Manas Dasgupta
NEW DELHI, Apr 22: Even as the Election Commission of India (ECI) issued a notice to Congress chief Mallikarjun Kharge over his “terrorist” remark against Prime Minister Narendra Modi within hours of a BJP delegation complained to him on Wednesday, several opposition parties belonging to the INDIA bloc expressed the sentiment that the elections in West Bengal this time was being fought between the ruling Trinamool Congress and the Election Commission sidelining the BJP.
The senior Supreme Court lawyer and Rajya Sabha MP Kapil Sibal listed out the “unprecedented” measures taken by the ECI ahead of polling in West Bengal, and claimed that an “unconstitutional Emergency” has been imposed in the State, where the “EC and not the BJP” seemed to be fighting the Trinamool Congress (TMC).
Other Indian National Developmental, Inclusive Alliance (INDIA) bloc leaders also spoke to the West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee on the issue.
Addressing a press conference, Mr Sibal accused Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar of acting in tandem with the BJP, and alleged that it had become the CEC’s “vocation” to ensure the party’s victory in the State.
“In elections, parties contest each other, not governments. Here, the government itself is fighting the election,” Mr Sibal said, alleging that around 5,000 people from Gujarat were being transported to West Bengal by special trains. He claimed that passengers wanting to return home were beaten up by the police, while special trains were being arranged to ferry BJP workers to the State. “If the Railways is being used to transport BJP workers, it is a straightforward violation of the Model Code of Conduct,” he said.
The scale of Central forces deployment was unprecedented, Mr Sibal said. “It is shocking. It appears there is a state of emergency in West Bengal outside the Constitution of India. As many as 2,400 platoons of Central Armed Police Forces (CAPF) have been deployed, [with] roughly 2.4 lakh personnel. That works out to one CAPF personnel for every 100 people,” he said.
He alleged that the election was being fought not by the BJP alone but by the CAPF and the EC, calling it a “gross abuse of state machinery.” “You would not see this level of deployment even in Jammu and Kashmir. This is happening while violence continues in Manipur. What is happening to our country?” Mr Sibal said.
The official machinery was being used to destabilise the political environment in the State, he further said, questioning the transfer of 483 West Bengal officials. “Where does the CEC derive such powers from? No one in this country has unlimited authority,” he said.
Former Delhi Chief Minister and Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) convenor Arvind Kejriwal too extended support to M. Banerjee. “She is fighting one of the most difficult battles, which is also one of the most important battles for Indian democracy. Modi ji will lose, in spite of misusing all institutions including CEC,” Mr Kejriwal said in a post on social media platform X.
Other Opposition parties in the INDIA bloc too have reached out. A leader aware of the conversations said that J&K CM Omar Abdullah, Samajwadi Party (SP) president Akhilesh Yadav, and senior Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD) leader Tejashwi Yadav have been in touch with TMC leaders and Ms Banerjee. Jharkhand Chief Minister Hemant Soren has also campaigned for the TMC in select constituencies.
Meanwhile, taking serious note of BJP delegation’s compliant against the Congress president, the ECI calling the “terrorist” remark potential violation of election norms, has sought Mr Kharge’s response within 24 hours.
Earlier in the day, the BJP delegation comprising three Union ministers, including Nirmala Sitharaman, approached the Election Commission, demanding “strictest action” against Congress president for his “terrorist” remark against Mr Modi.
Speaking to reporters after the meeting, Sitharaman said, “Today, we appeared before the full commission to bring to its notice that no less a person than the president of the Congress and the leader of opposition in the Rajya Sabha has spoken in such condemnable words.”
Addressing a press conference in Chennai, the Congress chief initially referred to the prime minister as a “terrorist” while criticising the AIADMK’s alliance with the BJP. However, when pressed by reporters to clarify the context of the remark, the Congress chief said he meant the prime minister was “terrorising” the democratic fabric of the country.
“He is terrorising people and political parties. I never said he is a terrorist (in the literal sense). He is misusing his power and government machinery and abusing and maligning opposition parties,” Kharge had said.
“I did not speak against the Prime Minister. The PM is terrorising politicians and candidates, and regarding this, I said that tax terrorism is happening. The Enforcement Directorate is conducting raids, the Income Tax Department is conducting raids, the CBI is conducting raids… This terrorism is being facilitated by PM Modi. I did not call him a terrorist…he is scaring people. He is trying to silence people through raids…This is what I said in Chennai,” he said on Tuesday.