Independence Day speech by PM Modi will be his last from ramparts of Red Fort: Mamata Banerjee
Kolkata, Aug 14: West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee on Monday asserted that Prime Minister Narendra Modi's Independence Day speech will be his last as prime minister from the ramparts of the Red Fort in Delhi.
Banerjee, while speaking at a pre-Independence Day programme organised by the TMC at Behala, also proclaimed that opposition bloc INDIA will soon take the field, adding "khela hobe (we will play)".
'Khela hobe' was a slogan that the ruling TMC had coined during the 2021 assembly poll campaign.
"Modiji's Independence Day speech tomorrow will be his last speech as prime minister from the ramparts of the Red Fort," Banerjee said.
The chief minister also asserted that she believes that opposition bloc INDIA, of which the Trinamool Congress is a member, will emerge victorious in the 2024 Lok Sabha polls.
"INDIA bloc will decimate the BJP across the country. In Bengal, the TMC will decisively defeat the saffron party," she said.
Banerjee indicated that she does not harbour prime ministerial ambitions, stating that "Bengal does not want 'Kursi' (political position), it wants to dislodge the BJP 'Sarkar'".
The TMC supremo also alleged that there are corruption charges against the BJP government at the Centre, citing the Rafale aircraft purchase and demonetisation of high-value notes among "suspect" deals.
"In Bengal, there have been a few instances of corruption against which we have taken immediate steps. However, the central government has several corruption allegations against it, be it the Rafale jet deal or demonetisation of Rs 2,000 notes," Banerjee said.
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Two women died, 6 taken ill after ‘consuming’ mango kernel gruel in Odisha
Bhubaneswar/Berhampur/Phulbani, Nov 1: At least two tribal women died and six others fell ill after allegedly consuming mango kernel gruel in Odisha's Kandhamal district, police said on Friday.
Consumption of mango kernel, prepared by boiling the seeds in water, was reported from Mandipanka village in the district's Daringbadi block, an officer said.
While one of the two women (Rasmita Pattamajhi aged 22) died on Thursday night at Mohana community health centre in Gajapati district where she was undergoing treatment after "consuming the gruel", another woman (Runu Majhi aged 29) breathed her last while being taken to MKCG Medical College Hospital in Berhampur, Gadapur sarpanch Kumari Mallick said.
Six others, who fell ill after allegedly consuming the gruel, were admitted to a hospital and their condition was critical, said Dr Subrat Das, a medical officer of the health facility.
"All the six have been admitted to the hospital in a serious condition. We suspected that they fell sick due to food poisoning. The exact cause of the illness will be ascertained after completion of the investigation," he added.
The six were identified as Pravati Patmajhi, Dranglu Patmajhi, Tuni Majhi, Susama Patmajhi, Jita Majhi and Jibanti Majhi, Daringbadi BDO Pritiranjan Ratha said.
Meanwhile, the Odisha government has rejected allegations that tribal people have been consuming mango kernel gruel due to a lack of access to rice under the Public Distribution System (PDS).
Rasmita's husband Anil Pattamajhi alleged that they were denied rice under PDS for the last three months because of which his wife consumed mango kernel.
However, Kandhamal district magistrate-cum-collector Amrit Ruturaj dismissed the allegations, saying the family received rice according to PDS norms. "We are awaiting the postmortem report to determine the facts," the collector added.
Deputy chief minister Pravati Parida, who is also in-charge of the women and child development department said, "It is not a case of malnutrition. Mango kernel is part of their (tribal) regular diet. Sometime, the mango kernels get contaminated and lead to such unfortunate incidents. We have been actively spreading awareness about the risks of food contamination."
Health and family welfare minister Mukesh Mahaling, who ordered a departmental inquiry into the death of two tribal women, said a team from the district headquarters hospital and another local team are at the spot to assess the situation and conduct a detailed probe into the incident.
Mahaling said that the government was waiting for the postmortem report for a confirmation on the cause of the deaths. "People in Kandhamal consume mango kernel. It is common in that region and there also have been reports of health complications linked to it in the past," he said.
The Kandhmal incident reminds a similar tragedy involving mango kernel deaths in Kashipur block of Rayagada district, where at least 20 people died in 2001, and two more succumbed to mango kernel consumption in 2016. Additionally, mango kernel has claimed lives in Laxmipur in Koraput district in 2012 and 2013, as well as in Jharigaon in Nabarangpur district in 2018.
