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'Ugly face of BJP's politics of revenge': Opposition leaders condemn attack on TMC's Abhishek
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Opposition leaders from across the country, including Congress MP Rahul Gandhi and AAP convenor Arvind Kejriwal, condemned the attack on TMC national general secretary Abhishek Banerjee, calling it the "ugly face of the BJP's politics of revenge".Stones, eggs and abuses were hurled at the Diamond Harbour MP when he visited Sonarpur town on the outskirts of Kolkata to meet the family of a TMC worker who was allegedly killed in post-poll violence. He escaped the mob wearing a cricket helmet, with the help of some aides and journalists, before being escorted out of the area by a large police contingent.Condemning the attack on her nephew, TMC supremo Mamata Banerjee said in a social media post, "RULERS BECAME KILLERS -- shame on you BJP." Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge alleged that the lack of adequate security for a senior Opposition leader reflected the BJP's "politics of vendetta and persecution"."The deliberate lack of adequate police protection for a prominent Opposition leader speaks volumes about the BJP's politics of vendetta and persecution," he said, urging both the State and Centre to ensure security for opposition leaders and prevent such incidents.Mr. Gandhi said the attack on Mr. Banerjee was utterly reprehensible."An attack on an MP is not merely an assault on one individual; it is an assault on the very people who elected him, and on the democracy that is our shared legacy. This is the ugly face of the BJP's politics of revenge. Political differences can never justify violence," he said on a social media post."The central government and the West Bengal government — both must take immediate action against the perpetrators, and ensure that no public representative, regardless of their party, ever has to worry about their safety. Abhishek ji, my thoughts are with you and your family. Wishing you a speedy recovery," he added.The TMC, in a statement on social media, accused the BJP government of failing to maintain law and order."BJP goons utter shocking words while brutally attacking a sitting MP - if this is not a premeditated act of political violence, then what is?" the party said.The TMC also targeted Chief Minister Suvendu Adhikari, alleging that Bengal had witnessed an "alarming collapse of law and order" within weeks of the BJP assuming office."Staying true to his word, Shri @abhishekaitc REFUSED TO ABANDON the grieving family of Sanju Karmakar. Even after a vicious attack by @BJP4Bengal-backed miscreants, our National General Secretary chose not to turn back. Instead, he stood beside a family devastated by an unimaginable loss allegedly inflicted by BJP-backed hooligans," the party posted on X."That is the difference between politics driven by compassion and politics driven by hatred. @SuvenduWB, today’s events have once again exposed the kind of politics you preside over - one rooted in intimidation, violence and vendetta," it said.Samajwadi Party chief Akhilesh Yadav called the alleged absence of police protection a "major conspiracy"."By carrying out a life-threatening attack on TMC senior leader Abhishek Banerjee in West Bengal, the anarchic BJP government in the State has proven that it can do nothing except hateful, negative and violent politics," he said in a post.Congress MP K.C. Venugopal described the attack as "a clear example of the BJP's politics of hate and violence".Rajya Sabha MP Kapil Sibal also denounced the incident, alleging that the BJP had normalised political violence.Mr. Kejriwal, the former Delhi CM, praised Mr. Banerjee for visiting the bereaved family despite the hostile situation and accused the BJP of fostering a climate of intimidation wherever it comes to power."Wherever the BJP comes to power, intimidation and violence take centre stage. BJP just can't tolerate a strong opposition. West Bengal has fallen prey to the BJP's politics of hate," he wrote on a social media post.West Bengal Congress president Subhankar Sarkar said while citizens have the democratic right to prot
The alleged self-immolation by a 71-year-old investor outside the house of a former office-bearer of a cooperative society in Vadakara, who is also a local Congress leader, reportedly over non-refunded deposits from the organisation controlled by United Democratic Front (UDF) leaders, has sparked off a war of words between the Communist Party of India (Marxist) [CPI(M)] and the UDF.While CPI(M) State secretary M.V. Govindan on Saturday (May 30) termed the incident “a murder” which was the manifestation of an institutional fraud operated with Congress support, Kozhikode District Congress Committee president K. Praveenkumar claimed that the society had nothing to do with the party. Sources at the Vadakara police station said that a case under Section 194 of the Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita related to unnatural death had been registered. Further procedures would be based on the ongoing investigation into the case, they added.Ibrahim Haji, a resident of Thiruvallur, allegedly set himself on fire on Friday morning (May 29) after pouring petrol over his body outside the house of T.V. Sudheer Kumar, a former Congress district general secretary and former president of the society. Though Haji was rushed first to the Government District Hospital and later to the Government Medical College Hospital, Kozhikode, he succumbed to the burns in the night.It has been reported that though Haji had invested ₹22 lakh in the Kadathanad Labour Contract Cooperative Society between July 2021 and June 2023, his request to withdraw the money was not accepted.A police case was registered based on his complaint against Mr. Kumar, Basheer Ahammed, incumbent president, and its other functionaries earlier this year. Haji had been reportedly visiting the office of the society and the houses of Mr. Sudheer Kumar and others, seeking repayment of the amount. He had reached Mr. Sudheer Kumar’s house on Friday with the same demand.Society functionaries, however, told the media that Ibrahim Haji had deposited only ₹6 lakh with the society and that he had been given a cheque for the amount already. When Haji presented the cheque in the bank, it bounced, reportedly due to lack of funds in the society’s bank account. A case was also filed against the society related to this. The society functionaries claimed that they had promised to repay him the amount once the pending payments from the government for some works undertaken by the society were cleared.It has also been reported that, though Haji had sought repayment of the amounts deposited in the name of some of his relatives, the request was turned down.Meanwhile, Mr. Praveenkumar said that Mr. Sudheer Kumar had been suspended from the Congress for bringing disrepute to the organisation. He said the Congress had no control over society, though some of its leaders were part of it. Mr. Govindan visited Haji’s house, spoke to his family members, and sought action against UDF leaders who are part of the society. Praful Krishnan, BJP North district president, said Ibrahim Haji had sent him a voice clip implicating the society’s functionaries. Published - May 30, 2026 09:22 pm IST
Karnataka Chief Minister Siddaramaiah and Deputy CM D.K. Shivakumar during a press conference in Bengaluru on May 28, 2026. | Deputy Chief Minister D.K. Shivakumar will succeed Mr. Siddaramaiah.A communication from Lok Bhavan said that the resignation has been accepted and the Council of Ministers headed by Mr. Siddaramaiah has been dissolved.Mr. Siddaramaiah tendered his one-line resignation to the special secretary of the Governor on Thursday (May 28, 2026), in the absence of Mr. Gehlot, who was away in Indore for personal reasons.Meanwhile, Mr. Siddaramaiah will be meeting with the Congress top brass today to discuss the formation of the next government and the next president of the Karnataka Pradesh Congress Committee.Follow the live updates below:May 29, 2026 09:57 Karnataka Governor accepts Siddaramaiah’s resignation; Shivakumar to succeedKarnataka Governor Thaawarchand Gehlot on Friday (May 29, 2026) accepted the resignation of Chief Minister Siddaramaiah, who will now continue to be caretaker Chief Minister till his successor is appointed. Deputy Chief Minister D.K. Shivakumar will succeed Mr. Siddaramaiah. A communication from Lok Bhavan said that the resignation has been accepted and the Council of Ministers headed by Mr. Siddaramaiah has been dissolved.Mr. Siddaramaiah tendered his one-line resignation to the special secretary of the Governor on Thursday (May 28, 2026), in the absence of Mr. Gehlot, who was away in Indore for personal reasons. Read more on Siddaramaiah’s resignation here Published - May 29, 2026 09:56 am IST
Karnataka Politics Live Updates: Siddaramaiah, Son Reach Delhi For "Courtesy Meet" With Rahul Gandhi NDTV Kerala model could leave seniors out of new cabinet The Times of India The Constitution is my religion and voters are my abhimani devaru: Siddaramaiah The Hindu Sure-footed Congress top brass ensured Karnataka CM Siddaramaiah’s honourable, hassle-free exit Deccan Herald Karnataka Governor accepts Siddaramaiah’s resignation The News Minute
File picture of former Karnataka Chief Minister K. Siddaramaiah and former Chief Minister of Bihar Nitish Kumar shaking hands, as former Jharkhand Chief Minister Raghubar Das looks on | Karnataka politics updates - May 28, 2026Both former Chief Ministers began political life as part of the big socialist rise during the anti-Emergency movement, and both got their first electoral victories from the socialist frame — Nitish Kumar as MLA on a Janata Party ticket from Harnaut in Bihar in 1985, Siddaramaiah also as MLA as the Lok Dal candidate from Chamundeshwari in 1983.For many years, the two leaders belonging to non-dominant backward castes — Nitish Kumar belonging to the Kurmi community and Siddaramaiah being a Kuruba — laboured under the umbrella socialist parties led by Lalu Prasad Yadav in Bihar and H.D. Deve Gowda in Karnataka.Both refashioned the Mandal maths of OBC consolidation in their respective States. In 1994, Nitish Kumar held a Kurmi sammelan and formed the Samata Party, carving out the non-Yadav OBC “Luv-Kush” vote bank. He was also the first to identify Pasmanda Muslims as a distinct voter category. Siddarmaiah broke free from the JD(S)'s Vokkaliga-coded politics and the Gowda family to fashion the AHINDA comprising of Alpasankhyataru (Minorities), Hindulidavaru (Backward Classes) and Dalitaru (Dalits).National partiesThey found space for this refashioning in alliance with or within a national party. The Janata Dal (U) is one of the oldest allies of the BJP (with some diversions along the way), and Siddarmaiah joined the Congress after he was expelled from the JD(S) by former Prime Minister Deve Gowda in 2005 for going ahead with AHINDA conventions, which the latter felt threatened by.Both leaders carried not just the weight of their caste coalitions but also the socialist strain of ideology on a retreat since its high noon in 1977. The growth of the BJP, on the right of the political spectrum, was at the expense of the socialist strain more than of the Congress.BJP’s riseWith the arrival of Prime Minister Narendra Modi on the national scene in 2014, the BJP too got creative with the caste coalitions that it drew up, especially in Uttar Pradesh and other north Indian States. Bihar and Karnataka, however, remained immune from any re-engineering by the BJP, but the exit of Nitish Kumar in Bihar and Siddarmaiah has split the politics of their States wide open.The Janata Dal (S), allying with the BJP, has little chance of recovering the minority vote it lost to Siddarmaiah, and is largely seen as a Vokkaliga party, and will have to battle it out with the Congress for that vote too. In Bihar, the BJP got its first-ever Chief Minister with Nitish Kumar’s exit, with little chance of the Luv-Kush vote bank going away from the NDA in any intact way.What the historic arc of both Nitish Kumar's and Siddaramaiah’s careers shows, however, is the current decline of the socialist strain in the Indian political firmament. For it to revive, a new lexicon by a new set of leaders will have to be fashioned as the post-Emergency generation of socialist leaders have taken their final bows from the dais. Published - May 28, 2026 11:52 am IST
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