacked Iran, triggering a regional conflict that destabilised global markets and disrupted oil supplies. By May 4th; the BJP in neighbouring India captured West Bengal and the Modi-led regime has decided to push 'throw our infiltrators (Bangladeshi Muslim illegal entrants) go full steam. 

Tarique actually inherited some problems by default.  

After the forceful ouster of Sheikh Hasina; the intervening interim government under US-planted 'team' was expected to champion reforms and restore rule of law.

They failed to a large extent and also further complicated things. These only led to even higher expectations from the elected BNP government.

Bangladesh, as they say, is still trapped in a cycle of misgovernance and injustice.  

One looming concern for the Tarique Govt is the Agreement on Reciprocal Trade (ART) signed with the United States during the final days of the interim government. The 32-page framework covers trade, labour, and economic policies, with several of its conditions believed to be unfavourable to Bangladesh. 

One of the main expectations was that this government would push forward institutional reforms. 

That agenda has visibly lost momentum. Several ordinances from the interim period -- covering judicial independence, the National Human Rights Council, the Anti-Corruption Commission, and protections against enforced disappearance -- were not ratified.

(The justice system in Bangladesh must adapt to the changing nature of digital evidence.) 

Take a pause and let's reflect precisely on Indo-Bangladesh ties since Tarique took over.

Relations between India and Bangladesh have seen a pragmatic reset. After winning a two-thirds majority in the February 2026 elections, Tarique Rahman adopted a "Bangladesh-first" foreign policy. 

He has rightly refused to treat any nation as a "master," his administration has actively pursued renewed trade, security, and connectivity with India. 

Importantly, domestically, Rahman's administration has pledged to make Bangladesh a safe country for all faiths, especially Hindus --- which has helped build cautious optimism in India regarding regional stability. 

One will not be wrong to endorse the views that Tarique Rahman has stepped into South Asia’s hardest balancing act in the calendar year 2026.

Of course, Bangladesh’s new Prime Minister has signaled a China-first tilt, but geography and domestic politics ensure India remains unavoidable. 

"Bangladesh cannot afford hostility with either, yet closeness to one invariably unsettles the other," says magazine 'Frontline'. 

Tarique Rahman : Balancing Act 

Few countries are forced to practice balance between two regional giants. 

And few moments have revealed that balancing act more starkly than the early foreign-policy calculations of Bangladesh’s new Prime Minister, Tarique Rahman.

Rahman’s China move maybe rich in symbolism. 

In South Asia, first visits are rarely ceremonial. They are read as declarations of strategic intent. Beijing clearly understands the optics. 

The Chinese ambassador, Yao Wen, recently described relations with Bangladesh as having reached “a new height”.

China has also signalled that it stands ready to support Bangladesh’s “political stability, economic development and public welfare activities”. 

During ousted Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina’s tenure, Dhaka repeatedly hoped India would move forward on a Teesta water-sharing agreement. 

Mamata Banerjee was a hurdle.

Into that vacuum stepped China.

Beijing’s willingness to finance and assist the Teesta restoration scheme has long carried geopolitical implications. 

"Yet, the Teesta is an arena where the strategic insecurities of Asia’s two great powers intersect. India has historically viewed Chinese involvement in river management projects close to its vulnerable Siliguri Corridor with deep suspicion. 

Chinese participation in a river system tied directly to India’s own hydrological and security concerns touches a particularly raw nerve in New Delhi," says Frontline. 

ends 

RSS irked as TMC cadres turn saffron, ABVP and BMS alert to misuse of outfits' name ::::: "burden" of victory in West Bengal Assembly polls

RSS irked as TMC cadres  turn saffron, ABVP and BMS alert to misuse of outfits' name

Thousands, mainly those associated with the Trinamool Congress, became self-proclaimed activists of the BJP's student outfit and trade union after the May 4 Assembly election results.  

It was first noticed on May 4, when a WhatsApp group of the TMCP with around 370 members suddenly changed its identity to the ABVP. 

Once it was reported, the outfit lodged a complaint with the police. Since then, several TMCP units from different colleges and medical colleges have changed their identities and started claiming to be those of the ABVP.

Blogger: North Bengal : Palace Museum 

On May 5, a day after the election results in which the BJP swept the Bengal elections, a group of self-proclaimed ABVP activists stormed the Vidyasagar University campus, vandalised a part of the premises and allegedly forced the vice-chancellor to chant slogans. 

The ABVP immediately clarified that those involved in the incident had no connection with it.

The "burden" of victory in the Bengal Assembly polls hasn't been limited to the BJP alone, but also to several RSS frontal organisations such as the Akhil Bharatiya Vidyarthi Parishad (ABVP) and the Bharatiya Mazdoor Sangh (BMS).

Thousands, mainly those associated with the Trinamool Congress, became self-proclaimed activists of the BJP's student outfit and trade union after the May 4 Assembly election results.  

While a large number of Trinamool student leaders attempted to project themselves as ABVP activists, several Trinamool workers who were not allowed direct entry into the BJP started claiming to be BMS members in a bid to take control of small unions such as those of autorickshaw and battery-driven rickshaw operators.

The state leadership of the ABVP said it had so far lodged 17 police complaints against new groups operating in the outfit's name and was continuing close surveillance across the state to identify such organisations.  

On Thursday, the state unit of the students’ wing issued a press release regarding a fake ABVP letterhead that had allegedly been used to submit a memorandum to governor R.N. Ravi against certain activities of the Trinamool Chhatra Parishad (TMCP) and some proposals related to Burdwan University.

“Since the May 4 election results, many student unions belonging to the TMCP have changed their social media identities and started using the ABVP name. 

Several social media groups that were earlier named TMCP have been using our name to mislead students. We have already registered 17 police complaints and are continuing awareness campaigns on social media to help people identify such fake outfits,” ABVP state secretary Neelkantha Bhattacharjee said.

“Those who are using our name to mislead students will not be able to continue this practice for long, as we have units in all districts and educational institutions. We are urging students who wish to join the ABVP to contact our organisational leaders directly,” he added.  

West Bengal is not merely another Indian state. 

Partitioned in 1947 on religious lines during the violent birth of India and Pakistan, it shares a border of more than 2,200 kilometres with Bangladesh and has long occupied a central place in India’s political imagination. 

Muslims constitute roughly 27 percent of the state’s population and have historically voted strategically to block the BJP’s rise.

Kalitala, Malda Dist., West Bengal, May 2019: : An Ekal school with 25 kids under a giant banyan tree in a tiny hamlet, Kalitala, in Habibpur developmental block of Malda district, bordering Bangladesh. Photo: 'The Hindu' newspaper 

As ideological barriers give way and political activists switch sides, the BJP is relying on its tried and tested ways of getting into the mainstream on the strength of a host of communal organisations.  

In 2018, it was reported that it's not the RSS, but a splinter group, which has has come out of the organisation, that has become the force of Hindutva in West Bengal.

Hindu Samhati, the organisation created by former RSS pracharak Tapan Ghosh in 2008, was at the centre of the storm. 

The organisation was found to be one of the forces involved in communal tension in Malda where miscreants had torched a police station and decamped with important police documents. 

The forum made headlines again when its members clashed with a Muslim fundamentalist group in Basirhat.

Districts with large Muslim populations witnessed some of the highest voter deletions. The process lacked transparency, while AI-assisted “logical discrepancy” software disproportionately flagged Muslim names because of transliteration inconsistencies between Urdu, Bengali and English spellings.  

The Supreme Court of India intervened several times but ultimately allowed the process to continue. 

Millions filed appeals after discovering their names had disappeared from the rolls. Yet more than 3.4 million appeals remained pending before polling, with fewer than 2,000 cleared in time. The court ruled that voters whose appeals had not been decided would still be barred from voting in the election, although their names could theoretically be restored later.

ends