Congress to Bengal guv on panchayat polls: 'TMC thugs preying like monsters'
The nomination process for nearly 75,000 seats in the three-tier Panchayati Raj system, which began on Friday, would continue till June 15.
Senior Congress leader Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury on Friday urged the West Bengal governor to conduct the local body polls in the state under the direct supervision of the central armed forces for a free and fair election. In a letter to Governor C. V. Ananda Bose, Chowdhury, the president of Congress's state unit, cited the murder of a party worker and alleged that “anarchy reigns supreme” in West Bengal under the Mamata Banerjee-led government.
“At present, in West Bengal, the rule of the jungle prevails all over under which the thugs and miscreants of the ruling party are preying upon the opposition workers like the monsters of the deep,” the Congress leader said. “In every nook and corner of the state, anarchy reigns supreme.
"The primary conditions and ideals of democracy are deeply buried in the grave deeply dug by the hooliganistic spirit of the party in power,” he added.
Raising apprehension over a free and fair election in the state, Chowdhury urged, “I humbly solicit your good office to do the needful for conducting the said election under the direct supervision of the central forces.”
The Congress and the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), meanwhile, moved the Calcutta High Court stating that the time provided for filing the nominations for the July 8 elections was inadequate, besides urging for the deployment of central forces. The court observed that the time given for filing nominations was prima facie inadequate and sought the State Election Commission's (SEC) response on June 12.
The poll body later said that it may consider extending the last date of filing nominations for the Bengal panchayat elections slated to be held on July 8.
The ruling Trinamool Congress claimed that the opposition parties in West Bengal were trying to delay the panchayat elections in the state.
TMC spokesperson Kunal Ghosh told PTI, "We have nothing to say on the directions of the court. We have full respect for the judiciary. But the fact is that the opposition -- BJP, CPI(M), and Congress -- were trying to delay the panchayat polls out of fear of defeat and inability to put up candidates in all seats."
"We challenge them to publish the list of their candidates for all the seats," he said.
Elections will be held for nearly 75,000 seats in the three-tier Panchayati Raj system on July 8. The nomination process, which began on Friday, would continue till June 15.
(With inputs from agencies)
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