Congress Moves Court To Seek Central Armed Forces For Bengal Panchayat Polls

Kolkata:

The Congress will go to court to ask for the deployment of central troops to ensure that the upcoming panchayat polls in West Bengal are conducted peacefully and fairly.

As the panchayat elections approach, a climate of terror is being created, said Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury, president of the state congress.

The dates of the panchayat polls are yet to be announced. However, the elections are expected to take place within a few months.

“Government officials will not be able to hold the elections peacefully. Therefore, the deployment of central forces is necessary. Congress will go to court once the dates of the elections are announced,” Chowdhury told reporters.

The Lok Sabha MP said Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee should assure the people of the state that there will be no bloodshed during the nationwide polls. The previous panchayat elections were marred by violence and several people were killed, he said.

“A lot of people couldn’t vote because they were beaten up. If it can’t happen peacefully, it shouldn’t happen at all,” the congressman said.

Mr Chowdhury also said that the Congress is always open to join hands with the left parties as they have done in the recently held Sagardighi state elections and the Tripura assembly elections.

“We have never shunned the left, but the left has created a distance in the past… I have no problem if they form a coalition with us,” he said.

When asked, Mr Chowdhury said it is time to actively consider the recommendations of the Punchhi Commission on center-state relations.

He also claimed that the “political DNA” of Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Chief Minister of State Mamata Banerjee is the same.

On the arrest of Delhi deputy chief minister Manoj Sisodia, Mr Chowdhury said that Congress has never indulged in vindictive politics.

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