Representative image
KOLKATA: Abbas Siddiqui, a pirzada of Hooghly’s Furfura Sharif, is set to announce his new outfit of Muslims, Dalits and Adivasis on January 21, giving a new dimension to identity politics in West Bengal.
“I am going to launch the new outfit on January 21. This outfit will be a platform for Muslims, Dalits, Adivasis in Bengal. Many Adivasi and Dalit representatives came to me in the last few months. Leaders of mainstream political parties also came to me for talks. For the moment, we are aiming to contest 60-80 seats in the assembly elections,” Siddiqui said.
The Furfura cleric got a boost when All India Majlis-e-Ittehad-ul-Muslimeen (AIMIM) chief Asaduddin Owaisi came to his place a fortnight ago and promised to work with him. Since then, Siddiqui had been floating the prospect of launching a new party at religious jalsas held in rural North and South 24 Parganas and East Midnapore.
A still from Bander Band
Kolkata: Iranian film-maker Manijeh Hekmat has been in Kolkata and intends to make a film on India someday. She believes that India is one of few countries where you can place your camera in every corner and you’ll have images and, ultimately, cinema .
Her personal film career is long and eventful. In 1995, she began working as a producer. In 2002, she directed her debut feature titled ‘Women’s Prison’ on the situation of Iranian women prisoners. The film was premiered at the Venice Film Festival. In 2007, her second film, ‘Three Women’, was shown in more than 80 international film festivals starting with Berlinale.
Trinamool Congress Birbhum MP Satabdi Roy
KOLKATA/BOLPUR: Trinamool Congress Birbhum MP Satabdi Roy on Friday night said she will not be travelling to Delhi on Saturday after a meeting with party MP Abhishek Banerjee at his Camac Street office. I told Abhishek about my grievances. I am not going to Delhi tomorrow. I joined Trinamool because Mamata Banerjee wanted me in the party. This is the time to stay together and put up the fight,” Satabdi said, setting to rest speculation of her joining BJP.
There was a day-long drama since Friday morning, hours after the Trinamool MP addressed her Birbhum voters in a Facebook post on Thursday saying that she was unable to reach out to her voters despite her efforts to connect with them. Satabdi also said that some people in Trinamool didn’t inform her about the party programmes in Birbhum. The Trinamool MP in her post gave a date and time January 16, 2pm to make up her mind.
Picture for representational purpose only.
KOLKATA: The CBI, probing the illegal coal mining scam in West Bengal conducted raids in at least 10 locations across the state on Wednesday, two days after the Enforcement Directorate searched premises in connection to the case.
A team of 75 officials of the central investigating agency, searched premises including those belonging to Anup Maji alias Lala the prime accused in the case.
Seven teams of the CBI on Wednesday conducted searches at Asansol, Raniganj, Jamuria and Durgapur. According to sources, the CBI is also planning to question Binay Mishra’s brother in connection to the case. Sources said that summons have already been issued asking him to appear at the agency’s office this week.