Dr Humayun Kabir. IPS (VRS)

Deeply shocked and saddened. Today again, we lost a Booth Level Officer in Mal, Jalpaiguri — Smt Shanti Muni Ekka, a tribal lady, an anganwadi worker who took her own life under the unbearable pressure of the ongoing SIR work. 28 people have already lost their lives since SIR began — some due to fear and uncertainty, others due to stress and overload. Such precious lives are being lost because of the unplanned, relentless workload imposed by the so-called Election Commission of India. A process that earlier took 3 years is now being forced into 2 months on the eve of elections to please political masters, putting inhuman pressure on BLOs. I urge the ECI to act with conscience and immediately halt this unplanned drive before more lives are lost.

'Swasthya Sathi' -- the all-inclusive, unique health assurance scheme of Government of West Bengal has achieved one crore hospitalisations mark on 31st October 2025, where cashless health care benefit of Rs. 13,156 crore has been provided to the citizens of WEST BENGAL entirely from the State Budget. Any resident of West Bengal is eligible to avail the benefits of 'Swasthya Sathi', if not covered by any other State-sponsored scheme. More than 8.5 crore residents of West Bengal are covered under the scheme. Robust IT platform and time-bound payment to hospital partners have ensured faster and reliable service delivery to its beneficiaries. Government of West Bengal is always with you in your difficult times.

Another crushing defeat for the BOHIRAGOTO BANGLA-BIRODHI ZAMINDARS. The Hon’ble Supreme Court today dismissed the Central Government’s plea challenging the Calcutta High Court’s order directing the resumption of MGNREGA in Bengal. This is a HISTORIC VICTORY for the people of Bengal, who refused to bow down before Delhi’s ARROGANCE and INJUSTICE. When they failed to defeat us politically, BJP weaponised deprivation. They imposed an ECONOMIC BLOCKADE on Bengal, snatching away the wages of the poor and punishing the people for standing by Maa, Mati, Manush. But Bengal does not yield. We promised to fight for every rightful rupee, every honest worker, every silenced voice. Today’s verdict is a democratic slap on the face of those who believed Bengal could be bullied, coerced, or silenced. BJP’s arrogance has met its reckoning. They seek power without accountability. They take from Bengal, yet refuse to return her dues. But now, they've been defeated in PEOPLE'S VOTE, and in the SUPREME COURT. As I’ve said before, and I will say again: চলবে না অন্যায়, টিকবে না ফন্দি, জনগণের আদালতে হতে হবে বন্দি! জয় বাংলা 💪🏻

Allow me to be a little nostalgic today. As the Railways Minister of India, I was fortunate in planning and sanctioning series of Metro Railway corridors in metropolitan Kolkata. I had drawn the blueprints, arranged the funds, initiated the works and ensured that the different ends of the city ( Joka, Garia, Airport, Sector V, etc) were connected by an intra- city Metro grid. Later, as the Chief Minister of West Bengal, I had the additional privilege of taking part in execution of the projects. From the State, I arranged free land, paved roads, arranged rehabilitation of displaced people, removed impediments, and ensured all help in the execution of projects. Our chief secretaries successively held series of coordination meeting to ensure integration of execution agencies. My planning as Railways Minister got fulfilment in my participation in execution. Expanding Metro infrastructure has been a long journey for me. Allow me some nostalgia today.

With just 240 MPs, a Govt. on borrowed time is attempting to REWRITE THE CONSTITUTION. Without following procedure, without even placing the Bills before members, BJP is trying to bulldoze democracy with the 130th Constitutional Amendment. This regime has mastered one thing: weaponising its “Double E” machinery. When the Election Commission could not be twisted to their tune, they unleashed the Enforcement Directorate, with an ulterior motive to jail Opposition leaders, topple elected govts, and steal people’s mandate. If corruption was the concern, why did Opposition leaders under probe get instant reprieve after joining BJP’s WASHING MACHINE? This Bill is not about cleansing politics, it’s about CLEANSING OPPOSITION. What we have today is a Govt. that wants to sell the soul of India, tear apart our Constitution, and hand over our beloved country to INEFFICIENT, POWER-HUNGRY TYRANTS to be run like their private estate. This is DICTATORSHIP in broad daylight. This is a SUPER EMERGENCY. But India will not bend, Bengal will not bow. We will fight, we will resist, and we will protect the India envisioned by Mahatma Gandhi and Dr. BR Ambedkar, not the India hijacked by PM Modi and HM Amit Shah.

I condemn the 130th Constitutional Amendment Bill, proposed to be tabled, by the Government of India today. I condemn it as a step towards something that is more than a super- Emergency, a step to end the democratic era of India for ever. This draconian step comes as a death knell for democracy and federalism in India. To suppress the voting rights of the Indian citizens in the name of Special Intensive Revision (SIR) , this is another super- draconian step by the Centre now. This Bill now wants to finish the Independence of our Judiciary. What we are witnessing is unprecedented-- the Bill is nothing short of a Hitlerian assault on the very soul of Indian democracy. The Bill seeks to strip the judiciary of its Constitutional role- to take away the power of Courts to adjudicate on matters that lie at the very heart of justice and federal balance. By vesting such powers in partisan hands, the Bill mutilates democracy. This is not reform. This is regression- towards a system where the law no longer rests with independent Courts but is placed in the hands of vested interests. It is a chilling attempt to establish a rule where judicial scrutiny is silenced, Constitutional safeguards are dismantled , and the people's rights are trampled. This is how authoritarian regimes , even fascist ones in history, consolidated power. It reeks of the very mindset that the world once condemned in the darkest chapters of the 20th century. To weaken the Courts is to weaken the people. To deny them the right to seek justice is to deny them democracy itself. The bill strikes at the basic structure of the Constitution- federalism, separation of powers, and judicial review- principles that even Parliament cannot override. If allowed to pass, it will be a death warrant for Constitutional governance in India. We must resist this dangerous overreach. Our Constitution is not the property of those in temporary seats of power. It belongs to the people of India. The intent of the Bill is to consolidate a system of one man- one- party- one Government. The Bill tramples upon the basic structure of the Constitution. The Bill seeks to empower the Union to intrude upon the mandate of the people, handing sweeping powers to unelected authorities ( ED, CBI- whom Supreme Court has described as ' caged parrots') to interfere in the functioning of elected State governments. It is a step to empower the Prime Minister and the Union Home Minister in a sinister manner at the expense of the basic principles of our Constitution. The Bill must be resisted at any cost! Democracy must be saved at this moment! The people will not forgive any attempt to take away their Courts, their rights, and their democracy. Jai Hind!

See now how Delhi police under the direct control of Ministry of Home, Government of India is describing Bengali as " Bangladeshi" language! Bengali, our mother tongue, the language of Rabindranath Tagore and Swami Vivekananda, the language in which our National Anthem and the National Song (the latter by Bankim Chandra Chattopadhyay) are written, the language in which crores of Indians speak and write, the language which is sanctified and recognised by the Constitution of India, is now described as a Bangladeshi language!! Scandalous, insulting, anti- national, unconstitutional!! This insults all Bengali-speaking people of India. They cannot use this kind of language which degrades and debases us all. We urge immediate strongest possible protests from all against the anti-Bengali Government of India who are using such anti-Constitutional language to insult and humiliate the Bengali- speaking people of India

Have been increasingly receiving reports of detentions of and atrocities on our Bengali-speaking people from different districts of West Bengal in Gurgaon, Haryana. West Bengal police is receiving these reports from Haryana police in the name of requests for identity searches. Have been separately and increasingly receiving reports from other States like Rajasthan etc about illegal "pushbacks" of West Bengal citizens with all proper documents to Bangladesh directly!! Our officers have received copies of their appropriate documents! There are tortures and tortures on hapless poor Bengali workers from West Bengal in these States. I am shocked to see these terrible atrocities of double-engine governments on Bengalis in India. What do you want to prove? This is atrocious and terrible. We are not going to tolerate this. Stop this linguistic terror. ভাষা সন্ত্রাস বন্ধ হবে, কি হবে না?

Have been increasingly receiving reports of detentions of and atrocities on our Bengali-speaking people from different districts of West Bengal in Gurgaon, Haryana. West Bengal police is receiving these reports from Haryana police in the name of requests for identity searches. Have been separately and increasingly receiving reports from other States like Rajasthan etc about illegal "pushbacks" of West Bengal citizens with all proper documents to Bangladesh directly!! Our officers have received copies of their appropriate documents! There are tortures and tortures on hapless poor Bengali workers from West Bengal in these States. I am shocked to see these terrible atrocities of double-engine governments on Bengalis in India. What do you want to prove? This is atrocious and terrible. We are not going to tolerate this. Stop this linguistic terror. ভাষা সন্ত্রাস বন্ধ হবে, কি হবে না?

Happy to share that the mainstream Indian media have started taking note of Bengal now leading the IT sector investments in the country. In its latest (July 21, 2025) issue, India Today magazine has carried a piece called 'A New IT Sunrise' and mentioned that "top firms are flocking to IT hubs in the West Bengal capital, attracted by the excellent infrastructure and the talent pool." Let India take note of the new IT Sunrise in Bengal today!

The second most spoken language in the country, Bangla, is also the second most spoken language of Assam. To threaten citizens, who want to coexist peacefully respecting all languages and religions, with persecution for upholding their own mother tongue is discriminatory and unconstitutional. This divisive agenda of the BJP in Assam has crossed all limits and people of Assam will fight back. I stand with every fearless citizen who is fighting for the dignity of their language and identity, and their democratic rights.

খবরে প্রকাশ যে, বাংলাদেশের ময়মনসিংহ শহরে সত্যজিৎ রায়ের ঠাকুরদা, স্বয়ং স্বনামধন্য সাহিত্যিক-সম্পাদক উপেন্দ্রকিশোর রায়চৌধুরীর স্মৃতিজড়িত তাঁদের পৈতৃক বাড়িটি নাকি ভেঙে ফেলা হচ্ছে। ভাঙার কাজ শুরু হয়ে গিয়েছিল বলে খবর প্রকাশিত। এই সংবাদ অত্যন্ত দুঃখের। রায় পরিবার বাংলার সংস্কৃতির অন্যতম ধারক ও বাহক। উপেন্দ্রকিশোর বাংলার নবজাগরণের একজন স্তম্ভ। তাই আমি মনে করি, এই বাড়ি বাংলার সাংস্কৃতিক ইতিহাসের সঙ্গে অঙ্গাঙ্গীভাবে জড়িত। আমি বাংলাদেশ সরকার ও ওই দেশের সমস্ত শুভবুদ্ধিসম্পন্ন মানুষের কাছে আবেদন করব, এই ঐতিহ্যশালী বাড়িটিকে রক্ষা করার জন্য। ভারত সরকার বিষয়টিতে নজর দিন।