Tag: Team

‘A male-dominated team does not reflect society’: why are only 5% of music producers women?

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A good music producer facilitates a studio environment that allows an artist to plunge into the depths of their soul, and cleverly shapes the sound of their music – a bad one, meanwhile, can halt a promising career. But in 2023, 70 years on from the dawn of rock’n’roll, this tremendous power still lies in the hands of an overwhelming majority of men.
Women and non-binary people claimed less than 5% of producer and engineer credits across the top 50 streamed songs of last year, according to a recent report from Fix the Mix. Dated stereotypes have framed producing as the preserve of nerdish knob-twiddling blokes – despite there being ample historic evidence to the contrary.
The meticulous and patient work of Susan Rogers is legendary, engineering Prince records at the height of his career when studio sessions could last for days on end. Kate Bush self-produced Hounds of Love, regularly voted one of the best albums of all time for its arresting sound. Sylvia Massy has worked as an engineer and producer on music from some of the most successful rock acts of all time, including Tool, System of a Down, Skunk Anansie and Red Hot Chili Peppers. Artists including Beyoncé, Taylor Swift, Janelle Monáe, Alison Goldfrapp and Grimes are just a few in a long list of women to have production credits on their own albums.
Catherine Marks, who co-produced the recent UK No 1 debut from indie supergroup Boygenius and has worked in the industry for 17 years, says the lack of diversity is due to a ceiling that inhibits progression. “Since I started, there have been more women coming through at entry level but there’s no support,” she says. “There’s still a perception issue that impacts their ability to find management and get introduced to decision makers in the industry.”
‘There’s no support’ … Catherine Marks. Photograph: PR
For those who do manage to reach a professional level, a lack of imagination from music executives and artists when it comes to choosing who to work with results in what producer Marta Salogni, who has worked with Björk, MIA and Bon Iver, calls a vicious circle: “It feels safer sometimes for gatekeepers to employ the same people but if women are not being employed, they can’t build up the credits that would make sure they can be employed.”
Hiring and championing a new producer who doesn’t yet have a robust track record might be seen as risky, but as Marks puts it, “stepping into the studio is always a risk because anything can happen”. Also, studio trials are commonplace, where artists and producers have a chance to see if they get on before officially working together. “I know some of the biggest names in the industry who are still having to do that now,” she says. “I don’t see why those opportunities can’t go to different people.”
A&R and marketing executive Jane Third, who has worked with self-producing acts including Rina Sawayama, says all-female sessions can be less hierarchical. “Women are maybe a bit more open and collaborative; there’s more freedom of expression. It can feel a bit more flat, where everyone is contributing equally, in comparison to other scenarios I’ve been in.”
Does this lack of equality affect the very sound of pop? It’s interesting to consider what Raye’s sparsely produced debut might have sounded like if she hadn’t exited her major label deal before it was released and therefore had less control in the studio. The album hit No 2 in the UK earlier this year and was widely praised for being eclectic and bold. Her back catalogue of dance-leaning pop hits (produced by men) suggests it could have been quite different. Ultimately, more diversity in the studio will result in more diverse music, as Salogni says: “A male-dominated team does not reflect how multifaceted society is. What might [more diversity] in production sound like? I think that’s all to discover.”

Having a wider choice of producers to work with will also probably result in fewer female acts being faced with predatory behaviour, as Ellie Goulding experienced as a 19-year-old desperate to make it. In an interview with the Guardian, she said: “My whole career started off with instantly being made to feel like a sexual object, and being made to feel vulnerable in those sessions. And there are so many female singers that will hear me saying that and say: ‘Yeah, I can relate.’” Raye sings about a predatory producer on her track Ice Cream Man, “tryna touch me, tryna fuck me, I’m not playing / I should’ve left that place as soon as I walked in it”.
Catherine Anne Davies, AKA the Anchoress. Photograph: Darren Feist
Producer Catherine Anne Davies, who also performs as the Anchoress, says she gets a lot of her work from women who haven’t had positive experiences in the studio and are looking for a different dynamic. “I don’t think women who produce have a different sound but I do think it impacts on the psychology of a space,” she says. “A big part of your role as a producer is, essentially, being a therapist, which is all about getting everyone to feel comfortable enough to open yourself up completely.”
She cites research by a master’s student she has supervised that looked at “accessing vulnerability and how that changed, depending on if they were in co-writing sessions with men or with women, and having what they call ‘keep your shoes on moments’ in the studio in case you need to leave suddenly because something dodgy happens.” If a male producer behaves inappropriately or in an overbearing way, or if that has happened to an artist in the past, “it’s going to have an impact on the music created because you don’t feel comfortable enough to be vulnerable”.
There is evidence of change. Women currently make up 18% of members at the Music Producers Guild – up from 5% in 2016 – and its board has three women directors out of five. Technology has also somewhat levelled the field, especially for producers with parenting responsibilities who have difficulty committing to the long hours expected in studios billing by the day. (Marks, who doesn’t have children, says she’s often in the studio until 10pm and feels that she’s made personal sacrifices for work.)
Bedroom pop … PinkPantheress. Photograph: BBC/PA
This will also play a role in a rising number of self-producing acts – PinkPantheress gained traction after posting clips of songs she had recorded herself in her university dorm room on TikTok, and Griff secured a record deal after sharing her self-produced songs online. It remains to be seen whether they’ll also produce for others as male artists often do (such as Joel Corry, Mura Masa and Digital Farm Animals in the dance pop field alone).
The major labels and music publishers point to various initiatives: panel talks and masterclasses for female engineers and producers; research reports; campaigns; non-profit initiatives; all-female songwriting camps and deals with self-producing female acts. Still, Laura Lewis-Paul, who heads up non-profit music tech initiative Saffron, which last year had 178 women graduate through its music tech courses for beginners (out of 645 applicants), would like to see greater collaboration between the music industry and initiatives like hers, which has recently lost its funding. “At the moment, people are very willing to talk and discuss the issues but they’re not necessarily looking at how to make changes.”
Lewis-Paul says that upon leaving the course, graduates “are faced with an industry or an educational setting that isn’t necessarily ready for them; they feel like they don’t belong in that space.” This can be especially true for those who are ethnically diverse: 0.7% of production credits went to women of colour across 1,100 popular songs from 2012 to 2022, according to research from the Annenberg Inclusion Initiative in the US. Lewis-Paul continues: “We need to look at their journeys and how to create opportunities for them, with strategic partners.”
For Marks, support from power players in the music business for new producers is crucial. “I’ve had a lot of support. I got management quite early on and I had the support of mentors who were very well known and successful in the industry who were championing me. We need more of those kinds of people. This isn’t about a lack of women being interested, willing to work hard or having the right kind of personality to work in this industry. It’s about encouraging them all to come through.”
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( With inputs from : www.theguardian.com )

April 25, 2023
Biden’s team fears the aftermath of a failed Ukrainian counteroffensive

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One side will say that Ukraine’s advances would’ve worked had the administration given Kyiv everything it asked for, namely longer-range missiles, fighter jets and more air defenses. The other side, administration officials worry, will claim Ukraine’s shortcoming proves it can’t force Russia out of its territory completely.
That doesn’t even account for the reaction of America’s allies, mainly in Europe, who may see a peace negotiation between Ukraine and Russia as a more attractive option if Kyiv can’t prove victory is around the corner.
Inside the administration, officials stress they’re doing everything possible to make the spring offensive succeed.
“We’ve nearly completed the requests of what [Ukraine] said they needed for the counteroffensive as we have surged weapons and equipment to Ukraine over the past few months,” said one administration official who, like others, was granted anonymity to discuss sensitive internal considerations.
But belief in the strategic cause is one thing. Belief in the tactics is another — and behind closed doors the administration is worried about what Ukraine can accomplish.
Those concerns recently spilled out into the open during a leak of classified information onto social media. A top secret assessment from early February stated that Ukraine would fall “well short” of its counteroffensive goals. More current American assessments are that Ukraine may make some progress in the south and east, but won’t be able to repeat last year’s success.
Ukraine has hoped to sever Russia’s land bridge to Crimea and U.S. officials are now skeptical that will happen, according to two administration officials familiar with the assessment. But there are still hopes in the Pentagon that Ukraine will hamper Russia’s supply lines there, even if a total victory over Russia’s newly fortified troops ends up too difficult to achieve.
Moreover, U.S. intelligence indicates that Ukraine simply does not have the ability to push Russian troops from where they were deeply entrenched — and a similar feeling has taken hold about the battlefield elsewhere in Ukraine, according to officials. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy says the U.S. hasn’t adequately armed his forces properly and so, until then, the counteroffensive can’t begin.

There is belief that Kyiv is willing to consider adjusting its goals, according to American officials, and a more modest aim might be easier to be sold as a win.
There has been discussion, per aides, of framing it to the Ukrainians as a “ceasefire” and not as permanent peace talks, leaving the door open for Ukraine to regain more of its territory at a future date. Incentives would have to be given to Kyiv: perhaps NATO-like security guarantees, economic help from the European Union, more military aid to replenish and bolster Ukraine’s forces, and the like. And aides have expressed hope of re-engaging China to push Putin to the negotiating table as well.
But that would still lead to the dilemma of what happens next, and how harshly domestic critics respond.
“If the counteroffensive does not go well, the administration has only itself to blame for withholding certain types of arms and aid at the time when it was most needed,” said Kurt Volker, the special envoy for Ukraine during the Trump administration.
A counteroffensive that doesn’t meet expectations will also cause allies in foreign capitals to question how much more they can spare if Kyiv’s victory looks farther and farther away.
“European public support may wane over time as European energy and economic costs stay high,” said Clementine Starling, a director and fellow at the Atlantic Council think tank in Washington, D.C. “A fracturing of transatlantic support will likely hurt U.S. domestic support and Congress and the Biden administration may struggle to sustain it.”
Many European nations could also push Kyiv to bring the fighting to an end. “A poor counteroffensive will spark further questions about what an outcome to the war will look like, and the extent to which a solution can really be achieved by continuing to send military arms and aid alone,” Starling said.
Biden and his top aides have publicly stressed that Zelenskyy should only begin peace talks when he is ready. But Washington has also communicated to Kyiv some political realities: at some point, especially with Republicans in control of the House of Representatives, the pace of U.S. aid will likely slow. Officials in Washington, though not pressing Kyiv, have begun preparing for what those conversations could look like and understand it may be a tough political sell at home for Zelenskyy.
“If Ukraine can’t gain dramatically on the battlefield, the question inevitably arises as to whether it is time for a negotiated stop to the fighting,” said Richard Haass, president of the Council on Foreign Relations. “It’s expensive, we’re running low on munitions, we’ve got other contingencies around the world to prepare for.”
“It’s legitimate to ask all these questions without compromising Ukraine’s goals. It’s simply a question of means,” Haass said.
Earlier this month, Andriy Sybiha, a deputy head in Zelenskyy’s office, told the Financial Times that Ukraine would be willing to talk if its forces reach Crimea’s doorstep. “If we will succeed in achieving our strategic goals on the battlefield and when we will be on the administrative border with Crimea, we are ready to open [a] diplomatic page to discuss this issue,” he said.
That comment was quickly rebuffed by Tamila Tasheva, Zelenskyy’s Crimea envoy: “If Russia won’t voluntarily leave the peninsula, Ukraine will continue to liberate its land by military means,” she told POLITICO earlier this month.
It doesn’t help America’s confidence that the war has slowed to a brutal slog.
Both sides have traded punishing blows, focused on small cities like Bakhmut, with neither force able to fully dislodge the other. The Russian surge ordered up earlier this year, meant to revitalize Moscow’s struggling war effort, seized little territory at the cost of significant casualties and did not do much to change the overall trajectory of the conflict.

Ukrainian soldiers chat in war-hit Bakhmut.
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Iryna Rubakova/AP Photo
The fighting has taken a toll on the Ukrainians as well. Fourteen months into the conflict, the Ukrainians have suffered staggering losses — around 100,000 dead — with many of their top soldiers either sidelined or exhausted. The troops have also gone through historic amounts of ammunition and weaponry, with even the West’s prodigious output unable to match Zelenskyy’s urgent requests.
U.S. officials have also briefed Ukraine on the dangers of overextending its ambitions and spreading its troops too thin — the same warning Biden gave then-Afghan President Ashraf Ghani as the Taliban moved to sweep across the country during the U.S. military withdrawal in 2021.
But the chances of Ukraine backing down from its highest aspirations is, to say the least, unlikely. “It’s as if this is the only and last opportunity for Ukraine to show that it can win, which of course isn’t true,” said Alina Polyakova, president and CEO of the Center for European Policy Analysis in Washington, D.C.
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( With inputs from : www.politico.com )

April 24, 2023
MEA team up with Telangana police to protect Indian workers in Gulf

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Hyderabad: A delegation of officials of the Ministry of External Affairs led by Dr. Ausaf Saeed, Secretary CPV & OIA called on Chief Secretary Shanti Kumari. The meeting was attended by External Affairs Ministry Official Brahma Kumar, Joint Secretary, Regional Passport Officer Hyderabad D Balaiah and other officials.
The meeting discussed the issues of NRIs and the possibility of employment opportunities in foreign countries. The state government reviewed the employment generation measures through Telangana Overseas Manpower Corporation Limited.
Dr. Ausaf Saeed while referring to the employment opportunities and changing trends for Indian youth in foreign countries, said that youth should be trained as per international standards. He advised to provide training to the youth before leaving so that they do not have problems in employment. Dr. Saeed suggested expanding the role of Overseas Manpower Corporation limited.

Dr. Ausaf Saeed and Director General of Police participated in the awareness session aimed at guiding the public legally in terms of foreign migration and employment. Commissioner of Police C V Anand, Rachakonda Commissioner of Police D S Chauhan and other officials attended the meeting.
To avoid exploitation by illegal agents, awareness was emphasized so that the public does not fall prey to fraud in the matter of appointments. The meeting resolved to ban illegal recruitment agents.
Dr. Ausaf Saeed advised the job seekers going abroad to be made aware of immigration and other rules. A significant number of skilled workers from Telangana are employed in gulf countries. The Ministry of External Affairs is in constant touch with the Telangana government to take steps for the welfare and safety of NRIs. He said that the Central Government will extend all possible cooperation in the matter of safe and legal departure of workers.
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( With inputs from www.siasat.com )

April 23, 2023
NIA Team Visits Poonch After Deadly Militant Attack

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SRINAGAR: A day after five soldiers were killed and another injured in a militant attack, a team of National Investigation Agency (NIA) visited the spot on Friday.
In a statement army said, its vehicle caught fire while moving from Bhimber Gali to Sangiot in District Poonch after being ambushed by militants amid inclement weather in the area.
Five soldiers died on the spot while one more was injured who is undergoing treatment. Soon after the incident, army and police personnel rushed to the spot. Visuals showed semi-burnt bodies of the soldiers lying on the road beside the burning truck.
Quoting official sources, GNS reported that a team of NIA investigated the spot to collect initial details of the incident.
Meanwhile a massive cordon-and-search operation continues in the area to track down the “attackers”.
The army said army that it has pressed drones and sniffer dogs to trace the attackers. (GNS)

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( With inputs from : kashmirlife.net )

April 21, 2023
Delhi school evacuated after bomb threat email; SWAT team arrives

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New Delhi: A private school in Delhi was evacuated after an email containing a bomb threat was received by the administration on Wednesday, a police official said.
Authorities at The Indian School in Defence Colony told police that they received the email at 10.49 a.m.
“The school has been evacuated and a thorough check is being done by a bomb squad,” the official added.

More details are awaited.
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( With inputs from www.siasat.com )

April 12, 2023
ICC World Cup 2023: Two Indian Venues Where Pakistan Team Feels ‘Safe’ To Play- Check Here – Kashmir News

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The Pakistan cricket team would prefer playing bulk of its 2023 ODI World Cup matches in Chennai and Kolkata — the two venues where the team has felt safe during its earlier tours, according to ICC sources.
The World Cup will start tentatively on October 5, with 46 matches, including final set to be played across 12 Indian cities, including Ahmedabad, Lucknow, Mumbai, Rajkot, Bengaluru, Delhi, Indore, Mohali, Guwahati and Hyderabad.
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It is understood that discussions are currently on at the ICC level as Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) bigwigs are in talks with a top level ICC executive on the issue, which still remains a sensitive one.
“A lot will depend on what BCCI and the Indian government decide but given a choice, Pakistan will like to play most of its World Cup matches in Kolkata and Chennai. In Kolkata, Pakistan played its T20 World Cup game against India in 2016 and the players were very happy with the security. Similarly, Chennai as a venue remains memorable for Pakistan. It’s also about feeling safe at specific venues,” a source close to ICC Board, tracking developments, told PTI on conditions of anonymity.
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The bone of contention will be the India versus Pakistan game. While Ahmedabad with 1,32,000 capacity gives ICC, the best chance to earn optimum profits but the Narendra Modi Stadium is already hosting the final, so another venue might host the game.
Each team will play nine games at the league stage which will be held in round-robin format.

The ICC’s Events committee, in association with host cricket board BCCI, will chalk out the final itinerary in the next few months so that it allows fans across India and other parts to plan their travel itinerary.

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Recently, ICC General Manager Wasim Khan, in his own capacity had told Pakistani media that the team could play its matches in Bangladesh as a part of a ‘hybrid model’ that could be followed since the Indian team is not travelling to the country for the Asia Cup. But PCB chairman Najam Sethi, back then had rubbished the idea of playing World Cup games in Bangladesh.
More so, ICC had made it clear that no such proposal had come from Pakistan about ‘hybrid model’ for global tournaments.
During the 2011 World Cup, Pakistan’s semi-final against India was played at Mohali, which made it logistically convenient for the fans across the border to travel through Wagah Border. However, Mohali does not figure in the 12 venues finalised by the BCCI.
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In 1996, the high-profile quarterfinal was held at the Chinnaswamy Stadium in Bengaluru. A lot has changed since then and in these sensitive times, it will be very difficult to host Pakistan in some of the specific venues, including Mumbai and Dharamsala.
In fact Pakistan’s 2016 World Cup match was scheduled in Dharamsala but there were apprehensions that because of the Pathankot tragedy (terrorists attacked the air base), it wasn’t a wise idea to host the match at that venue. While security will be top notch for each team, the BCCI as well as the Indian government would like to ensure that there aren’t any untoward incidents.
(With inputs from PTI)

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April 11, 2023
Oh no, Joe: Biden confuses ‘All Blacks’ rugby team with ‘Black and Tan’ military force

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DUBLIN — That didn’t last long.
Joe Biden managed to tread carefully around historic and current political sensitivities during the first part of his trip to the island of Ireland this week, marking 25 years since the U.S.-brokered Good Friday Agreement sought to secure lasting peace for Northern Ireland.
But not long after crossing from that U.K. region into the Republic of Ireland on Wednesday, the U.S. president made a major gaffe: He confused New Zealand’s “All Blacks” rugby team with the notorious “Black and Tans” British military unit that fought the Irish Republican Army a century ago.
At the end of a rambling speech in a pub Wednesday night, Biden — flanked by Irish Foreign Minister Micheál Martin and star rugby player Rob Kearney, a distant cousin — tried to pay a compliment to one of Kearney’s greatest sporting accomplishments. That would be when Ireland’s rugby team defeated New Zealand for the first time in 111 years, in November 2016 in Chicago. New Zealand’s squad is famously called the All Blacks, in reference to their uniforms.
Trouble is, Biden let slip a reference that could well reflect his affinity with Irish rebel history and its folk songs.
“He’s a hell of a rugby player, and he beat the hell out of the Black and Tans,” Biden said to audience laughter.
The Black and Tans were an auxiliary unit of Britain’s security forces that fought IRA rebels in their 1919-21 war of independence from Britain. Their name reflected the improvised and inconsistent colors of their uniforms.
The unrelentingly pro-Biden coverage on state broadcaster RTÉ, which televised his speech live, didn’t acknowledge the mistake. The commentator’s sign-off? “Well, that’s Joe Biden: a little bit sentimental, a little bit schmaltzy, but a thoroughly decent guy and a great friend to Ireland. The trip is off to a great start.”

But the gaffe and “Rob Kearney” blew up on social media in Ireland. Some listed the retired rugby fullback’s career accomplishments including, most famously, his single-handed defeat of the British forces a century ago.
“The greatest gift Ireland wanted from Joe Biden was a signature gaffe. And … didn’t he just go and give us one for the century,” tweeted comedian Oliver Callan.
Attempting to hose down the row on Thursday, Biden aide Amanda Sloat, the National Security Council senior director for Europe, said: “I think for everyone in Ireland who was a rugby fan it was incredibly clear that the president was talking about the All Blacks and Ireland’s defeat of the New Zealand team in 2016.”
She added: “It was clear what the president was referring to. It was certainly clear to his cousin sitting next to him who had played in that match.”
Lost in the shuffle was Biden’s other Kearney gaffe: He still hasn’t figured out how to say his name.
When introducing Kearney at the White House on St. Patrick’s Day, Biden called him Keer-ney. The Irish pronounce the name Kar-ney. Biden stuck with Keer-ney on Wednesday.

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( With inputs from : www.politico.eu )

April 11, 2023
Iranian team to visit Saudi to prepare for embassy reopening

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Tehran: A technical team from Iran will “probably” travel to Saudi Arabia on Tuesday to prepare for the reopening of the Iranian embassy in Riyadh.
The team would visit the building of the Iranian embassy and prepare the ground for its reopening, Xinhua news agency reported.
Alireza Enayati, a Director General of the Iranian Foreign Ministry, confirmed that an Iranian technical delegation will visit Saudi Arabia “this week” to do the preliminary work for the embassy’s reopening, without giving the exact date of the trip, the Iran Press news agency on Sunday reported.

On Saturday, a technical delegation from Saudi Arabia arrived in Iran to assess the situation and discuss the procedures for the reopening of the Saudi embassy and consulate general in the country, according to the Saudi Press Agency.
On Thursday, Iranian Foreign Minister Hossein Amir-Abdollahian and his Saudi counterpart Prince Faisal bin Farhan Al Saud signed a joint statement in Beijing, announcing the resumption of diplomatic relations.
Saudi Arabia cut diplomatic ties with Iran in 2016 in response to the attacks on Saudi diplomatic missions in Iran after the kingdom executed a Shiite cleric.
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( With inputs from www.siasat.com )

April 10, 2023
NGO team stopped by police from visiting violence-hit Howrah

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Kolkata: A six-member team of an NGO was stopped by the police from visiting the violence-hit areas of Howrah district on Sunday, officials said.
The ‘fact-finding’ team, led by retired Patna High Court judge L Narasimha Reddy, was stopped at the Vidyasagar Setu toll plaza when they were heading towards Kazipara in Shibpur, which was rocked by clashes on Ram Navami.
Members of the team had a heated argument with the police after they were stopped. After waiting for around 30 minutes, they returned to their hotel in Kolkata.

Police said they were not allowed to visit the area as prohibitory orders under section 144 of the CrPC were still in force.
On Saturday, the team was also stopped by the police from visiting Hooghly’s Rishra and Serampore where similar violence broke out during Ram Navami celebrations last week.
The TMC claimed that the BJP was behind the NGO, which sent the team to the area.
“When the violence-hit areas of Howrah and Hooghly are returning to normal, such visits will only trigger tension. Police are working as per the high court’s directive,” TMC spokesperson Kunal Ghosh said.
“The BJP is behind such NGOs. BJP created trouble in both Shibpur and Rishra. Now, they don’t want normalcy to return,” he alleged.

The BJP on the other side claimed that the police stopped the NGO as the state government was attempting to hide the atrocities committed in those areas.
“The Mamata Banerjee government wants to hide the atrocities committed in parts of Howrah and Hooghly against the ordinary people,” BJP leader Rahul Sinha alleged.
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( With inputs from www.siasat.com )

April 9, 2023
Fact-finding team calls for NIA probe in Bengal Ram Navami clashes

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Kolkata: The members of a fact-finding team of Delhi-based NGO “Fact Finding Committee on Human Rights Violation” on Sunday evening said that the clashes over Ram Navami processions in West Bengal’s Howrah and Hooghly districts call for an investigation by the National Investigation Agency (NIA).
After being restricted by police on Sunday afternoon from going to Shibpur and Kazipara in Howrah, where clashes broke out over Ram Navami processions on March 30 and continued till the next day, the members of the fact-finding team came back to Kolkata and talked to the media persons.
“Despite being restricted in reaching the troubled spots in Howrah district on Sunday and to Rishra in Hooghly district on Saturday, we were able to somehow interact with some of the local people. What we heard from them is quite shameful. There were not adequate police forces when the trouble broke out in these pockets. The administration is playing the ‘me & you’ game. This is a perfect case for a NIA-level probes. At the same time, central armed forces personnel should also be deployed there,” a team member said.

Meanwhile, political slugfest has started over the police denial to the members of the fact-finding team to reach the troubled spots at Hooghly on Saturday and after that at Howrah on Sunday.
According to the Trinamool Congress’ state General Secretary and party spokesman Kunal Ghosh, the police had done the right thing by denying them permission. “Since Ram Navami, BJP has been trying to create problems in those areas by using the outsiders,” he said.
BJP’s state spokesman Samik Bhattacharya alleged that since the administration has a lot of things to hide, they prevented the members of the fact-finding team from reaching those pockets in Howrah and Hooghly districts.
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( With inputs from www.siasat.com )

April 9, 2023