New Delhi, April 2 Janata Dal-United MP Sanjay Kumar Jha, on Thursday, criticised the West Bengal government following the alleged 'gherao' of seven judicial officers involved in the SIR process in poll-bound West Bengal. He said the incident could create a climate of fear among voters and called for strict action in line with the Supreme Court's observations.
The remarks come after seven judicial officers were allegedly gheraoed for nearly nine hours in Malda district.
The Supreme Court has expressed serious concern over the incident, terming it "pre-planned" and "motivated".
The apex court also directed the deployment of central forces to ensure the officers' safety and asked the Election Commission to consider handing over the probe to probe agencies such as the National Investigation Agency (NIA) or the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI).
The Supreme Court described West Bengal as a "highly polarised state" while making these observations.
Speaking to IANS outside the Parliament, Sanjay Kumar Jha drew comparisons with Bihar, where a similar SIR exercise was conducted.
"Earlier, in Bihar, there was also an SIR process. There was opposition to it, but such a large-scale electoral exercise was completed successfully. Elections were conducted, and there were hardly any complaints. At one place, there was re-polling after a voter claimed their name had been removed, which shows the Election Commission acted responsibly," the JD-U MP said.
He also alleged that the West Bengal government has opposed the SIR process from the beginning.
"From day one, the state government has been against the SIR and the Election Commission of India. They have created an atmosphere that affects the credibility of the Election Commission. For the sake of maintaining trust in constitutional institutions, strict action must be taken," he added.
Referring to the Malda incident, the JD-U MP said, "What happened in West Bengal was like a hostage situation. Such incidents can create fear among voters and discourage them from exercising their democratic rights. Has anything like this ever happened anywhere in the country before? If the Supreme Court has taken note of it, then strict action should follow."
He also criticised opposition leaders, alleging that they undermine constitutional institutions.
"They (Opposition INDIa bloc leaders) walk around with copies of the Constitution but are trying to weaken constitutional institutions," he told IANS.
Meanwhile, the incident reportedly occurred after protests erupted outside the Kaliachak II Block Development Office over the deletion of names from electoral rolls during the SIR process.
Protesters initially sought a meeting with the judicial officers, but when their request was denied, they allegedly gheraoed the office around 4 p.m., confining the officers, including three women and a five-year-old child, for several hours.
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