Manas Dasgupta
NEW DELHI, Apr 18: The West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee on Thursday alleged that the BJP instigated violence during Ram Navami celebrations in the State on Wednesday. She claimed that the violence in Murshidabad district was “pre-planned” and accused the saffron party of orchestrating it ahead of the Lok Sabha polls.
“Everything was pre-planned. The DIG of Murshidabad was removed a day ahead of Ram Navami so that you (the BJP) can carry out violence,” she said at an election rally in the Raiganj Lok Sabha constituency. The chief minister also claimed that goons associated with the BJP roughed up police personnel in the district.
Leader of the Opposition in Assam Assembly Debabrata Saikia also lodged a complaint with the Election Commission of India alleging that the BJP was trying to woo voters of Jorhat constituency by unfair means. Saikia claimed that the saffron party leaders were distributing liquor and offering bribes to voters, and trying to intimidate them.
“Many bottles of liquor were seized from a vehicle of an Hon’ble member of Nazira Town Committee. The vehicle is registered in the name of a lady member of Town Committee,” he said. The vehicle with the liquor was found at the Office of the Executive Engineer and the Assistant Executive Engineer of Public Health Engineering Department (PHED), Nazira Division, Saikia claimed.
Acting on the advice of the Election Commission of India (ECI), West Bengal Governor C V Ananda Bose on Thursday called off his proposed tour to Cooch Behar, during which he intended to “oversee” the polling process.
Meanwhile, the West Bengal governor CV Ananda Bose who was forced to cancel his two-day visit to Cooch Behar from Thursday when the constituency would be going to the Lok Sabha in the first phase on Friday, blamed the ruling Trinamool Congress for “politicising” the Governor’s office.
At the complaint of the TMC, the ECI had asked the governor to cancel his scheduled visit on the polling day both for the security reasons, as security personnel would be engaged in ensuring free and fair polling, and also for the violation of the Model Code of Conduct when the VVIPs not connected with the polling in a constituency, are restricted from visiting the places during the “silence period.”
The governor, however, alleged that an attempt was being made to “politicise the Governor’s office” while asserting he would not allow anyone to use him as a “pawn on the political chess board.”
“My priority is to be with the people of Bengal. My focus is to fight against violence in the state, particularly during election(s). My field visits are for these purposes but there is an attempt to politicise the Governor’s office. I will not let anyone to lower the dignity of the office of the Governor,” Bose said in a statement released by the Raj Bhavan.
