BJP’s attempt to topple Maharashtra govt. unethical: Mamata Banerjee
The Hindu
The West Bengal CM said the saffron party has deliberately chosen to ‘disturb’ the Maharashtra government at a time when the Presidential polls are approaching
Amid the ongoing political crisis in Maharashtra, West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee on June 23 flayed the BJP for trying to “topple” the MVA government in that State in an “unethical and unconstitutional” manner.
She said the saffron party has deliberately chosen to “disturb” the Maharashtra government at a time when the Presidential polls are approaching.
“It’s an unfortunate fact that the federal structure has been totally demolished by the BJP-led central government. They are attempting to topple the Maharashtra government in an unethical and unconstitutional manner,” Ms. Banerjee told reporters at the state secretariat.
Describing the situation in Maharashtra as “shocking”, the Trinamool Congress chief said, “We want justice for people, for the electoral mandate and for Uddhav Thackeray (Maharashtra CM).”
In what seems to be an apparent bid to topple the Maha Vikas Aghadi government (MVA) in Maharashtra, dissident legislators of Shiv Sena, which heads the ruling coalition, left for Surat on June 21, where they had camped for the day, before flying to Guwahati in a chartered aircraft.
This is perhaps the first time MLAs from a western state were flown to a northeastern state, following their rebellion against the party leadership.
The exact number of rebel legislators that moved to Guwahati could not be confirmed, but the flight reportedly carried 89 passengers, including the crew.
“Writing, in general, is a very solitary process,” says Yauvanika Chopra, Associate Director at The New India Foundation (NIF), which, earlier this year, announced the 12th edition of its NIF Book Fellowships for research and scholarship about Indian history after Independence. While authors, in general, are built for it, it can still get very lonely, says Chopra, pointing out that the fellowship’s community support is as valuable as the monetary benefits it offers. “There is a solid community of NIF fellows, trustees, language experts, jury members, all of whom are incredibly competent,” she says. “They really help make authors feel supported from manuscript to publication, so you never feel like you’re struggling through isolation.”
Several principals of government and private schools in Delhi on Tuesday said the Directorate of Education (DoE) circular from a day earlier, directing schools to conduct classes in ‘hybrid’ mode, had caused confusion regarding day-to-day operations as they did not know how many students would return to school from Wednesday and how would teachers instruct in two modes — online and in person — at once. The DoE circular on Monday had also stated that the option to “exercise online mode of education, wherever available, shall vest with the students and their guardians”. Several schoolteachers also expressed confusion regarding the DoE order. A government schoolteacher said he was unsure of how to cope with the resumption of physical classes, given that the order directing government offices to ensure that 50% of the employees work from home is still in place. On Monday, the Commission for Air Quality Management in the National Capital Region and Adjoining Areas (CAQM) had, on the orders of the Supreme Court, directed schools in Delhi-NCR to shift classes to the hybrid mode, following which the DoE had issued the circular. The court had urged the Centre’s pollution watchdog to consider restarting physical classes due to many students missing out on the mid-day meals and lacking the necessary means to attend classes online. The CAQM had, on November 20, asked schools in Delhi-NCR to shift to the online mode of teaching.