‘People in state of worry’: Bengal Governor slams ballot panel over violence forward of rural elections

By Express News Service

KOLKATA: The bonhomie between West Bengal Governor CV Ananda Bose and Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee, which was noticed shortly after the previous entered Raj Bhavan and assumed workplace in November final yr, appears to be tapering off. The face-off between them reached its peak on Thursday over the problem of the function performed by the State Election Commission (SEC) and its chief forward of the panchayat elections in Bengal.

Bose, late on Wednesday night time, returned state election commissioner Rajiva Sinha’s becoming a member of report casting a shadow on the continuation of the state ballot panel head.

A confrontation between the 2 erupted when Bose, refusing to simply accept state election commissioner’s becoming a member of report, expressed his “disappointment” amid murmurs of elimination of the state election commissioner and Mamata mentioned the state ballot panel head can’t be eliminated on whims and fancies.

Asserting that Sinha’s elimination is a “cumbersome process”, Mamata mentioned, “State Election Commissioner cannot be removed just like that. He was appointed after the governor approved it. He cannot be removed just at the drop of hat. The removal process is quite cumbersome, just like removing judges through impeachment,” earlier than leaving for Patna to attend a gathering of opposition events.  

“Never ever has the poll process in Bengal been so peaceful. It’s cadres of our party who have been killed. There have been incidents in three to four booths and armed with that, some people are maligning Bengal,” she alleged.

Bose mentioned that he had appointed Sinha because the SEC head trusting that he would conduct the election course of in a free and honest method. He added that through the elections the Commissioner has energy over the police and magistrates. “The Election Commission should not only be impartial but should also be perceived to be impartial. Caesar’s wife must be above suspicion”, he added.

ALSO READ | HC orders Bengal ballot panel to deploy 82K personnel from central forces for rural elections

Lambasting the state ballot panel, Bose on Thursday blamed it for the violence through the panchayat polls within the state, saying it was accountable for each drop of human blood that’s shed within the area.

“People are disappointed by the apparent inaction from the Election Commission. People are in a state of fear. Of course I will not say there is violence all over. But there is violence and the fact that there is violence cannot be denied,” the Governor mentioned.

After a sequence of run-ins between his predecessor Jagdeep Dhankhar and Mamata, the equation between Raj Bhavan and the West Bengal authorities turned a brand new leaf as Bose praised Mamata and shared cordial ties along with her.

Praising her after she acquired her second doctorate of literature (DLitt) from St. Xavier’s University in Kolkata in February, Bose had mentioned, “This is not for her political acumen. For that she has received similar awards from the people’s university. This is a recognition for her pursuit of excellence in literature, in painting, in poetry.”

Acting on the Calcutta High Court’s order, the SEC requisitioned 800 firms of central forces on Thursday, shifting from its requisition for 22 firms. The state ballot panel acquired a jolt within the Supreme Court when it challenged the Calcutta High Court’s order directing the state panel to deploy central forces throughout the state.

KOLKATA: The bonhomie between West Bengal Governor CV Ananda Bose and Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee, which was noticed shortly after the previous entered Raj Bhavan and assumed workplace in November final yr, appears to be tapering off. The face-off between them reached its peak on Thursday over the problem of the function performed by the State Election Commission (SEC) and its chief forward of the panchayat elections in Bengal.

Bose, late on Wednesday night time, returned state election commissioner Rajiva Sinha’s becoming a member of report casting a shadow on the continuation of the state ballot panel head.

A confrontation between the 2 erupted when Bose, refusing to simply accept state election commissioner’s becoming a member of report, expressed his “disappointment” amid murmurs of elimination of the state election commissioner and Mamata mentioned the state ballot panel head can’t be eliminated on whims and fancies.googletag.cmd.push(operate() googletag.show(‘div-gpt-ad-8052921-2’); );

Asserting that Sinha’s elimination is a “cumbersome process”, Mamata mentioned, “State Election Commissioner cannot be removed just like that. He was appointed after the governor approved it. He cannot be removed just at the drop of hat. The removal process is quite cumbersome, just like removing judges through impeachment,” earlier than leaving for Patna to attend a gathering of opposition events.  

“Never ever has the poll process in Bengal been so peaceful. It’s cadres of our party who have been killed. There have been incidents in three to four booths and armed with that, some people are maligning Bengal,” she alleged.

Bose mentioned that he had appointed Sinha because the SEC head trusting that he would conduct the election course of in a free and honest method. He added that through the elections the Commissioner has energy over the police and magistrates. “The Election Commission should not only be impartial but should also be perceived to be impartial. Caesar’s wife must be above suspicion”, he added.

ALSO READ | HC orders Bengal ballot panel to deploy 82K personnel from central forces for rural elections

Lambasting the state ballot panel, Bose on Thursday blamed it for the violence through the panchayat polls within the state, saying it was accountable for each drop of human blood that’s shed within the area.

“People are disappointed by the apparent inaction from the Election Commission. People are in a state of fear. Of course I will not say there is violence all over. But there is violence and the fact that there is violence cannot be denied,” the Governor mentioned.

After a sequence of run-ins between his predecessor Jagdeep Dhankhar and Mamata, the equation between Raj Bhavan and the West Bengal authorities turned a brand new leaf as Bose praised Mamata and shared cordial ties along with her.

Praising her after she acquired her second doctorate of literature (DLitt) from St. Xavier’s University in Kolkata in February, Bose had mentioned, “This is not for her political acumen. For that she has received similar awards from the people’s university. This is a recognition for her pursuit of excellence in literature, in painting, in poetry.”

Acting on the Calcutta High Court’s order, the SEC requisitioned 800 firms of central forces on Thursday, shifting from its requisition for 22 firms. The state ballot panel acquired a jolt within the Supreme Court when it challenged the Calcutta High Court’s order directing the state panel to deploy central forces throughout the state.