West Bengal Governor C V Ananda Bose on Thursday said Education Minister Bratya Basu has “deliberately” violated the election Model Code of Conduct (MCC) by holding a meeting with politicians at the University of Gour Banga recently, and asked the state government to remove him from the cabinet, a Raj Bhavan official said.

Bose, the chancellor of all state-run universities, also said Basu’s act of holding the meeting on the institute’s premises has brought “discredit to the university system”.

“In light of the meeting held in Gour Banga University under the leadership and presence of Basu with other ministers, MPs, MLAs, and political leaders on March 30, the chancellor has directed the state government to take strict action against him for deliberately violating the MCC, including his removal from the cabinet,” the official told

TDP has no representation in RS after lone member retires

Amaravati (Andhra Pradesh), Apr 4 (PTI) For the first time in its over four decades of existence, Telugu Desam Party (TDP) finds itself without any representation in the Rajya Sabha as its lone member, K Ravindra Kumar retired on Wednesday.

The vacuum may continue until 2026, when three of the incumbent members in the upper house retire and new members are elected from the state.

YSR Congress party nominees YV Subba Reddy, Golla Babu Rao and Meda Raghunath Reddy were elected to the upper house unopposed in February this year, making the ruling party the fourth largest party with 11 members.

Vice-President and Rajya Sabha chairman Jagdeep Dhankhar administered the oath to the new members on Thursday in the national capital.

Four of the TDP members-YS Chowdary, CM Ramesh, TG Venkatesh, and G Mohan Rao-joined the BJP soon after the 2019 Assembly polls, which shifted the power balance towards the YSRCP in the state and the NDA at the Centre.

“I retired yesterday. The term of the new members will start today. This is the first time that the TDP does not have representation in the Rajya Sabha. I was the lone representative during the past four years. Democracy is a numbers game,” Ravindra Kumar told PTI.

Founded by the charismatic leader Nandamuri Taraka Rama Rao (NTR) in 1982, the party quickly rose to prominence, capturing the imagination of the Telugu-speaking populace and over the years, the party has been a significant player in state and central politics.