All stories by PAYAL SINGH MOHANKA
Why Modi appointed 4 Bengal ministers
Rediff.com11 Jul 2021Wednesday's expansion shows that Modi still has a keen eye on Bengal. The BJP is gearing up for the panchayat elections in Bengal next May and the Lok Sabha elections in 2024.
'Mamata is a very good actor'
Rediff.com26 May 2021'Mamata has used minorities only as her vote bank.' 'In her entire election campaign Mamata did not utter a single sentence against the RSS.'
'A lot of garbage came in from Trinamool'
Rediff.com17 May 2021'Mamata will beat the living daylights out of BJP workers with the result that people who are not totally committed, they will promptly leave the party and go back to Trinamool.' 'Or when they find they cannot get what they came to the BJP for they will go back to Trinamool.'
'Look at the killings that have taken place!'
Rediff.com7 May 2021'There is arson, loot, rape of women, traumatising children, destruction of property, homes, shops and offices by workers and elements of the ruling dispensation.' 'What is most painful is while all this was taking place there was stunning silence by the chief minister.' 'Not one tangible step was taken.'
Governor: 'I am really worried for Bengal'
Rediff.com7 May 2021'I urged the chief minister even before she took her oath requesting her to send a tough message to the police and the administration that any violent activity, any destruction of property, any arson, loot in your area, they will be held accountable.' 'Her silence on this speaks volumes.'
'Police seems to be a mute spectator'
Rediff.com5 May 2021'Those who win indulge in shooting, looting, throwing bombs and burning houses.'
Is Didi now the tallest Opposition leader?
Rediff.com3 May 2021'For the first time one single party is getting 49% which is a record of its own.'
'TMC intolerance no match for BJP vindictiveness'
Rediff.com26 Apr 2021'The BJP's modus operandi is not just to be intolerant of dissent, it is to create mistrust and doubt between communities and the electoral process itself.'
Will Prashant Kishor fail Didi?
Rediff.com13 Apr 2021If the BJP wins Bengal, would Kishor's indiscretions have played a significant role in that victory? Victory for the TMC would be another badge of honour in his CV, but defeat would raise an unsavoury question: Which party was Kishor actually working for? asks Payal Singh Mohanka.
'Mamata knows her defeat is certain'
Rediff.com9 Apr 2021'If the chief minister says there are areas in her home state where she cannot enter, where has she driven the state to!'
Will Swapan Dasgupta be Bengal's BJP CM?
Rediff.com19 Mar 2021'I am as Bengali as they come in my cultural and personal orientation and I think probably all the BJP candidates who are contesting are pretty non-vegetarian in their food and as Bengali in their cultural orientation.'
Will Bengal give Didi a third term?
Rediff.com10 Mar 2021Will appeasement, rising unemployment and her dictatorial style become major obstacles in her path? asks Payal Singh Mohanka.
'Modi has been a friend since the nineties'
Rediff.com6 Mar 2021'I could have joined the BJP in 2014, the doors were open.' 'I stayed on with the TMC, a party I was involved with since its very inception.' 'But today enough is enough.'
'Modi and Shah are gluttons'
Rediff.com2 Mar 2021'They have a voracious appetite.' 'But there are many places where they go and they lose.'
'If BJP comes to power, Muslims will be in trouble'
Rediff.com3 Feb 2021'I have interacted with Muslim women in rural Bengal, they are scared of the BJP.'
New York Gurdwaras's HEARTENING Langar Story
Rediff.com30 Nov 2020It was truly heartening to see how the Sikh community had risen to the occasion during the Black Lives Matter peaceful protests and the coronavirus pandemic and selflessly served those looking for nourishment.
'Biden will play it safe'
Rediff.com8 Nov 2020'It will be normal, regular, everyday politics whether you like it or not.' That's what this country needs,' a New Yorker tells Payal Singh Mohanka.
Trump-Biden tear desi families apart
Rediff.com4 Nov 2020What startles a visitor like me from India is how the 2020 US presidential election has divided families, husband and wife, parents and children, observes Payal Mohanka.
Will Modi help the light-makers of Chandernagor?
Rediff.com20 Oct 20202020 has dimmed the animated bulbs that create magical images and transform Kolkata into a mesmerising fairyland during Durga Puja.
'Mother was above religion'
Rediff.com24 Feb 2015The constitution of the Missionaries of Charity that declares, 'We shall not impose our Catholic faith on anyone, but have profound respect for all religions.'