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‘Devoid of substance’: EC rejects TMC claim
In a letter dated April 3 sent to Banerjee, the Election Commission’s secretary general Umesh Sinha offered a detailed rebuttal of all allegations made by her and the Trinamool Congress.
The Election Commission has rejected West Bengal chief minister Mamata Banerjee’s allegation that outsiders were present at a polling booth in Nandigram as “factually incorrect” and “devoid of substance” after the Trinamool Congress said there were irregularities in the polling process in the area on April 1.
In a letter dated April 3 sent to Banerjee, the Election Commission’s secretary general Umesh Sinha offered a detailed rebuttal of all allegations made by her and the Trinamool Congress. “It is self-evident from the perusal of all the reports that the allegations mentioned in your hand-written note are factually incorrect, without any empirical evidence whatsoever and devoid of substance,” the commission said in letter.
On Thursday last week, the TMC chief took a dig at the opposition Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and the Election Commission, hinting that the poll watchdog was siding with the BJP.
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The poll panel said Banerjee’s letter regarding booth capturing and the presence of outsiders at a polling booth in Boyal was “preceded by a massive coverage all over the country... which showed dozens of audio-visual shots of your being in this polling station and literally hurling an avalanche of allegations on some officials working with the government of West Bengal itself, paramilitary forces and eventually the Election Commission”.
The commission said it was a matter of “deep regret” that a “media narrative was sought to be weaved hour after hour to misguide the biggest stakeholders, which is the voters, by a candidate who also happens to be CM of the state”.
HT on Saturday reported that in a two-page report submitted to the commission, special observers Ajay Nayak and Vivek Dubey made a point-by-point rebuttal of each of the allegations made by the TMC. The TMC, in its complaint made on April 2, said that it received over 300 complaints of violence by members of the BJP.
On Sunday, Banerjee stuck to her allegation of rigging during the April 1 assembly polls in East Midnapore district’s Nandigram, where she is contesting against her protégé-turned-rival, BJP candidate Suvendu Adhikari. She accused the BJP of resorting to violence and electoral malpractice and charged the poll panel with not taking any action. Nandigram was among the 30 seats that went to the polls on Thursday.
Addressing a campaign rally at Pursura in Hooghly district, Banerjee said: “I went to the polling booth (at Boyal in Nandigram) and stayed for hours because I received information that many people had been dressed in police uniforms so that (false) votes could be cast. I do not care if the EC warns me.”
“…The side show was fraught with immense potential to have adverse impact on law and order across West Bengal and may be some other states. And all this was being done when the election process was/is on. There could not have been a greater misdemeanor,” Sinha wrote. The letter gave an hour-by-hour description of how EC conducted the elections in Nandigram and what role the central armed police forces played.
According to chief electoral officer Ariz Aftab, wheelchair-bound Banerjee was stuck in the booth for almost two hours as two groups raised slogans against each other. A large number of Central Armed Police Forces personnel and senior officers reached there and brought out the chief minister after bringing the situation under control. Later, Banerjee blamed outsiders for creating trouble.
In the letter to Banerjee on Saturday, Sinha also said: “It is being separately examined whether happenings of April 1 merit any action under Sections 131 and 123(2) of RP (Representation of the People) Act and/or Model Code of Conduct.”
Section 131 deals with penalty for disorderly conduct in or near polling stations, while Section 123 (2) pertains to “undue influence, that is to say, any direct or indirect interference or attempt to interfere on the part of the candidate or his agent, or of any other person with the free exercise of any electoral right”. The letter did not specify to whom it was referring to with regard to taking possible action.
Maintaining allegations on electoral malpractice at Boyal, TMC spokesperson Kunal Ghosh said: “Irrespective of what the ECI may say in its letter, the chief minister’s allegations were accurate.”
Countering the allegation that the central armed forces were acting at the behest of Union home minister Amit Shah, EC said there was no evidence that they indulged in any inappropriate behaviour. “There is no mention of either outsiders or guns and goon capturing the said booth,” the commission said in its response to Banerjee demanding a repoll.
It further added that there was no report of any violence or intimidation of voters.
