Chandan Mitra, 4 Bengal Congress lawmakers join Trinamool
Kolkata, July 21 : Former BJP leader and two-time Rajya Sabha member Chandan Mitra and four Congress lawmakers in West Bengal on Saturday joined Trinamool Congress at its Martyrs' Day rally here.
Mitra, Editor and Managing Director of The Pioneer newspaper, quit the Bharatiya Janata Party earlier this week.
Trinamool Congress secretary general Partha Chatterjee announced Mitra's switch to the Trinamool from the dais of the hugely attended rally in central Kolkata.
Mitra was nominated as a member of the Rajya Sabha in August 2003. He was elected for another term in the Upper House as a BJP MP from Madhya Pradesh in June 2010.
He unsuccessfully contested the 2014 Lok Sabha elections on the BJP ticket from Hooghly constituency in West Bengal.
There were reports of Mitra being sidelined in the BJP over the past few years after Narendra Modi and Amit Shah took control of the party.
Besides Mitra, four state Congress legislators - Samar Mukherjee, Abu Taher, Sabina Yasmin and Akhruzzman -- joined the Trinamool. They are among a growing band of Congressmen who have crossed over to the Trinamool Congress but abide by the parent party's whip in the state assembly to avoid attacting the anti-defection law.
Former CPI-M MP Moinul Hassan, who was recently expelled after he publicly dissociated from it, also joined the Trinamool at the rally.
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4 workers die after being buried under coal slurry in Jharkhand's Dhanbad
Dhanbad (Jharkhand) (PTI): At least four workers died after being buried under coal slurry in Jharkhand's Dhanbad district on Saturday, a police official said.
The incident took place at Moonidih coal washery in the command area of Bharat Coking Coal Limited (BCCL).
"Bodies of all four workers were dug out of debris during a rescue operation," Putki police station in-charge Waqar Hussain told PTI.
The incident took place when coal slurry was being loaded into trucks by workers, during which a large chunk of slurry fell and trapped several workers underneath, officials said.
The deceased have been identified as Manik Bauri, Dinesh Bauri, Deepak Bauri, and Hemlal Gope.
Meanwhile, the family members of the deceased and local villagers placed the bodies in front of the washery gate and began a protest.
They demanded compensation, jobs for dependents and action against those responsible for the incident.
Police and administration officials are trying to pacify the protesters, an official said.
