In a bid to ensure participation of more women in politics, the state government has proposed changing the present legislation to reserve 50 per cent seats in rural bodies for women. Deputy chief minister Sudesh Mahto, who also holds the panchayati raj portfolio, has already given his consent to the proposal, which, however, has to be passed by the state cabinet. “We are working on the proposal to grant 50...

Health minister Surjya Kanta Mishra today pushed through the Assembly a bill that will allow “half-doctors” to practise in villages, steamrollering a demand from the Left Front and the Opposition to defer the legislation. The West Bengal Health Regulatory Authority Bill will permit “rural health practitioners” with a three-year diploma to treat patients in villages where qualified doctors are loath to go. The “health practitioners” will not be called doctors, the...