In ‘jibe’ at Didi, Bengal MPs greeted with ‘Jai Shri Ram’

New Delhi, Jume 17

Union Ministers Babul Supriyo and Debashree Choudhury, who are from West Bengal, were greeted by fellow BJP MPs with “Jai Shri Ram” slogans when they were called to take oath as Lok Sabha Members. 

The cheer was apparently to take a dig at West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee who had allegedly objected to uttering the slogan during some incidents. When Minister of State for Environment and Forest Supriyo was called to take oath, BJP members loudly cheered with “Jai Shri Ram”. 

The slogan was repeatedly chanted when Choudhury, Minister of State for Women and Child Development, was called to take oath. 

Seven persons were detained on March 31 for chanting “Jai Shri Ram” slogan when Banerjee's motorcade passed through North 24 Parganas district. The BJP won 18 LS seats from West Bengal as against just two seats from the state during the 2014 polls. — PTI

TMC MLA, 16 councillors join BJP

New Delhi, June 17

A Trinamool Congress legislator and 15 councillors of the party in West Bengal joined the BJP here today.

Noapara MLA Sunil Singh, along with the 15 TMC councillors and another Congress councillor, joined the BJP in the presence of general secretary and West Bengal incharge Kailash Vijayvargiya, and senior leader Mukul Roy.

Sunil Singh is a relative of MP Arjun Singh, who switched over from the TMC to the BJP just ahead of the recent Lok Sabha polls and won the Barrackpore seat.

Roy, once the second-in-command in the TMC after Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee, said 10 legislators from various parties had joined the BJP so far.  The BJP leader alleged that under the leadership of Banerjee, democracy had disappeared from the state. — PTI