Bengal panchayat polls: Govt, SEC to move SC against deployment of central forces

The West Bengal government and the State Election Commission (SEC) have decided to approach the Supreme Court (SC) against the order of the Calcutta High Court directing deployment of central forces throughout the state for the forthcoming panchayat elections.

The fresh decision to approach the Supreme Court is a complete twist to the SEC's earlier stand of abiding by the order of the Calcutta High Court and even "considering" the extension of the much-contested dates for filing nominations.

In fact, on June 15 — the last day of filing nominations, state election commissioner Rajiva Sinha said that he would abide by the Calcutta High Court order.

The e-filing might be done on Friday night or at the maximum by Saturday morning, a source said.

Leader of the Opposition, Suvendu Adhikari and the Congress MP from Malda (South) Lok Sabha, Abu Hasem Khan Choudhury have already filed caveats with the SC apprehending that the state government and SEC might approach the apex court challenging the Calcutta High Court order.

The decision of the state government and the SEC was taken after Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee at a public rally on Friday afternoon questioned the justification of the deployment of armed forces in the state.

The decision to approach the SC was taken on late Friday evening after Sinha had a meeting with the State Chief Secretary BP Gopalika and the Additional Director General (law & order) Jawed Shamim at the office of the SEC.

Meanwhile, violence has been rampant in various parts of the state since the SEC announced the dates of filing nominations — with opposition parties claiming it's an "impossible" margin and "benefits the ruling TMC".

Over the past week, violent clashes particularly in in parts of South 24 Parganas and Bankura districts, have left 3 people dead and several more injured.

On Saturday, June 17, a video showing a professional goon confessing to being hired by a TMC MLA to create tension at Bhangar in South 24 Parganas, is doing rounds on social media.

Gobinda Naskar, a resident of Hatgacha area, has been identified as the person making the confession.

In the video, Naskar after being nabbed by All India Secular Front (AISF) supporters, can be seen confessing that he was hired by Saokat Molla, the TMC MLA from Bhangar-adjacent Canning (East) Assembly constituency.

"I belong to the Saokat Molla camp. I was hired at Rs 5,000. I possessed a firearm and bullets. I also openly fired. I was asked to shoot at AISF supporters. After my bullets got exhausted I tried to escape, but got caught," Molla said.

He also confessed that he had come to Bhangar from Hatgacha in a group of around 30. Going viral since Friday evening, the video has created major ripples in the political circles of the state.

Saokat Molla has rubbished the allegations made in the video and claimed that it was doctored and circulated by AISF to malign his image. Even Naskar took a U-turn from what he confessed in the video just hours after it went viral.

"After I was nabbed by the AISF supporters, the latter forced me to say such things and made a video out of it," Naskar said.

But he did not give any satisfactory answer on his presence at Bhangar on the nomination days as an outsider.

The single-phase panchayat polls are scheduled to be held on July 8. The votes will be counted on July 11.

With IANS inputs