War of words between Governor, Bengal govt over SEC
In a war of words between West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee and Governor C V Ananda Bose on Thursday, the latter pointed out though he had appointed Rajiva Sinha as State Election Commissioner, he was disappointed because of apparent inaction in controlling pre-panchayat poll violence.
Banerjee, however, ruled out removing Sinha, calling it a legal no-go and a complicated and cumbersome process and asserted that it was TMC cadres who had suffered death in violence in the run-up to the July 8 elections.
She went on to say never has the process been so peaceful and refuted charges that the opposition was not allowed to file nominations, showing data which suggested 2.3 lakh nominations were filed.
Bose told reporters on Thursday he had appointed the former bureaucrat “trusting” his ability to conduct free and fair polls.
He said there have been several incidents of violence in parts of the state and the people of Bengal were “disappointed” because of the apparent inaction of the SEC.
“I appointed the SEC trusting that he would conduct the panchayat polls in a free and fair manner. People should be able to vote fearlessly, but I find people are disappointed about the apparent inaction of the SEC,” Bose said.
“The fact that there is violence cannot be denied,” he said, adding that the SEC should not only be impartial, but should also be perceived to be impartial.
The Governor said it is the duty of the SEC to protect the lives of the common man and ensure that they can cast their vote.
“The SEC has power over the police and magistrate. Bengal expects (the SEC) to do his duty. The SEC is accountable for every drop of human blood that is shed in the field. People want action not an alibi for action,” he stressed.
Expressing that he is committed to the people of Bengal, Bose also said “human blood cannot be made a bargaining point”.
“All of us (are) expecting (the SEC) to do his duty. (But) what’s happening around? Human blood cannot be made a bargaining point. People have the right to life, the right to peace…. Peace will be established. This is not a promise but a commitment to the people of Bengal whom I love. They trust me. I will certainly rise to that issue. There should be fair and free election and violence should be rooted out from the soil of Bengal,” he pointed out.
Bose’s remark came minutes after Banerjee ruled out the possibility of removing Sinha and emphasised that the state’s rural poll nomination process was unprecedentedly peaceful. Banerjee said removing the SEC is a “cumbersome process” and must be done through impeachment. “The SEC cannot be removed just like that. The Governor himself has cleared the file on the appointment of Sinha,” she said. “Never has the poll nomination process in Bengal been so peaceful. It is the cadres of our party who have been killed. There have been some incidents in three to four booths.
“Have you ever heard that 2.31 lakh nominations for rural polls have been filed in any other state? Yet the opposition is claiming that they weren’t able to file nominations. Isnt this ironical?” the CM questioned. The feisty TMC boss wondered why central forces were not sent to Tripura, where the BJP had won 96 per cent of the seats uncontested, and accused the central government of targeting the state government by using central agencies.
The Governor had on Wednesday night returned the joining report of Sinha to the state government, hours after the ex-IAS officer failed to appear before him after he was summoned to give an explanation on the murders, violence and clashes during nomination filing for the rural polls.
Widespread violence over the filing of nominations for July 8 polls has left six people dead and several injured in various parts of the state. The Calcutta High Court on Wednesday directed the West Bengal State Election Commission (SEC) to requisition more than 82,000 central forces personnel within 24 hours for deployment in panchayat elections. The states three-tier panchayat election with approximately 5.67 crore electorate will exercise their franchise to choose representatives for nearly 74,000 seats in zilla parishads, panchayat samiti and gram panchayats.
(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by The Federal staff and is auto-published from a syndicated feed.)
