Congress general secretary Rahul Gandhi’s advice for unity in the state party unit has apparently failed to yield the desired results.

If the reaction of the Muslims was any indication, the 24 hour general strike may further alienate them from the ruling CPI(M). “The bandh could not have come at a worst time. Today is the 27th day of Ramzan which is a very significant date in Islamic calendar. Agreed, the CPI(M) leaders are not supposed to know this. But the entire

Despite the efforts of Citu (the CPI(M)’s trade union wing) to make people’s life a little easier by keeping train services and shops and markets in Muslim-dominated areas outside the purview of the 24 hour general strike, the shutdown in the state was complete. Buoyed by the bandh’s success, the Communist parties are now planning to lay a siege of Parliament early in 2011.

Steel major Tata Steel is not selling its South African unit, a top company official said here Wednesday.

Army jawans staged flag marches at Deganga in North 24 Parganas district even as stray clashes were reported from elsewhere in the district today.

Four suspected Maoists were detained by the joint-security forces personnel during a raid at Salboni in West Midnapore, in West Bengal, on Sunday.

Railway minister Mamata Banerjee on Sunday announced jobs for “anyone” who would provide information prior to any “sabotage” of the railway properties.

A 52-year-old former Army officer suffering from psychological disorder was lynched to death on the outskirts of the city on Friday morning. The incident took place at Maheshtala in South 24 Parganas. The deceased, Jayanta Sarkar, had been a major in the Indian Army.

Claiming to be the aboriginal inhabitants of the hilly regions of Darjeeling, the Lepcha community lamented that they had not been taken into confidence over the Gorkhaland issue. They also alleged that the government has neglected them over the years. Protesting this, the Indigenous Lepcha Tribal Association (ILTA), a body of the Lepchas, will start an indefinite hunger strike at College Street.

The members of the search committee for the Presidency University missed their deadline to submit the names of the probable candidates for the post of vice-chancellor on Friday. The search committee was constituted by the state government on August 2 to suggest names of the probable candidates for the university-in-waiting.