Kolkata, Jun 4: West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee on Tuesday said Prime Minister Narendra Modi should immediately resign "accepting moral defeat" because he campaigned in the Lok Sabha polls claiming that the BJP would win over 400 seats but in reality, it failed to get a majority on its own.

Addressing a press conference, Banerjee said she would try to ensure that Modi is out of power from the Centre, and the "INDIA bloc is in".

"PM Modi has lost all credibility, he should immediately resign. India has won, Modi has lost. The PM broke many parties and now people have broken his morale. Modi is now falling at the feet of TDP and Nitish (Kumar) to form the government," she said.

Even in Varanasi, Modi suffered initial jitters, while the BJP lost in Ayodhya despite building the Ram Temple which shows people have rejected his religion-based politics, Banerjee claimed.

She said the saffron party failed to gain the majority on its own.

"In a brute show of autocracy, they (BJP) suspended 147 opposition MPs in Parliament. Now they cannot repeat such attempts any more as they will face a vocal INDIA bloc in the parliament now," she added.

"Atrocities and misuse of central agencies stand defeated today. We will not spare the BJP, which used to intimidate us using central agencies and the two-thirds majority in Parliament. Neither will we forgive them, nor will the other parties of the INDIA bloc," the TMC boss added.

To a question, she said she wants the Centre to release funds due to West Bengal and stop harassing people through ED and CBI.

She said her nephew Abhishek Banerjee, the TMC's national general secretary, would join the INDIA bloc meeting in New Delhi on Wednesday but lamented that her party has not been informed about it yet.

"They (BJP) are now praying to Nitish (Kumar) and TDP. But as much as I know them, they will not listen to BJP's machinations," she said.

"I have texted Rahul (congratulating him), maybe they were busy. They haven't contacted us yet, but it doesn't matter if they do or they don't," she said.

Banerjee said she had spoken to SP chief Akhilesh Yadav and congratulated NCP (SP) leader Sharad Pawar and Shiv Sena (UBT) Uddhav Thackeray.

She said that Modi has insulted Bengal and the women of the state by constantly harping on the "false allegations" of atrocities of women in Sandeshkhali,

Banerjee said "I can never pardon this BJP led by Modi and Amit Shah. There are good elements in RSS and BJP, I had good ties with Atalji (Atal Behari Vajpayee). Till the time I am alive, I won't tolerate Bengal's defamation by BJP leaders like Modi."

Banerjee said she will soon file a defamation suit against the falsehood and personal attacks made by BJP leaders and some others who want to defame Bengal.

Union Home Minister Amit Shah should quit on moral ground after making "so many false claims and projections about Bengal", she said.

A "traitor in BJP camp" has controlled the election process in West Bengal, Banerjee claimed.

She alleged that the scrapping of jobs of 26,000 teachers and the cancellation of over one lakh OBC certificates showed the sinister gameplan of the BJP to conspire against Bengal.

Banerjee congratulated the people of state for TMC's superlative show in the Lok Sabha polls fighting negative and false propaganda by BJP and a section of the media.

"People are the real man of the match today," she said.

Banerjee claimed that the exit poll results were fake and manufactured by the BJP.

The TMC chief alleged that the EC acted at the behest of the BJP.

On the INDIA bloc, she said, "I had offered them a few seats. I was ready to make adjustments for the cause of INDIA. However, due to the arrogance of some leaders, that did not happen. Anyway, we will be attending the INDIA bloc meeting and putting up a united fight against BJP. We are happy that INDIA won and BJP lost."

Banerjee accused Modi and Amit Shah of threatening her party leaders of arrests and raids and even offering them money.

Banerjee said "I am offering support to all my INDIA bloc members. Let's fight BJP together. BJP only knows to offer money to divide but we will not allow them to implement their plan."

Pledging support to jailed AAP leader Arvind Kejriwal, she said when she will visit Delhi next time "I will meet his wife."

Asked about the defeat of state Congress chief Adhir Choudhury at the hands of TMC candidate Yusuf Pathan, she said, "He (Chowdhury) is a BJP man. People have spurned his arrogance"

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Rafah(Egypt), Aug 18 (AP): Hamas said Monday it has accepted a new proposal from Arab mediators for a ceasefire in the Gaza Strip that would still need Israel's approval, as Gaza's Health Ministry said the Palestinian death toll from 22 months of war has passed 62,000.

US President Donald Trump meanwhile appeared to cast doubt on the long-running negotiations. “We will only see the return of the remaining hostages when Hamas is confronted and destroyed!!! The sooner this takes place, the better the chances of success will be,” he posted on his Truth Social site.

Israel announced plans to reoccupy Gaza City and other heavy populated areas after the ceasefire talks appeared to have broken down last month, raising the possibility of a worsening of the humanitarian catastrophe in Gaza, which experts say is sliding into famine.

Plans to expand the offensive, which are in part aimed at pressuring Hamas, have sparked international outrage and infuriated many Israelis who fear for the remaining hostages taken in the Oct. 7 attack that started the war. Hundreds of thousands took part in mass protests on Sunday calling for their return.

Extensive efforts' to revive talks

Egyptian Foreign Minister Badr Abdelatty said mediators are “exerting extensive efforts” to revive a US proposal for a 60-day ceasefire, during which some hostages would be released and the sides would negotiate a lasting ceasefire and the return of the rest.

He spoke during a visit to Egypt's Rafah crossing with Gaza, which has not functioned since Israel seized the Palestinian side in May 2024. He was accompanied by Mohammad Mustafa, the prime minister of the Palestinian Authority, which has been largely sidelined since the war began.

Abdelatty said Qatari Prime Minister Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Al Thani had joined the talks, which include senior Hamas leader Khalil al-Hayya, who arrived in Cairo last week. He said they are open to other ideas, including for a comprehensive deal that would release all the hostages at once.

Bassem Naim, a senior Hamas official, later told The Associated Press that the fighter group had accepted the proposal introduced by the mediators, without elaborating.

An Egyptian official, speaking to the AP on condition of anonymity to discuss the sensitive talks, said the proposal includes changes to Israel's pullback of its forces and guarantees for negotiations on a lasting ceasefire during the initial truce. The official said it is almost identical to an earlier proposal accepted by Israel, which has not yet joined the latest talks.

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has vowed to continue the war until all the hostages are returned and Hamas has been disarmed, and to maintain lasting security control over Gaza. Hamas has said it will only release the remaining hostages in exchange for a lasting ceasefire and an Israeli withdrawal.

Palestinian death toll surpasses 62,000

Hamas-led group abducted 251 people and killed around 1,200, mostly civilians, in the attack that ignited the war. Fifty hostages are still inside Gaza, around 20 of them believed by Israel to be alive, after most of the rest were released in ceasefires or other deals.

The Gaza Health Ministry said the Palestinian death toll from the war had climbed to 62,004, with another 156,230 people wounded. It does not say how many were civilians or combatants, but says women and children make up around half the dead.

The ministry is part of the Hamas-run government and staffed by medical professionals. The UN and many independent experts consider its figures to be the most reliable estimate of wartime casualties. Israel disputes its toll but has not provided its own.

The ministry said 1,965 people have been killed while seeking humanitarian aid since May, either in the chaos around UN convoys or while heading to sites operated by the Gaza Humanitarian Foundation, an Israeli-backed American contractor.

Witnesses, health officials and the UN human rights office say Israeli forces have repeatedly fired toward crowds of people seeking aid. Israel says it has only fired warning shots at people who approached its forces. GHF says its armed contractors have only used pepper spray or fired into the air on rare occasions to prevent deadly crowding.

More deaths linked to malnutrition

Experts have warned that Israel's ongoing offensive is pushing Gaza toward famine, even after it eased a complete 2 1/2-month blockade on the territory in May. The Gaza Health Ministry said Monday that five more people, including two children, died of malnutrition-related causes.

It says at least 112 children have died of malnutrition-related causes since the war began, and 151 adults have died since the ministry started tracking adult malnutrition deaths in June.

Amnesty International on Monday accused Israel of “carrying out a deliberate campaign of starvation."

Israel has rejected such allegations, saying it allows in enough food and accusing the UN of failing to promptly deliver it. UN agencies say they are hindered by Israeli restrictions and the breakdown of law and order in the territory, around three-quarters of which is now controlled by Israel.