KOLKATA: The Kolkata Police on Sunday conducted a search operation at a beauty parlour allegedly owned by Pamela Goswami, a youth wing leader of the BJP arrested for possession of cocaine.

Sleuths of the city police took Goswami to the parlour in the New Town area and conducted the search on the premises in her presence, sources said.

Very active on social media platforms where she had taken on celebrities like singer Rihanna over the farmers’ protest, Goswami was arrested with her friend Prabeer Kumar Dey and personal security guard Somnath Chatterjee on Friday after 90 gm of cocaine was allegedly found in her handbag and concealed in the car she was travelling.

She had created a flutter at a city court where she was produced on Saturday, trying to wriggle out of the grasp of police and screaming that Rakesh Singh, a close aide of BJP’s West Bengal pointsman Kailash Vijayvargiya, “plotted” her arrest.

Goswami, a former fashion model and small-time actress, was remanded in police custody till February 25.

Claiming that Goswami had been “brainwashed” by the Kolkata Police and the ruling TMC, Singh said he was not in touch with her for over a year.

Singh said he was ready to face investigation by any agency.

PUDUCHERRY: Congress government fell in Puducherry as CM V Narayanasamy lost the trust vote in the Assembly on Monday.

V Narayanasamy sought a confidence vote for his government, as the territorial Assembly met for a special session for a floor test of his five-year-old government that has been reduced to a minority following resignations by ruling dispensation members.

Moving the motion, the chief minister told the Assembly that his government had the majority

Apparently referring to former Lt Governor Kiran Bedi constantly being at loggerheads with him on administrative matters, he said that he had however, delivered for the union territory, including effectively handling the Covid-19 pandemic.

He lashed out at Bedi, saying she had “conspired” against the government on matters including revenue generation.

“Those rejected by people cospired to topple our government but we stayed firm due to our resilience,” he said.

Expressing her doubt, BJP MP Locket Chatterjee said there were many incidents in which our party workers were falsely framed

KOLKATA: BJP’s West Bengal youth wing functionary Pamela Goswami was arrested on Friday from New Alipore in south Kolkata after cocaine weighing 100 gm was found in her possession, said an officer of Kolkata Police.

“Armed with specific information, we intercepted her vehicle. While searching, we recovered the contraband item,” said a police officer. Goswami was booked under the sections of the NDPS Act.

Expressing her doubt, BJP MP Locket Chatterjee said there were many incidents in which our party workers were falsely framed. “The police planted arms and other contraband items to frame false charges against our workers. I am not fully aware of Goswami’s incident. If it happened really, it is condemnable,” she said.

TMC Miniter Chandrima Bhattacharya said the incident was a shameful event. “We saw before how BJP functionaries were involved in infant trafficking cases. Police should conduct a thorough probe into the incident,” she said.

The selection for the public rally at the Dunlop factory ground in Sahaganj by the Trinamool Congress is said to be a reflection of an intensified slugfest between the ruling party and the BJP

KOLKATA: West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee will address an election rally at the same venue in Hooghly district within 48 hours of Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s scheduled visit there on February 22.

The selection for the public rally at the Dunlop factory ground in Sahaganj by the Trinamool Congress is said to be a reflection of an intensified slugfest between the ruling party and the BJP in the state.

The BJP strategically picked the Dunlop factory ground, known as an industrial zone, as the prime minister is likely to address the rally Bengal’s poor performance in attracting investments during Banerjee’s rule. Modi’s last public rally was in East Midnapore district which is known as an agricultural region.

“The decision of holding the rally at the same venue is part of our aggressive campaign strategy against the BJP. We have decided to address rallies from the same place where the BJP will try to mislead the people with a bunch of lies. It will strengthen our counter-attack to the BJP,’’ said TMC MP and spokesperson Saugata Roy.

Two days after BJP’s state and national functionaries visited the ground, TMC leaders also went there.
It will be the first time the Bengal CM will address a poll rally from a place where Modi will be present.

Sources in the BJP said Modi is likely to unleash an attack on Banerjee for driving out Tata Motors from Singur in Hooghly district and the subsequent impact on Bengal’s investments.

Senior BJP leaders, including national vice-president Mukul Roy, have already announced that the party will bring back Tata Motors to Singur if it comes to power.

“Standing on the same ground, the CM will reply to the allegations that Modi is likely to make in his speech. We will follow the practice of selecting the same venues for organising rallies ahead of the Assembly elections,’’ said a senior TMC leader.

Shah summoned in defamation case 

A designated MP/MLA court in   West Bengal issued summons to Home Minister Amit Shah on Friday to appear either personally or through a lawyer before it on February 22 in connection with a defamation case lodged against him by Trinamool Congress MP Abhishek Banerjee. The special judge of MP/MLA court at Bidhannagar directed that Shah is “required to appear in person/by pleader” at 10 am on that day.

MHA sends 12,000 CAPF troops to Bengal 

The Centre has ordered deployment of around 12,000 troops  of Central Armed Police Forces (CAPF) in West Bengal ahead of the state elections and Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s visit, according to government sources. As many as 115 companies of paramilitary forces are being sent to West Bengal in view of the multi-phase election, a senior government functionary said, adding that the forces will join duties from February 21. 

BJP youth leader arrested with cocaine in Kolkata 

BJP’s youth-wing leader Pamela Goswami was arrested with cocaine from south Kolkata’s upscale New Alipore area on Friday. Goswami, the state secretary of Bharatiya Janata Yuva Morcha, was along with a friend, identified as Prabir Kumar Dey, in her car when they were nabbed. Around 100 gm of cocaine was allegedly found in her handbag, and other parts of the car.

After overthrowing the TMC government, their plight will not exist.We will set up a dedicated ministry for the betterment of fishermen, Shah said.

KOLKATA: Continuing his attack on West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee over a number of issues including not allowing Hindu religious festivals to political violence claiming lives BJP workers, Union Home Minister Amit Shah on Thursday made a slew of promises aimed at wooing the voters. These included facilities for fisherman and government jobs for women.

Addressing a rally at Namkhana in South 24 Parganas, Shah said if the BJP comes to power, a ministry will be set up for fishermen and 33 per cent of government jobs will be reserved for women. “Fishermen have to bribe Trinamool Congress’s musclemen to venture into the sea.

After overthrowing the TMC government, their plight will not exist. We will set up a dedicated ministry for the betterment of fishermen. Namkhana will become a district and the area will be converted into an integrated fishery zone,’’ Shah said.

He also announced a beneficiary scheme, which will be implemented if BJP rules the state. “Like the scheme for farmers, fishermen will get an assistance of `6,000 every year and the sum will be credited to their bank accounts,” he said.

The delta region of the district has a sizable number of people who depend on fishing for a livelihood. To win their support, Shah had lunch at the house of a fisherman. Eyeing consolidation of Hindu votes, Shah accused Mamata of not allowing festivals like Durga Puja and Saraswati Puja. “Shouldn’t Durga Puja take place in West Bengal? Court’s permission is needed for that.

Shouldn’t Saraswati Puja take place here? She (Mamata) has stopped it. Didi, Bengal knows you stopped Saraswati pujan in schools.” Shah flagged off the fifth and final Parivartan Yatra from Namkhana. In the morning, he visited Bharat Sevashram Sangha in Kolkata and went to Kapil Muni Ashram in Gangasagar.

Modi suggested that the countries should consider creating a special visa scheme for doctors and nurses so that medical personnel can travel quickly within the region during emergencies

NEW DELHI:Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s five specific suggestions to boost cooperation among nations in India’s immediate and extended neighbourhood to deal with future medical emergencies were supported at a virtual workshop on Thursday by health experts from 10 countries, including Pakistan, authoritative sources said.

India on Thursday organised the workshop on management of COVID-19 as well as its experience and way forward for health officials and experts from all eight member nations of the South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation (SAARC) and Mauritius and Seychelles.

In his address, Modi suggested that the countries should consider creating a special visa scheme for doctors and nurses so that medical personnel can travel quickly within the region during health emergencies and that the civil aviation ministries can coordinate on a regional air ambulance agreement for medical contingencies.

“Can we create a regional platform for collating, compiling and studying data about the effectiveness of COVID-19 vaccines among our populations? Can we similarly create a regional network for promoting technology-driven epidemiology, for preventing future pandemics?” he said.

Modi further suggested sharing of successful public health policies and schemes among the countries.

The sources said all the countries, including Pakistan, supported the prime minister’s five proposals.

They said the experts proposed a structured discussion for regional cooperation on the proposals to take them forward.

The sources said all the participants agreed that there was a need for cooperation on regional basis to fight pandemics.

They said all the countries except Pakistan thanked India and Prime Minister Modi for India’s supplies of coronavirus vaccines and earlier assistance of various medicines, medical equipment and training of personnel.

Pakistan has not received coronavirus vaccines from India.

Last week, the Ministry of External Affairs said India provided over 229 lakh doses of coronavirus vaccines to various countries, out of which 64 lakh doses have been supplied as grant assistance and 165 lakh doses were sent on a commercial basis.

In a major announcement, India on January 19 said it will send COVID-19 vaccines under grant assistance to several countries, including Bhutan, Maldives, Bangladesh, Nepal, Myanmar, Seychelles, Sri Lanka, Afghanistan and Mauritius under grant assistance.