Lalgarh Rally

• Mamata criticises Maoists and cautions intellectuals

  On her first visit as chief minister, to Lalgarh the former Naxal hotbed, Mamata Banerjee today criticised the Maoists' cult of violence and killing but did not offer talks with them. Addressing a rally, she also also hit out at the section of intellectuals in Kolkata for indulging Maoists.

• Now, Kishenji upset with Mamata over Lalgarh rally

  Top Maoist leader Kishenji on Wednesday expressed disenchantment with the August 9 rally at Lalgarh addressed by Trinamool Congress chief Mamata Banerjee, supported by him and the PCPA, and said it was held for "petty political gain" by the party."Despite utterances by leaders against terrorisation by the CPM at the rally, Mamata and her party hija...

• Left: How can minister Mamata side with Maoists?

  Mamata Banerjee is causing the UPA government much embarrassment and the Opposition is ensuring it doesn't end soon. On Thursday, the Left questioned how a minster could side with Maoists and call a Maoist leader a "martyr" and said the Centre must explain.This after Mamata said on Wednesday that she stood by her remarks when she called Maoist lead...

• Mamata's supporters hold yagna for her early recovery

  Supporters of Mamata Banerjee on Monday held a yagna near Kolkata's Kalighat temple praying for her early recovery from injuries sustained in a road accident last Monday. The Railway Minister was injured when, on her way back from a rally in Lalgarh, a truck rammed into an escort vehicle in her convoy which, in turn, rammed into the vehicle in whic...

• Pranab Mukherjee meets Mamata Banerjee

  Senior Congress leader Pranab Mukherjee on Saturday met Trinamool Congress chief Mamata Banerjee in Kolkata where she is recuperating after a car accident she had recently.  Pranab says the visit was just a courtesy call and that he hopes Mamata will recover soon and attend the monsoon session of Parliament.  It is not clear whether Prana...

• No one from govt should back Maoists: Chidambaram

  Mamata Banerjee's controversial rally at Lalgarh again figured in the Rajya Sabha on Wednesday with a BJP member asking Home Minister P Chidambaram if the government would take action against a leader who supports the Maoists.Chidambaram was asked if the government would take action against those who appreciate anti-democratic movement in the Naxal...

• Trinamool in denial over Lalgarh rally

  After drawing flak for her Lalgarh rally in which the Maoist front organisation, the People's Committee against Police Atrocities (PCPA) took part, Mamata Banerjee's Trinamool Congress is in denial. Speaking to NDTV's Prannoy Roy, senior Trinamool leader and Health Minister Dinesh Trivedi insisted it was not a joint rally with the Maoists."I want t...

• BJP slams Govt in Rajya Sabha over Mamata's Lalgarh rally

  Rajya Sabha was on Tuesday adjourned till 1200 noon following clashes between treasury benches and Opposition BJP which wanted suspension of Question Hour to discuss Trinamool Congress chief Mamata Banerjee's alleged support to Maoists at her Lalgarh rally.When the House met for the day, Leader of Opposition Arun Jaitley said, "I have given a notic...

• CPM slams Mamata for Lalgarh rally with Maoists' friends

  The CPI(M) charged that the Trinamool Congress has "legitimised" the outlawed Maoists by organising a joint rally at Lalgarh in West Bengal and demanded that Prime Minister Manmohan Singh answer to the country on the "tie-up". (Read: I don't understand the language of guns, says Mamata at Lalgarh rally)"The Prime Minister went on record on the floo...

• Mamata in Lalgarh slams CPM for 'Jungle Mahal'

  Unfazed by criticism that she was wooing them, Trinamool Congress leader and Union Minister Mamata Banerjee on Monday stormed the Maoists bastion and appealed to them to halt killings saying joint operations against them should be withdrawn once they come to negotiations. (Read: CPM slams Mamata for Lalgarh rally with Maoists' friends)Accompanied b...

• Mamata: Way Maoist leader Azad was killed not right

  Slamming the Left at a rally in Lalgarh on Monday, Trinamool Congress chief Mamata Banerjee said the way Maoist leader Azad was killed was not right and asked for a probe into his death.C Rajakumar alias Azad was killed in an encounter by state police in Andhra Pradesh on July 2.  Following his death, Maoist sympathisers had filed a petition i...

• Mamata rally: CPM, Trinamool face-off

  Lalgarh has once again created a face-off between the CPM and the Trinamool Congress. On Monday, Mamata Banerjee holds a major rally in Lalgarh, which two years ago saw a pitched battle between the state and Maoists, and the Left, under pressure after Mamata's recent electoral gains, has dragged the Centre in, alleging Mamata and the Maoists of joi...

• Fully support Mamata's rally, says Maoist leader Kishenji

  In what has sparked off a fresh political storm in West Bengal, the Maoists have openly backed Trinamool Congress chief and Union Railways Minister Mamata Banerjee's proposed rally on the August 9 in the state's Maoist heartland Lalgarh. Top Maoist leader Kishenji has told PTI that he will fully support the rally. This came soon after the Peoples' ...