<![CDATA[ ]]>https://www.ptcnews.tv/in-focusen-usTue, 11 Jun 2019 11:39:35 +0530<![CDATA[Court Orders Release Of Journalist Arrested In Connection With Defamatory Posts on Yogi ]]>https://www.ptcnews.tv/court-orders-release-of-journalist-arrested-in-connection-with-defamatory-posts-on-yogi Journalist Prashant Kanojia's arrest by the Uttar Pradesh police for "defaming" Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath "is not murder", the Supreme Court said today, ordering his release. The top court was hearing a petition by Mr Kanojia's wife, challenging his arrest on Saturday. "Normally we don't entertain these type of petitions. But a person can't spend 11 day's in jail," the Supreme Court said. A total of five people, including Mr Kanojia, were arrested in two days on charges of posting allegedly objectionable content about the Chief Minister. Prashant Kanojia, a freelance journalist, was arrested by Uttar Pradesh police in Delhi on Saturday for a tweet that had "objectionable comments" on Yogi Adityanath. Mr Kanojia, was picked up from his home in Delhi after a complaint by a police officer in Lucknow, alleging he tried to "malign" Yogi Adityanath's image. He had shared a video on Twitter and Facebook where a woman is seen speaking to reporters of various media organisations outside Yogi Adityanath's office, claiming that she had sent him a marriage proposal. The same evening the head of a private news channel and its editor were arrested in Noida. During a debate on the channel on June 6, the woman, whose video was shared by Prashant Kanojia, had allegedly made defamatory statements against Yogi Adityanath, the police said.- ]]>Punita VTue, 11 Jun 2019 11:39:35 +053018373221837322<![CDATA[Trump Says India's 50% Tariff On US Motorcycles Unacceptable ]]>https://www.ptcnews.tv/trump-says-indias-50-tariff-on-us-motorcycles-unacceptable US President Donald Trump said that even though India has reduced its import tariff on American motorcycles from 100 percent to 50 percent, it is still too high and not acceptable to him. Trump said the United States, under his leadership, is a country that can no longer be fooled. "We're not the foolish country that does so badly. You look at India, very good friend of mine, Prime Minister (Narendra) Modi, you take a look at what they've done, 100 percent tax on a motorcycle. We charge them nothing," Trump told CBS news in an interview on Monday. Trump was referring to the import tariff on the Harley Davidson motorcycles, an issue that has been close to his heart and wants India to reduce it to zero. "So, when Harley sends over there, they have 100 percent tax. When they (India) send in - they make a tremendous number of motorcycles - when they send them in, no tax. I called him. I said it's unacceptable," Trump said, referring to his conversation with PM Modi. "He (PM Modi) reduced it by 50 percent with one phone call. I said it's still unacceptable because it's 50 percent versus nothing. It's still unacceptable. And they're working on it," he said, indicating that the two countries are still in talks to resolve the issue of import tariffs on American motorcycles.- ]]>Punita VTue, 11 Jun 2019 11:31:44 +053018373211837321<![CDATA[Navjot Singh Sidhu Meets Rahul, Priyanka Gandhi ]]>https://www.ptcnews.tv/navjot-singh-sidhu-meets-rahul-priyanka-gandhi Punjab Minister Navjot Singh Sidhu, who has been at war with Chief Minister Amarinder Singh and was moved to what is seen as a less weighty portfolio last week, met with party President Rahul Gandhi today and submitted a letter. The sulking former cricketer-turned-politician is yet to take charge in his new ministry. "Met the Congress President, handed him my letter, appraised him of the situation (sic)," Navjot Sidhu tweeted on Monday. It is not confirmed whether Mr Sidhu offered his resignation, as some reports suggest. Mr Sidhu's tweet also included a photo in which he is flanked by Rahul Gandhi and his sister Priyanka Gandhi Vadra, who joined the Congress in January. Congress leader Ahmed Patel, a close aide of Rahul Gandhi's mother and former Congress chief Sonia Gandhi, is also in the photo. That he did get an audience with the party leadership in his running feud with Amarinder Singh is seen as very significant. Amarinder Singh aka "Captain" last week took away the Local Government portfolio from Mr Sidhu and assigned him Power and New and Renewable Energy Sources. His other portfolio of Tourism and Cultural Affairs was also taken over by the Chief Minister. "The Captain" also kept him out of crucial consultative groups announced on Saturday to review progress and make changes in the government's flagship programmes and schemes.- ]]>Punita VMon, 10 Jun 2019 15:30:02 +053018372711837271<![CDATA[PM Modi Calls Congress Leadership Crisis “Their Weakness” ]]>https://www.ptcnews.tv/pm-modi-calls-congress-leadership-crisis-their-weakness Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Sunday took a veiled dig at Congress President Rahul Gandhi, saying the top opposition leader could not still come out of the impact of election results which showed "weakness." The Prime Minister asserted that his party-led government would further accelerate work for the betterment of Andhra Pradesh and Tamil Nadu people though the BJP could not win Lok Sabha polls in these two States. "Given the huge mandate we got, some people think expectations and aspirations (on the government) have increased," the Prime Minister said. "They also wonder what can Modi do. We should see it as India's fortune and a great opportunity. I see it as a guarantee for a brighter India," he said. PM Modi addressed a thanksgiving public meeting organized by the Andhra Pradesh BJP at Renigunta near Tirupati. Apparently taking potshots at Rahul Gandhi over his recent comments in Wayanad that PM Modi's election campaign was filled with "lies, poison and hatred", the Prime Minister remarked that some people could not still come out of the impact of election results. "That is their weakness. For us the chapter of elections has ended. A new chapter of serving the 130 crore people of the country has opened for us," PM Modi said.- ]]>Punita VMon, 10 Jun 2019 11:51:54 +053018372521837252<![CDATA[Top Court To Hear Case For Release Of Journalists Arrested In Connection With Defamatory Posts On Yogi ]]>https://www.ptcnews.tv/top-court-to-hear-case-for-release-of-journalists-arrested-in-connection-with-defamatory-posts-on-yogi The wife of Delhi-based journalist Prashant Kanojia, who was arrested on Friday evening for allegedly maligning the image of Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath, has moved the Supreme Court for his release. Jagisha Arora, Mr Kanojia's wife, has claimed that the police officers who arrested her husband failed to follow proper procedure and therefore his arrest is illegal. Her lawyer told the court that Mr Kanojia was "unceremoniously arrested by the UP police and it is illegal. Please take up the case today itself." The Supreme Court turned down the request and will instead hear the matter tomorrow. The arrest, along with those of the editor and owner of a television channel in Noida that aired the video, sparked a huge debate on social media on freedom of expression in the country. Two more people were arrested in Gorakhpur in Uttar Pradesh, the Chief Minister's stronghold, on Sunday evening. According to a tweet by police, one man was arrested after a complaint against him was received on Twitter. He was arrested for posting "objectionable content" about the BJP leader.  - ]]>Punita VMon, 10 Jun 2019 11:43:16 +053018372501837250<![CDATA[Mamata to skip NITI Aayog Meet ]]>https://www.ptcnews.tv/mamata-to-skip-niti-aayog-meet West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee has written to Prime Minister Narendra Modi saying that she will not attend a meeting of the NITI Aayog next week as government think tank has "no power to help states". "Given that the NITI Aaayog has no financial powers and the power to support state plans, it is fruitless for me to attend the meeting," Ms Banerjee wrote in an unsigned letter, addressed to PM Modi. PM Modi will chair the fifth meeting of NITI Aayog's Governing Council on June 15 where he will discuss various development issues. In her letter, the 64-year-old leader said decision to replace the NITI Aayog with Planning Commission was taken without holding a discussion with states. "Since, the Planning Commission represented the federalist polity of the country with cooperative federalism in matters of the economy and allocation of resources as its goal, I was surprised by your unilateral announcement which was not preceded by any discussion with the Chief Ministers of the States for their views," Ms Banerjee wrote. She has skipped the NITI Aayog meetings earlier too.  - ]]>Punita VFri, 07 Jun 2019 13:30:48 +053018370401837040<![CDATA[Indian CEO charged in US with accounting fraud ]]>https://www.ptcnews.tv/indian-ceo-charged-in-us-with-accounting-fraud A former Indian CEO of a publicly traded American fintech firm has been indicted for a multi-million dollar accounting fraud, a US attorney has said. Venkata Meenavalli, 49, has been indicted for allegedly orchestrating an accounting scheme to defraud investors and others by recognising more than USD 66 million in fake revenue to fraudulently get the company listed on the Nasdaq exchange, US Attorney Craig Carpenito said on Wednesday. The charges carries a maximum potential penalty of 20 years in prison and a USD 5 million fine. According to documents, in 2017 and 2018, Meenavalli and others orchestrated a multi-million dollar accounting fraud relating to Longfin Corp, a publicly traded company purportedly engaged in sophisticated commodities trading and so-called “cryptocurrency” transactions, including “blockchain-empowered solutions.” The company’s share price jumped some 2,000 per cent in 2017 after announcing a blockchain pivot, it said. Simultaneously, the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) also filed a new fraud action against Longfin and Meenavalli for falsifying the company’s revenue and, together with a former Longfin consultant, for fraudulently securing the company’s listing on Nasdaq.  - ]]>Punita VThu, 06 Jun 2019 12:42:57 +053018369421836942<![CDATA[RBI Cuts Rate To Lowest In 9 Years ]]>https://www.ptcnews.tv/rbi-cuts-rate-to-lowest-in-9-years The Reserve Bank of India's Monetary Policy Committee, led by Governor Shaktikanta Das, on Thursday unanimously lowered key lending rate or repo rate by 25 basis points or 0.25 per cent to 5.75 per cent. The six-member committee also changed the policy stance to "accommodative" from "neutral". Repo rate is the interest rate at which commercial banks borrow short-term funds from the RBI. Thursday's decision comes after conclusion of a three-day meeting of the MPC. With today's cut, the RBI lowered the key interest for third time in a row to a level last seen in September 2010. The RBI's move to lower the repo rate met economists' estimates. Two-thirds of 66 economists in a poll conducted by news agency Reuters ahead of the release of GDP data had expected the Monetary Policy Committee to announce a 25-basis-points cut in the repo rate to 5.75 per cent. Today's rate cut comes as a relief to borrowers as equated monthly instalments (EMI) for home loans, car loans and other loans are set to come down. However, depositors would earn less on their bank investments. - ]]>Punita VThu, 06 Jun 2019 12:29:52 +053018369401836940<![CDATA[Centre Not To Share Details On Notice To Rahul Gandhi Over Citizenship ]]>https://www.ptcnews.tv/centre-not-to-share-details-on-notice-to-rahul-gandhi-over-citizenship The Home Ministry has refused to share details on its notice to Congress president Rahul Gandhi following a complaint questioning his Indian citizenship. The ministry has cited provisions of the RTI Act barring disclosure of information that will impede the investigation. In April, the Home Ministry served a notice to Mr Gandhi, asking him to clarify within a fortnight his "factual position" on a complaint by BJP's Rajya Sabha MP Subramanian Swamy questioning his citizenship status. In an RTI application, the ministry was asked to provide a copy of the notice to Rahul Gandhi and details of the response received from him. "The information sought cannot be disclosed under Section 8 (1) (h) and (j) of the RTI Act," it said in response to the application filed by news agency PTI. Section 8 (1) (h) bars disclosure of "information which would impede the process of investigation or apprehension or prosecution of offenders". Provision (j) bars "information which relates to personal information the disclosure of which has no relationship to any public activity or interest, or which would cause unwarranted invasion of the privacy of the individual.".  - ]]>Punita VTue, 04 Jun 2019 15:11:42 +053018367751836775<![CDATA[Spectrum auctions to be held this year ]]>https://www.ptcnews.tv/spectrum-auctions-to-be-held-this-year Union Communications Minister Ravi Shankar Prasad has said that the government plans to hold auctions for spectrum, including for 5G services, in the current calendar year. He added that the government intends to begin 5G trials in the next 100 days. The decision is significant as spectrum auctions are a major source of revenue — the 2016-17 auctions yielded ₹65,789 crore. However, major telecom firms have opposed putting 5G spectrum on sale, arguing that the industry needs time to develop India-specific use cases for the next-generation technology. They also pointed out that prices recommended by the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI) are too high for the financially stressed sector. Mr. Prasad said he would soon hold discussions with industry representatives on the challenges they face and work on addressing them.  - ]]>Punita VTue, 04 Jun 2019 12:33:53 +053018367581836758<![CDATA[Nipah VIrus Outbreak Confirmed In Kerala ]]>https://www.ptcnews.tv/nipah-virus-outbreak-confirmed-in-kerala A 23-year-old man who was admitted in a private hospital in Kerala's Ernakulam has been tested positive for the deadly Nipah virus. The man who has been infected studied in a college in Thodupuzha in Idukki and had stayed in Thrissur recently. Thrissur district medical officer has said that the student was in Thrissur only for four days and had been suffering from fever. Health officials have started inspecting all the areas where the student visited over the last few days. Four more people, including two nurses have also contracted fever. Two of them had come in contact with the 23-year-old man. Over 80 people, among them 22 students, have been put under surveillance. Union Health Minister Harsh Vardhan said he is in touch with Kerala Health Minister KK Shailaja. "The centre will send monoclonal antibody (medicines) to Kerala. Everything that needs to be done in a scientific manner has been initiated. Nothing to panic” said the union minister. He said the wildlife department has been told to catch bats to test presence of the virus. The medicine, sourced from Australia after the Nipah outbreak last year, is available only with the National Institute of Virology. It was used as a preventive medicine for people who were exposed to the Hendra virus in Australia, which mainly infects large fruit bats and can be passed on to livestock and people.- ]]>Punita VTue, 04 Jun 2019 11:50:09 +053018367551836755<![CDATA[Sonia Gandhi Elected chairperson of Congress's parliamentarians ]]>https://www.ptcnews.tv/sonia-gandhi-elected-chairperson-of-the-congresss-parliamentarians Sonia Gandhi has been chosen the chairperson of the Congress's elected parliamentarians at the meeting of the party's parliamentary committee on Saturday. Former Prime Minister Manmohan Singh proposed her name. Now there is speculation over whom the chairperson names as the leader of the party in parliament - her son Rahul Gandhi, who wants to step down as the party chief, or some other member. Amid efforts to get him to change his mind about resigning the party post, the Congress has debated the possibility of Rahul Gandhi at least leading the party in parliament. At the meeting, Sonia Gandhi thanked the 12.13 crore people who voted for the Congress -- pointing out that even in defeat, the party has a sizeable voter base. In an emotive note, she also thanked Rahul Gandhi "for toiling night and day and taking on the Modi government... raising concerns about all sections of society and helped the party win in Madhya Pradesh and Chhattisgarh and Rajasthan". "As we speak, emotional messages are coming for his continuation (as the party chief). The Congress Working Committee met to deliberate the issue and must take steps," she added. The parliamentary party meeting today was attended by all 52 lawmakers of the Congress from the Lok Sabha as well as its members from the Rajya Sabha.- ]]>Punita VSat, 01 Jun 2019 12:27:02 +053018365241836524<![CDATA[BJP May Start Looking For New President Soon ]]>https://www.ptcnews.tv/bjp-may-start-looking-for-new-president-soon According to reports Jagat Prakash Nadda, health minister in the previous Narendra Modi government, and Bhupendra Yadav, a Rajya Sabha MP are likely to be given the post of BJP Chief after Amit Shah has assumed the post of Home minister. Bharatiya Janata Party president Amit Shah’s promotion to home minister means the party will have to find a suitable replacement. This has led to speculation about his successor and the timing of his appointment. Jagat Prakash Nadda, health minister in the previous Narendra Modi government, and Bhupendra Yadav, a Rajya Sabha MP, are among the front runners to replace Shah. Shah had taken over from Rajnath Singh in July 2014 after Modi was sworn in prime minister and he appointed Singh as home minister. The BJP’s immediate challenge is the elections in Haryana, Maharashtra, Jharkhand and possibly Jammu and Kashmir, which is under the Centre’s rule. “The party may need a full-time president to take care of these elections,” said a BJP leader not wishing to be named. Another BJP leader said the party was free to make an arrangement wherein Shah can continue as president but a successor is formally given charge, maybe as a working president, to help in the transition. “Whatever it is, it will take a couple of weeks to work out such an arrangement,” he said on condition of anonymity.    - ]]>Punita VSat, 01 Jun 2019 12:09:59 +053018365231836523<![CDATA[Rahul Firm On Quitting Party Chief Post ]]>https://www.ptcnews.tv/rahul-firm-on-quitting-party-chief-post According to sources Rahul Gandhi has told Karnataka Chief Minister HD Kumaraswamy that he would not continue as Congress president after the latter urged him to reconsider his decision of quitting the party chief post. Sources said that Kumaraswamy who met with the Congress chief before attending Prime Minister Narendra Modi's oath ceremony, urged him to not to quit but Rahul Gandhi remained firm. Rahul is reported to have said that Congress should pick a new president but he would stay to assist him/her. Rahul Gandhi has been adamant on resigning since Saturday. The party has called a meeting of the Congress Parliamentary Party on Saturday to take a decision on who will lead it in parliament. In the recently concluded Lok Sabha elections the Congress has won just 52 seats in the 543-member Lok Sabha. It didn’t open an account in 18 states and union territories in the national elections. Since the results the party is facing threats to its governments in Madhya Pradesh and Karnataka, where it has very slim majority and the BJP may cause a few defections taking over.  - ]]>Punita VFri, 31 May 2019 13:47:14 +053018364371836437<![CDATA[Focus Shifts Back On Assignment of Ministries To Newly Sworn In Ministers ]]>https://www.ptcnews.tv/focus-shifts-back-on-assignment-of-ministries-to-newly-sworn-in-ministers A day after Prime Minister Narendra Modi was sworn in for the second time at the Rashtrapati Bhavan, the focus has shifted to the announcement of ministries assigned to the 57 members in the new government. BJP president Amit Shah is being speculated to take on a big ministry like finance. Others ministers who are expected to be given big roles are Rajnath Singh, Nirmala Sitharaman, Piyush Goyal and Smriti Irani. Twenty-five of the new ministers are of cabinet rank. According to reports, the first meeting of the new cabinet will be held at 5:30 pm on Friday. After the oath ceremony PM Modi held bilateral meetings with visiting foreign leaders. On Friday morning the Prime Minister had meetings with the leaders of five BIMSTEC (Bay of Bengal Initiative for Multi-Sectoral Technical and Economic Cooperation) countries. In a tweet PM Modi said, "Our talks covered the full spectrum of bilateral ties between our nations and ways to deepen economic and social cooperation in the times to come".  After PM Modi tweeted his pictures, it is being speculated that Ajit Doval may remain the National Security Advisor. Among the surprises in the new cabinet was the exclusion of high profile ministers like Rajyavardhan Rathore, Suresh Prabhu, Maneka Gandhi, JP Nadda and Jayant Sinha.- ]]>Punita VFri, 31 May 2019 12:33:57 +053018364341836434<![CDATA[Mamata Loses Cool On Hearing 'Jai Shri Ram' Slogans ]]>https://www.ptcnews.tv/mamata-loses-cool-on-hearing-jai-shri-ram-slogans On Thursday West Bengal chief minister Mamata Banerjee lost her calm when protesters shouted ‘Jai Shri Ram” and “Jai Modi” slogans while she was on her way to a sit-in venue. Ms. Banerjee got out of her car twice after heard the slogans. She was reported as saying, “My car was going along the way. And these people, wearing BJP headbands, moved towards my car. They are outsiders, they are not local people.” Banerjee has alleged that outsiders, people who are not from Bengal had started spreading terror when the Election Commission assessed law and order during the polls. She said that some such people take the state’s resources and yet insult her. West Bengal Chief Minister yelled at the crowds and asked policemen to identify the slogan shouters and conduct an hour-to-house search. She was on her way to lead a sit-in protest against the alleged attacks on her Trinamool Congress (TMC) workers in Barrackpore. She has alleged that BJP is behind these attacks. - ]]>Punita VFri, 31 May 2019 12:07:55 +053018364321836432<![CDATA[8 UP Ministers Administered Secrecy Oath ]]>https://www.ptcnews.tv/8-up-ministers-administered-secrecy-oath Prime Minister Narendra Modi sent out clear signals that Uttar Pradesh is an important state for the saffron brigade after 8 ministers from the state were administered oath of secrecy as union ministers on Thursday. While Prime Minister Narendra Modi is an MP from Varanasi, Lucknow MP Rajnath Singh and Amethi MP Smriti Irani are the ministers from Uttar Pradesh. Other ministers from Uttar Pradesh include Mahendra Nath Pandey (Chandauli), Sadhvi Niranjan Jyoti (Fatehpur), Gen (retd) VK Singh (Ghaziabad), Santosh Gangwar (Bareilly), Sanjeev Balyan (Muzaffarnagar) and Hardeep Puri, who is a Rajya Sabha member from UP. However, there are other members of parliament from Uttar Pradesh who could not make it to the Modi government. They are Maneka Gandhi, who is likely to become the pro-tem speaker of Lok Sabha, Mahesh Sharma, Shiv Pratap Shukla and Satyapal Singh.- ]]>Punita VFri, 31 May 2019 11:47:30 +053018364311836431<![CDATA[Jagan Mohan Reddy Takes Oath As Andhra Chief Minister ]]>https://www.ptcnews.tv/jagan-mohan-reddy-takes-oath-as-andhra-chief-minister On Thursday Y S Jagan Mohan Reddy took oath as the chief minister of Andhra Pradesh. The YSR Congress party chief was sworn-in at the packed Indira Gandhi Municipal Stadium in Vijayawada. The party made headway to power after winning 151 seats in the 175-member Assembly. Jagan Reddy’s mother Vijayalakshmi, his wife Bharati, sister Sharmila and daughters Harsha Reddy and Varsha Reddy were among the 20,000 people who attended the swearing-in ceremony. Others who attended the ceremony include Telangana chief minister K Chandrasekhar Rao, Odisha CM Naveen Patnaik, DMK chief M K Stalin and Pondicherry minister Malladi Krishna Rao. Telugu Desam Party (TDP) chief N Chandrababu Naidu had turned down Jagan’s invite.  - ]]>Punita VThu, 30 May 2019 22:20:39 +053018363421836342<![CDATA[Shiv Sena Slams Mamata For Declining Invitation To Oath Taking Ceremony ]]>https://www.ptcnews.tv/shiv-sena-slams-mamata-for-declining-invitation-to-oath-taking-ceremony BJP ally Shiv Sena has criticised West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee for her decision to skip Prime Minister Narendra Modi's oath-taking ceremony. Shiv Sena mouthpiece "Saamana" has stated, "If Narendra Modi becomes Prime Minister again, then democracy will be in danger, such doubts were expressed by opponents. Mamata Banerjee was amongst the foremost people who made such noise of fighting against (PM) Modi's dictatorship. But (PM) Modi has been elected democratically and is taking oath within the Constitution”. It further added, "Mamata has declined the invitation for the swearing-in ceremony. It is true that there was violence during polls.... Inviting the relatives of those killed in violence cannot be a reason to refuse the invitation. These are Indians and not Bangladeshis and they have a right to be in the Prime Minister's swearing-in ceremony like anyone else,". Shiv Sena accused Ms Banerjee and her party, the Trinamool Congress of not being democratic. It stated, "There was a cyclone during elections in Odisha which caused wreaked havoc in the state. The Prime Minister helped Odisha in a big way. The BJP lost badly in Odisha." The editorial termed Jagan Mohan Reddy as "vijayi veer" and added, "Jagan met Prime Minister and demanded for Andhra. The Prime Minister accepted it. The BJP lost badly in Andhra Pradesh too." The editorial showered praises on PM Modi for not speaking anything against opponents after winning the Lok Sabha polls. "New regime will work with restraint and for humanity, (PM) Modi has shown it through his work culture. That is why the world is excited about his swearing-in. PM Modi's second festival is beginning today," said the editorial.  - ]]>Punita VThu, 30 May 2019 12:09:21 +053018363361836336<![CDATA[Mamata Declines Invitation to Modi’s Swearing In Ceremony ]]>https://www.ptcnews.tv/mamata-declines-invitation-to-modis-swearing-in-ceremony After accepting the invitation to attend PM Modi’s swearing in ceremony west Bengal CM Mamata Banerjee took a U-turn on Wednesday asking to be excused from the ceremony.  DIdi was reacting to the allegation that 54 of BJP workers had been killed in political violence in Bengal and called it completely untrue. She wrote "The ceremony is an august occasion to celebrate democracy, not one that should be devalued by any political party that uses it as an opportunity to score political points." After a meeting between Amit Shah and PM Modi the BJP has invited the families of workers allegedly killed in Bengal over the last six years. With the invitation the party has conveyed to its cadre in Bengal that the party stands by them against "violence by Trinamool Congress workers".  Mamata reacted sharply to the media reports and stated "Congratulations, new Prime Minister Narendra Modi ji. It was my plan to accept the 'constitutional invitation' and attend the oath-taking ceremony. However, in the last one hour, I am seeing media reports that the BJP are claiming 54 people have been murdered in political violence in Bengal. This is completely untrue. There have been no political murders in Bengal," said the Chief Minister. She added that the deaths may have taken place due to personal enmity, family quarrels and other disputes not related to politics. She said that due to all the reasons mentioned she will not attend Modi’s swearing in ceremony.  - ]]>Punita VWed, 29 May 2019 15:47:58 +053018362711836271