Kolkata, Feb 25 : Leader of the Opposition in the West Bengal Assembly, Suvendu Adhikari, on Wednesday approached the Calcutta High Court raising serious concerns regarding his personal security and alleging lack of adequate vigilance and protection by the state police authorities.
His counsel mentioned the matter before a division bench comprising Chief Justice Sujoy Paul and Justice Partha Sarathi Sen, drawing the court’s attention to the alleged failure of the state police to ensure proper security arrangements for the Leader of the Opposition despite prevailing threats and recent incidents.
Subsequently, the counsel formally filed a petition before the division bench seeking appropriate directions from the High Court regarding security arrangements and protection for Suvendu Adhikari.
The move from Adhikari came a day after he faced protests outside the office of the Chief Electoral Officer (CEO), West Bengal, in Kolkata, where a section of booth-level officers (BLOs), reportedly backed by the Trinamool Congress, staged demonstrations against him.
During the protest, shoes were allegedly thrown at Adhikari in the presence of police personnel, who, according to his counsel, failed to take effective steps to control the situation or prevent the incident.
It has also been alleged in the petition that the police did not initiate prompt action despite the Leader of the Opposition being subjected to protests and heckling in front of the CEO’s office premises.
The division bench permitted the filing of the petition and agreed to consider the matter, which is likely to come up for hearing later this week.
On Tuesday, tension erupted outside the office of the Chief Electoral Officer in central Kolkata when protesting booth-level officers gathered at the location during Adhikari’s visit to submit a deputation.
Following the incident, Adhikari made strong remarks criticising the protesting BLOs and expressed his displeasure over the conduct of those involved in the demonstration.
It may be recalled that a public interest litigation (PIL) concerning the security of the Leader of the Opposition is already pending before the bench of the Chief Justice of the Calcutta High Court.
The PIL has sought directions to ensure that political workers and supporters do not come close to the Leader of the Opposition during public programmes or official engagements in order to prevent security breaches.
In addition to the pending PIL, the fresh petition filed by Adhikari raises specific concerns regarding the recent protest incident and alleged lapses in security arrangements.
Earlier, Adhikari had also approached the Calcutta High Court after his convoy was allegedly attacked by miscreants in Chandrakona in West Midnapore district.
In that matter, Adhikari informed the Court that instead of taking action against the attackers, the police had registered a case against him.
Subsequently, Justice Suvra Ghosh had passed an interim order restraining the authorities from taking any coercive action against the Leader of the Opposition in connection with that case.
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