Tag: agitation

Kurmi agitation: 188 trains cancelled for April 9-10

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Kolkata: As the people of the Kurmi community intensify their rail and road blockade agitations in support of their long-standing demand for recognition under the Scheduled Tribe category, the Railways has been forced to cancel as many 188 trains for Sunday (April 9) and Monday (April 10).
The cancelled trains include both local as well as express, including premium trains, like Howrah Duronto Express and Shatabdi Express among others. Of the 188 trains cancelled for these two days, 95 trains were for Sunday, while the remaining 93 trains were scheduled for Monday.
On Saturday also, as many 75 trains in the South-Eastern division of the Railways were cancelled because of the ongoing agitation that started on April 5.

Sources in the Railways said that with these 188 fresh cancellations, the total number of trains cancelled since April 5 will be 496. In addition to that the routes of a number of trains had either to be diverted or curtailed amid the agitation.
Meanwhile on Saturday evening, the South-Eastern Railways authorities sent a communication to the West Bengal government seeking help of the state police forces in removing the railway blockade jointly with Government Railway Police (GRP) and Railway Protection Force (RPF).
State government sources said that a reply to this communique from the South-Eastern Railways authority has also been sent from the state secretariat where the latter clearly said that if the Railways authorities desire, they can take necessary action and the state government will not have any objection to that.
The Kurmi community is agitating in support of its long-standing demand for recognition under the Schedule Tribe category. Their main grievance is that the West Bengal Cultural Research Institute, a state government body that works for indigenous tribes, is yet to recognise the Kurmis as representatives of primitive tribes.
Representatives of the community have alleged that the reluctance of the Institute as well as the state government to send a comprehensive report in this matter to the Union government is hampering the process of recognition of the Kurmi community under the ST category.

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( With inputs from www.siasat.com )

April 9, 2023
AISF’s Siddique assaulted at DA agitation site by Trinamool panchayat member

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Kolkata: Naushad Siddique, the lone All India Secular Front member in the West Bengal Assembly, was on Saturday assaulted on the dais at the protest venue of the joint forum of state government employees staging a relay fast and a sit-in demonstration to demand pending dearness allowance dues.
Siddique had been on the dais to express solidarity with the agitating employees. As he was addressing the protesters, a man wearing a black trouser, a camouflage-pattern shirt and cap and carrying a helmet, suddenly came up to him.
“What have you done for the sake of the minority community?” he asked Siddique after stopping him from speaking. In response, the MLA said he does not intend to do anything only and specifically for the minority. “I want to work for all – majority or minority,” he said.
At this, the stranger immediately lost his cool and immediately pushed the legislator heavily. However, those present at the dais immediately intervened and did not give him any chance to assault Siddique further.
Some of the agitators present on the dais in fury tried to attack the stranger, but were stopped by Siddique. “Leave him. This is nothing but a drama and an attempt to malign your movement,” Siddique was heard saying.
The assailant was handed over to the police and late in the evening, identified as Abdul Salam akas Tota, an elected Trinamool Congress gram panchayat member of Bankra-II village in adjoining Howrah district.
He is known to be a close confidant of district Trinamool leader and former minister Rajib Banerjee.
However, the local Trinamool leadership distanced itself from him. Sheikh Meher Ali, the deputy chief of Bankra-II panchayat, said that although Salam continues to be a member of the panchayat, he has no connection with the ruling party any more.

“There are many cases pending against him. So, the party maintains a distance from him,” Ali said.
Just before the attack on him, Siddique said that the state government’s excuse of lack of funds for not paying the dearness allowance arrears was baseless. “But lots of money is spent by the government behind fairs and festivals. The state government should stop such wasteful expenditure and pay the legitimate dues of the state government,” he said.
Siddique later told newspersons that the stranger was a plant by some vested interests to create confusion at the agitation venue. “But those who are present here are all educated people and hence, the stranger was handed over to police. I hope the police should now probe honestly to track the masterminds behind this incident… the police are supposed to protect this agitation dais as per court order,” he said.
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#AISFs #Siddique #assaulted #agitation #site #Trinamool #panchayat #member
( With inputs from www.siasat.com )

March 18, 2023
Aurangabad renaming: AIMIM halts agitation citing attempts to disturb communal harmony

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Aurangabad: An ongoing agitation to protest the renaming of Maharashtra’s Aurangabad will be halted ahead of a rally here on Sunday, said AIMIM leader Imtiaz Jaleel, claiming that attempts are being made to disturb communal harmony in the city.
“People are coming from outside (out of Aurangabad) to address the rally organized by Sakal Hindu Samaj here. We have brought our agitation to a halt. Now it is the responsibility of the police to maintain peace,” Jaleel told reporters after meeting city police chief Nikhil Gupta on Friday.
Jaleel said a relay hunger strike, which started nearly two weeks ago, outside the collector’s office will be paused from Saturday.
“We shall continue to make efforts to strengthen the legal battle against the renaming,” said the MP from All India Majlis-e-Ittehadul Muslimeen (AIMIM).
The Union government last month approved the renaming of Aurangabad city as Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar’ and that of Osmanabad city as Dharashiv’. Aurangabad derives its name from Mughal emperor Aurangzeb, while Osmanabad was named for a 20th century ruler of the princely state of Hyderabad.
Jaleel said attempts are being made to disturb the peace. He said, “People who are facing cases for making provocative speeches are going to come and address the rally here on Sunday.”
The lawmaker said their agitation has been peaceful. “Now, efforts are on to give the renaming issue a communal colour,” he said.
He said it is the responsibility of police to ensure that no hateful speeches are given in Sunday’s rally.

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#Aurangabad #renaming #AIMIM #halts #agitation #citing #attempts #disturb #communal #harmony
( With inputs from www.siasat.com )

March 18, 2023