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Sentinels of democracy shouldn’t sound its death knell: West Bengal governor
Earlier in the day, the governor met representatives of political parties in the hills. The opposition alleged that some candidates were not allowed to file nomination papers
West Bengal Governor CV Ananda Bose said on Thursday that sentinels of democracy shouldn’t sound its death knell. His statement came on the backdrop of violence in the run-up to the state panchayat elections scheduled for July 8.
“This is a challenge to the Constitution, the democracy and the people of India. It can’t go on like this. This has to end. Those who are supposed to be sentinels of democracy, shouldn’t sound the death knell of democracy. What is happening in the field is very disturbing,” Bose said while interacting with media persons at Siliguri in north Bengal on Thursday.
Earlier in the day, the governor met representatives of political parties in the hills. The opposition alleged that some candidates were not allowed to file nomination papers.
“I would like to go to the field, interact with victims and understand for myself what is the real ground-level situation. Yes, I would like to be a ground-zero governor so far as election violence is concerned. The politics of intimidation, the politics of murder and the politics of threat has to go and it will go,” he added.
On June 16, Bose had visited one of the violence-hit areas near Kolkata A day after four persons were killed in clashes following the violence across the state. He had said that political violence will not be tolerated, asserting that “there will be action and no alibi for inaction”.
Meanwhile, politically motivated clashes continued in some pockets of West Bengal ahead of the crucial three-tier panchayat elections scheduled for July 8 after a fresh skirmish broke out between workers of the ruling Trinamool Congress (TMC) and the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) at Sitalkuchi in Cooch Behar on Wednesday.
The clashes which have continued since panchayat polls were announced earlier this month have already claimed 11 lives and have left dozens injured.
On Wednesday crude bombs night a clash broke out allegedly between two groups the ruling TMC. A TMC worker was allegedly shot dead, and six others sustained bullet injuries at Dinhata in the same district on Tuesday morning.
Earlier this week, one person was killed in a crude-bomb explosion in Murshidabad district. In Cooch Behar’s Gitaldaha, the house of an independent candidate was attacked. Last week, at Dantan in West Midnapore, a BJP candidate was allegedly beaten up by TMC workers.
The Calcutta high court has already ordered the deployment of central forces across the state in the run-up to the polls. The court also had pulled up the state poll panel.
The State Election Commission (SEC) declared the poll dates on June 8. Violence erupted at multiple places soon after the nomination process started on June 9.
