WB Panchayat polls: Violence grips state, blame game between TMC, BJP

Kolkata (West Bengal) [India], June 15 : The nomination process for the upcoming panchayat elections in West Bengal was marred by ongoing violence on Thursday, as the ruling Trinamool Congress and opposition parties engaged in a war of words.

Moreover, a division bench of Calcutta High Court, led by Chief Justice TS Sivagnanam, on Thursday directed the election commission in West Bengal to request the deployment of central paramilitary forces in all districts of the state within the next 48 hours, ahead of the upcoming panchayat elections in the state.

The final day of filing nominations witnessed continued clashes across various parts of the state, including an outbreak of violence at the Block Development Office in Birbhum's Ahmadpur, where crude bombs were reportedly thrown.

However, as per the officials, no casualties have been reported in the incident.

As per the visuals, crude bombs have also been hurled in the area. Police have detained a few people involved in the clash.

In an effort to maintain order, heavy security deployment has been made in the South 24 Parganas district. Tension and unease prevailed in several areas, particularly the Bhangar block, where clashes between supporters of the ruling TMC and Naushad Siddiqui-led Indian Secular Front (ISF) over the past two days.

The two sets of supporters were seen on the roads, wielding sticks, as the police struggled to maintain law and order.

Some police personnel, including the SDPO, sustained injuries during the clashes.

Canning sub-divisional police officer Dibakar Das said, "There was a clash between two groups. The mob attacked the police as well. I also got hurt on my hand during that time. Some policemen got minor injuries. 2 people were injured. We have arrested 17-18 people. The incident is being investigated."

The Panchayat elections in West Bengal will be held in a single phase on July 8, with the counting of votes scheduled for July 11.

The panchayat polls in West Bengal are likely to see a fierce contest between the BJP and the ruling Trinamool Congress being touted as a litmus test for both parties ahead of next year's Lok Sabha elections.

The bench consisting of Chief Justice Sivagnaman and Justice Uday Kumar noted that a direction for earmarking sensitive areas and deploying forces was passed on Tuesday, June 13, but no appreciable steps were taken in this regard.

The division bench also reserved its order on a PIL filed by the Leader of the Opposition in the West Bengal Assembly, Suvendu Adhikari, alleging violence during the filing of nominations for the rural polls.

Adhikari, in his PIL, alleged that the State Election Commission failed to comply with an earlier ruling of the high court, seeking the deployment of central forces in 7 'sensitive' districts of the state.

However, the HC division bench reserved its order on Adhikari's petition.

The Chief Justice also made it clear that the court would not "sit silent" if the state poll panel failed to comply with its earlier orders."There are two ways on how we understand the role of the SEC. We are not here to advise you (SEC) to accept our judgment as it is. If you are aggrieved, you can take it to appeal. But if you are of the view that your action is to thwart or make the judgment unworkable, we are not here to sit silent," the Chief Justice said.

Notably, the Calcutta High Court on Tuesday had ordered the requisition and deployment of central forces in all areas declared sensitive by the State Election Commission (SEC) for the polls.

However, the court - while hearing petitions of BJP's Suvendu Adhikari and Congress' Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury refused to consider the PILs seeking an extension of time for filing of nominations for the July 8 polls.

The direction came amid allegations from Opposition forces that the ruling Trinamool Congress was resorting to violence and intimidation to deter their candidates from filing nominations for the July 8 polls.

West Bengal Bharatiya Janata Party chief Sukanta Majumdar on Thursday criticised the State Election Commission, accusing the poll commission of "bypassing" the Calcutta High Court's decision for the deployment of the central forces in the districts for the panchayat polls scheduled to be held on July 8.

"This is a horrible situation. It is impossible for elections to be conducted in such a situation. Central forces are needed, even Court believes that. It said that the State Election Commission is bypassing the Court's judgement," Majumdar said while speaking to ANI.

He further slammed the ruling Trinamool Congress for the violence in the state during the filing of nominations for the panchayat polls and accused the party of doing "forgery".

"As long as this government exists, it is impossible for the election to be held in a peaceful atmosphere. They know that the public is not with them so they do this forgery every time at the time of the election," the BJP state chief said.

However, Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee has accused the Opposition forces of trying to tarnish the image of the ruling Trinamool Congress while denying her party's involvement in clashes and violence.

Addressing media persons at Diamond Harbour in the Purba Medinipur district of West Bengal on Thursday, the chief minister said, "Roads have been built on a massive scale at Diamond Harbour and our efforts in this direction will continue in the coming days. (TMC MP) Abhishek Banerjee has also taken an active interest in the ongoing development work at Diamond Harbour and cares for the people (of his Lok Sabha constituency) just like he does his family."

The CM added, "I wish all the MPs, MLAs, councillors and other people's representatives would stand with them in good times and bad. I wish TMC is seen as a party for the people. There were incidents of violence at three places but those were due to local issues. My party has nothing to do with these incidents. From the information that I have gathered so far, 3 lakh nominations have been filed for the panchayat polls this year, which is the highest for any state. During the erstwhile CPI(M)-led Left Front government in the state, 36 people died on the day of the panchayat elections. Mira Pandey was the chairperson of the State Election Commission in 2013 when 39 people died on polling day."

Further denying her party's hand in the violence around the filing of nominations for the panchayat polls, the Bengal CM said, "Often, more than one member of a family file nominations for these elections. We are not involved in any way in the violence in Islampur and Chopra (in Uttar Dinajpur district). We did not give tickets to people involved in these incidents. We fielded candidates only after assessing their credibility. There was a family dispute behind the violence in Islampur. I have directed the police to take strong action (against the perpetrators). Opposition parties were behind the violence in Bhangar (in South 24 Parganas district) yesterday. They tried to stoke communal violence and we retaliated. I have directed the authorities concerned to take strong action."

Coming down heavily on the BJP government at the Centre, the Bengal CM said, "The Centre has sent 155 companies of central forces here but the person accused in a sexual harassment case (BJP MP and Wrestling Federation of India chief Brij Bhushan Sharan Singh) continues to roam freely. They have stopped sending money for road development projects. Central funds are being blocked."

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