 | This article may require copy editing for tone, grammar. (June 2021) |
Kunal Kumar Ghosh | |
|---|---|
| কুণাল কুমার ঘোষ | |
| Member of Parliament, Rajya Sabha | |
| In office 3 April 2012 – 2 April 2018 | |
| Preceded by | R. C. Singh |
| Succeeded by | Subhashish Chakraborty |
| Constituency | West Bengal |
| Personal details | |
| Born | 20 June 1968 North Kolkata, West Bengal, India |
| Political party | All India Trinamool Congress |
| Spouse(s) | Smt. Sarmita Ghosh |
| Children | 1 |
| Alma mater | G.S.M.S. Taki House (Boys') & Annex College of Management Studies, Annex-Cygnus Institute of Management |
| Occupation | Journalist, politician |
| Known for | Ex-MP, Ex-committee member of Mohun Bagan, CEO of Channel 10, Book Writer, Ek Phone Ek Lakh Live Quiz show, Spokesperson of TMC, WB |
| Website | www |
Kunal Ghosh (Kunal Kumar Ghosh [Bengali: কুণাল কুমার ঘোষ]; born 20 June 1968) is an Indian journalist-turned-politician from All India Trinamool Congress and a former member of the Parliament of India representing West Bengal in the Rajya Sabha. Ghosh is currently appointed as State General Secretary of AITC[1] or TMC party. He is also one of the spokesperson of TMC, Bengal. Ghosh is also a celebrated author and novelist of Bengali literature. He is popular for his novels and writings. He was also an ex-committee member of Mohun Bagan Athletic football Club. Ghosh is an ex-student of Taki House Boy's[2] School, Sealdah.
Ghosh previously worked as a journalist. He holds the position of message editor of "Prabaha", the first private news magazine[3] in Bengal, which was shown in DD 1 and DD 7. In 1996, when MSO did not come, he was credited with bringing the first full-day election campaign on cable TV. So far, he is the only journalist in Bengal who has conducted private interviews with the three Prime Ministers of India.
Ghosh was nominated by the TMC to the Rajya Sabha, but he was suspended from the party after a bitter fallout in 2013. He was the CEO of Channel 10 and the editor of Bengali dailies Sangbad Pratidin and Sakalbela and head of the media unit of Saradha Group where he was paid a salary of Rs 16 lac per month. An FIR was filed against Ghosh at the Bhowanipore police station by employees of the closed Bengali daily Sakalbela for non-payment of salaries and another at the Park Street police station by employees of Channel 10, for a similar reason. He was later interrogated by the police on these charges.
Ghosh also wrote many books like Bandir Dairy, Poth Harabo Bolei, Saashtir Pore, Ranisaheba, Kara O Kahini, Fire Aschi Birotir Por, Moharon Mohakoron etc.
Early life and education
Ghosh was born on 20 June 1968 in Kolkata (formerly called Calcutta), West Bengal, to a Bengali Sadgop family. His parents were Kalyan Kumar Ghosh and Shrimati Monika Ghosh. Ghosh's father, Dr. Kalyan Kumar Ghosh was the head of the Biochemistry Department at IPGME&R and SSKM Hospital Kolkata (PG Hospital). He grew up in the Sukia Street (Garpar, Rammohan Roy Road) area of North Kolkata.
In 1985, Ghosh completed the secondary and higher secondary board examination from Govt. Sponsored Multipurpose School For Boys Taki House. Then he earned his Certificate course in Audio Visual Journalism, Media Management Educated from Annex College of Management and Annex-Cygnus Institute of Management, Kolkata.
His special interest was in promoting various cultural activities, especially ‘Little Magazine’ all over Bengal.
Career
Career in journalism
He is known to journalists as KG. He witnessed the adaptation of today's digital media-Bangla news medium from print media to audio visual, web portal. He holds the position of message editor of "Prabaha", the first private news magazine[3] in Bengal. Which was shown in DD 1 and DD 7. In 1996, when MSO did not come, he was credited with bringing the first full-day election campaign on cable TV. So far, he is the only journalist in Bengal who has conducted private interviews with the three Prime Ministers of India.
His journey began with that freelancing in the media. The first byline story of his life, in the "Patrika" of the Anandabazar group. He then worked on multiple papers, including Aajkaal's "Khela Patrika". Then starting from Uttarbanga Sambad Group, Sangbad Pratidin, Aajkaal three times repeatedly. He has handled the responsibilities of a brave editor of multiple newspapers including Channel 10,[4] Khabarer Kagaj efficiently. Suhas Talukder, the founding editor of Uttarbanga Sambad, was his mentor. At a time about in ten channels he worked together. From reporting to anchoring has left its mark everywhere.
He brought some foreign newspapers from abroad to learn the news, displays, lay outs from the Speaker of the State Legislative Assembly Hasim Abdul Halim. Today, there is probably no well-known Bengali news house where he did not become a host or a guest. A special show on Channel 10, which caused a stir at that time, "Ek Phone e Ek Lakh[4]" is worth mentioning. To date, the best and only 'live quiz show' of Bengali and Indian media. And where one evening Mamata Banerjee, the first woman Chief Minister of Bengal, was directly present from Darjeeling as the chief guest. That first, that last. No other house has been able to do such a show.
Political career
Ghosh became involved with politics in his early age and join Chhatra Parishad Unions, the student wing of the Congress (I) Party. He was the General secretary of Uttar Kolkata Zila Chhatra Parishad. As he worked in political section as a journalist he was loved by the top leaders of all political parties, be it right or left. They all liked the scratch of his pen. His weakness was in Mamata Banerjee's zeal.
A special day in his career was July 21, 1993. He witnessed the bloody highway of Calcutta. He followed the unconscious Mamata Banerjee from the police car and picked her up in his car and admitted her to Woodlands Hospital. He is one of the witnesses of Justice Sushant Chatterjee Commission. In this way he gradually became personally attracted to Mamata Banerjee's militant mentality. He has been a soldier since the first day of the establishment of the Trinamool Congress.
After the turn of the Left Govt. in the state of Bengal, when Mamata Banerjee took over as chief minister, Ghosh played the anchor on the dais of TMC's flagship annual event, Martyrs’ Day, on July 21 in the brigade. He politely turned down an offer to be a MLA for the Trinamool Congress in the Dumdum constituency in the 2006 assembly elections. There are many celebrity parliamentarians or politicians today, who came into politics with the help of Ghosh. On April 3, 2012, Mamata Banerjee sent him to the Rajya Sabha as an MP. Then in 2013 Ghosh was accused in the Saradha chit fund scam.[5]
Ghosh, was arrested by the Mamata Banerjee-constituted special investigation team (SIT) on November 24, 2013. Less than two months after the TMC suspended him for six years for publicly criticising the party. Following this, Ghosh repeatedly dragged the TMC chief's name into the Rs 2,459 crore scam, one of the biggest political scandals in West Bengal. He had urged the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) to interrogate Banerjee in connection with the scam and called her the ‘biggest beneficiary’ of the Saradha group's media operations.
The former TMC Rajya Sabha MP spent 34 months in nine jails of the state, and in the custody of the state police and the CBI. He got bail on October 5, 2016. He had been slapped with cases in almost all districts and even tried to kill himself while in jail, blaming the administration for unbearable harassment.
Between 2013 and 2016, Ghosh had emerged as a major embarrassment for the TMC as he tried to implicate a series of TMC leaders in the Saradha scam after he felt that the party was trying to make him a ‘scapegoat’.
During his life in the custody of the state police, one of the common scenes was Ghosh's scuffle with policemen during his production in courts. Every time he tried to say something addressing the journalists present, the police guarding him would create a hullabaloo to ensure his voice did not reach the media persons.
Ghosh continued taking potshots at the TMC even after his release. He was back in journalism in 2017 and has been working at a Bengali web portal. In January 2020, he even said in an interview that he “did not know that one needed Boroline (antiseptic cream) to be a part of TMC”.
Ghosh has reportedly returned the money that he earned from Saradha Group as salary and for advertisements paid to him by Saradha Group while he worked for the media company. Kunal Ghosh returned Rs 2.67 crore to the Enforcement Directorate, which is probing the money laundering aspect of the Saradha chit fund scam case.[6] Ghosh claimed that he arranged the amount by withdrawing money from his bank accounts, LIC policies and loans from well-wishers.
As an MP: His allocated money from the MP-LAD fund has been used to build the permanent assets of educational institutions like schools and colleges, sometimes in social organizations, from the playground to build the first electric furnace in the district. There is no district in West Bengal where his MP-LAD money did not work. Even at the request of Amit Mandal, the head warden of a jail; sitting in jail, Ghosh allocated Rs 16 lakh to set up a Science department at Vivekananda Nagar Vivekananda High School in Shantipur. Regardless of the municipality ruled by the left in the north or the right in the south, his allocated money has come in handy.
He opened his mouth in anger and anguish and said a lot to many members of the party, leaving them uneasy but he is the one who inaugurated the "Mamata Setu"(Bridge) in Cooch Behar with the help of his MP-LAD fund.[7]
Other positions held in Parliament
May 2014 Member, Committee on Transport, Tourism and Culture Aug. 2012 – May 2014 Member, Parliamentary Forum on Disaster Management Aug. 2012 – Dec. 2014 Member, Committee on Member of Parliament Local Area Development Scheme (MPLADS) Member, Consultative Committee for the Ministry of Commerce and Industry (Retired on 2 April 2018).
- 2012, April 3: Became Rajya Sabha MP.
- 2013: Accused in infamous Saradha scam.
- 2013 July: Expelled from Trinamool Congress.
- 2013, Nov 23: He was arrested by Bidhannagar Police.
- 2016, 5 Oct: Release on bail.
- 2020 July: Appointed State spokesperson of Trinamool Congress.[8]
- 2021, June 5: Appointed as the State General Secretary[9] of Trinamool Congress.
Personal life
He married his wife Sharmita Ghosh in January 1994. They has a child named Kuntal Ghosh, who is currently a college student of IIT Kanpur. He loved to debate since childhood, but was also a blind devotee of Sri Krishna. He is as talkative and food-loving as the other five Bengalis. Fish fry is definitely on the list of favorites. Uttam Kumar is his hero. The color red is his favorite. Like the general public, football is a favorite of Bengalis. Mohun Bagan in his blood. He was also a former member of the working committee of Mohun Bagan.[10] Maradona is on his list of favorites from Subrata Bhattacharya. He has visited London (U.K.), Mauritius, China, Singapore, Bangladesh and Indonesia.
Books & novels[11]
Not only journalism - Kunal Ghosh is also an eminent writer. Readers have been fascinated by the quality of his skillful writing. He wrote four novels and five stories while sitting in the dark in prison, searching for and enjoying some light. All of which are published as books today. Jail officials cannot remember whether he saw anyone like him use the prison library in his prison life. In earlier days the book written by him has also been published in the assembly house by Late Hasim Abdul Halim, Ex- Speaker of the West Bengal Legislative Assembly.
- Poth Harabo Bolei (Dev Sahitya Kutir)
- Saashtir Pore (Kishaloy)
- Bandir Dairy (Karuna Prakashani)
- Rajniti Orajniti (1996)
- Mrityu Babshayee (1997)
- Rajya Rajniti Kon Pathe (1998)
- Kara O Kahini (Kishaloy)
- Fire Aschi Birotir Por
- Pujarini (Kishaloy)
- Ranisaheba (Ananda Publishers)
- Exclusive (2002)
- Maharan Mahakaran
- Baghbidhoba (Deep Prakashan)
- Golpo Thik Golpo Noy(Dev Sahitya Kutir)
- Ektu Porben (2005)
- Rani Siromoni (1997)
- Genu Gain Bapi Bain
E-Books
| এক ফোন এক লাখ | যুবরাজের অগ্নিপরীক্ষা |
| হাফ ডজন গপ্পো | সোমেন দা |
| রামায়নের এর সেরা বীর | প্রণব বাবু |
| বিশ্বকবির বিলেতবাড়ি | মেজাজটাই আসল রাজা |
| রাম লক্ষ্মান সীতা | অভিমানি বুদ্ধদেব |
| আমি সিপাহী বিদ্রোহের বিরোধী | মমতাদি ও সাতটি ফোন |
References
- ↑ "TMC leader Kunal Ghosh appointed as the party's state general secretary".
{{cite news}}:|first=missing|last=(help) - ↑ Taki House Boys Documentary., retrieved 2021-06-21
- ↑ 3.0 3.1 "বাংলা সাংবাদিকতায় প্রথম, টেলিভিশন নিউজ ম্যাগাজিন 'প্রবাহ'। আর একবার ইতিহাস ছুঁয়ে দেখা।".
{{cite news}}:|first=missing|last=(help) - ↑ 4.0 4.1 "ek phone ek lakh".
{{cite news}}:|first=missing|last=(help) - ↑ "WHAT IS SARADHA SCAM CASE".
- ↑ "Trinamool's Kunal Ghosh returns Rs 2.67 crore Saradha money to Enforcement Directorate".
- ↑ https://bengali.oneindia.com/news/west-bengal/ex-mp-kunal-ghosh-builds-a-bridge-and-names-mamata-setu-065677.html.
{{cite news}}: Missing or empty|title=(help) - ↑ "Rebel Kunal back in TMC as a state spokesperson".
- ↑ "Kunal Ghosh, Who Called Mamata 'Biggest Beneficiary' of Saradha Scam, Is Now a TMC Spokesperson".
- ↑ "Official Website of Mohun Bagan AC - National Club of India".
{{cite web}}:|first=missing|last=(help)CS1 maint: url-status (link) - ↑ "boighar".
{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link)