TMC asks Bengal jails minister Akhil Giri to resign, he says will comply
Kolkata, Aug 4: The Trinamool Congress (TMC) on Sunday asked West Bengal Jails Minister Akhil Giri to resign and apologise to a woman officer of the state forest department following a controversy over video clips showing him threatening and verbally abusing her.
Speaking to reporters at Kanthi in Purba Medinipur district, Giri said he will resign but won't apologise.
Giri, who is the MLA of Ramnagar within which the area is situated, was flanked by locals when he was seen in videos threatening forest ranger Manisha Sahu, warning her of reducing her tenure after she and her team removed encroachments on forest department land near Tajpur beach.
"Following party instructions, state president Subrata Bakshi called Akhil Giri on Sunday afternoon, instructing him to apologise to the woman officer and submit his resignation immediately," TMC spokesperson Shantanu Sen said.
Giri said there was "no question of apologising to any official," but he regretted his remarks made in an agitated state on Saturday. "I will email my resignation tonight and hand it over personally to Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee tomorrow in the Assembly," he added.
Another TMC spokesperson Jaiprakash Majumdar emphasised that the party does not tolerate such behaviour from its members and acknowledged that Giri's outburst had somewhat tarnished the party's image.
"We have learnt that he has decided to resign," he said.
Giri said he will continue to serve as an MLA even after resigning as a minister and will advocate for people in his constituency.
He reiterated his criticism of forest officials, claiming they lacked compassion by removing small traders who sold goods to tourists near the beach town, which is close to the more popular seaside resort town of Digha.
Giri also alleged that the officials had previously permitted the sheds in exchange for monetary considerations.
Forest Minister Birbaha Hansda said she had spoken to Sahu over the phone after the incident.
Incidentally, two years ago in 2022, Giri's controversial remarks about President Droupadi Murmu were severely criticised. TMC supremo Mamata Banerjee had to apologise for Giri's "derogatory remark" after a massive uproar by the opposition.
Majumdar argued that opposition parties, particularly the BJP, should not criticise the forest range officer issue, noting that the saffron party has not acted against its own leaders accused of making offensive remarks about women. He claimed that while the TMC is committed to taking strong action against its members for such behaviour, the BJP does not exhibit the same resolve.
Slamming Giri for his attitude towards a woman officer, the BJP on Saturday demanded that the minister be arrested and put behind the bars.
"Will Mamata Banerjee dare to throw out this minister and put him behind the bars? Will charges be filed against him for obstructing government workers and outraging the modesty of women? Let's see if this goon is kicked inside the jail for threatening to indirectly kill and outrage the modesty of a woman," the BJP posted on X.
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Cong takes swipe at PM over India not being part of US-led 'Pax Silica' grouping
New Delh (PTI) The Congress on Saturday said it is perhaps not very surprising that India is not part of a US-led strategic initiative to build a secure silicon supply chain, given the "sharp downturn" in the Trump-Modi ties, and asserted that it would have been to "our advantage if we had been part of this group".
Congress general secretary in charge of communications Jairam Ramesh took a swipe at Prime Minister Narendra Modi, saying the news of India not being part of the group comes after the PM had enthusiastically posted on social media about a telephone call with his "once-upon-a-time good friend and a recipient of many hugs in Ahmedabad, Houston, and Washington DC".
In a lengthy post on X, Ramesh said, "According to some news reports, the US has excluded India from a nine-nation initiative it has launched to reduce Chinese control on high-tech supply chains. The agreement is called Pax Silica, clearly as a counter to Pax Sinica. The nations included (for the moment at least) are the US, Japan, the Republic of Korea, Singapore, the Netherlands, the United Kingdom, Israel, the United Arab Emirates, and Australia."
"Given the sharp downturn in the Trump-Modi ties since May 10th, 2025, it is perhaps not very surprising that India has not been included. Undoubtedly, it would have been to our advantage if we had been part of this group."
"This news comes a day after the PM had enthusiastically posted on his telephone call with his once-upon-a-time good friend and a recipient of many hugs in Ahmedabad, Houston, and Washington DC," the Congress leader asserted.
The new US-led strategic initiative, rooted in deep cooperation with trusted allies, has been launched to build a secure and innovation-driven silicon supply chain.
According to the US State Department, the initiative called 'Pax Silica' aims to reduce coercive dependencies, protect the materials and capabilities foundational to artificial intelligence (AI), and ensure aligned nations can develop and deploy transformative technologies at scale.
The initiative includes Japan, South Korea, Singapore, the Netherlands, the United Kingdom, Israel, the United Arab Emirates, and Australia. With the exception of India, all other QUAD countries -- Japan, Australia and the US -- are part of the new initiative.
New Delhi will host the India-AI Impact Summit 2026 on February 19-20, focusing on the principles of 'People, Planet, and Progress'. The summit, announced by Prime Minister Narendra Modi at the France AI Action Summit, will be the first-ever global AI summit hosted in the Global South.
Prime Minister Modi and US President Trump on Thursday discussed ways to sustain momentum in the bilateral economic partnership in a phone conversation amid signs of the two sides inching closer to firming up a much-awaited trade deal.
The phone call between the two leaders came on a day Indian and American negotiators concluded two-day talks on the proposed bilateral trade agreement that is expected to provide relief to India from the Trump administration's whopping 50 per cent tariffs on Indian goods.
In a social media post, Modi had described the conversation as "warm and engaging".
"We reviewed the progress in our bilateral relations and discussed regional and international developments. India and the US will continue to work together for global peace, stability and prosperity," Modi had said without making any reference to trade ties.
