Mamata Banerjee Asks Election Commission to Ensure 'Government Interference Free' Lok Sabha Elections in Final Phase

New Delhi, May 18: West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee on Saturday wrote to the Election Commission to ensure fair and peaceful polling in the final phase of polling for the Lok Sabha elections. Citing the incident of violence during BJP chief Amit Shah's roadshow in Kolkata, Mamata Banerjee asked the Election Commission to ensure that the polling in the seventh phase of Lok Sabha polls in West Bengal takes place without the central government's interference.

In her letter, Banerjee wrote that the number of "illegal, unconstitutional and biased decisions" have been taken during the election process due "under the influence of the Central government and the ruling party at the Centre". "As a result, not only the state government administration and its officers but also the common people of the state have been harassed and attacked in various manners," the Trinamool Congress (TMC) chief stated. TMC Blames BJP For Damage to Ishwar Chandra Vidyasagar's Bust.

Clashes broke out between the members of TMC students' union and BJP supporters, who participated in Shah's roadshow, outside the Calcutta University campus and the Vidyasagar College. A group of saffron party activists allegedly resorted to vandalism inside the Vidyasagar College campus and destroyed a bust of Vidyasagar. Following the violence, the EC had curtailed campaigning in the state by a day.

"…all evidences show that the roadshow of the BJP president in Kolkata on May 14 was permitted by way of withdrawing Section 144 in the area by the new commissioner of police appointed by the Election Commission," she said. “The roadshow was itself a deliberate, intentional and a criminal conspiracy to vandalise the culture and heritage of Kolkata and West Bengal and also to defame the West Bengal government and its people."

She questioned the appointment of two retired government officials as special observers and alleged that they didn't work according to the law. "These two special observers had shown partisan attitude and always complied with the instructions given by the central government and the ruling party at the Centre time and again," she wrote. "All these issues were brought to the notice of the Election Commission but no justice has been done."

Banerjee further urged the poll panel to ensure that polling in the final phase is completed "peacefully, impartially and without any undue interference of the central government and without any intervention by the ruling party at the Centre".

(The above story first appeared on LatestLY on May 18, 2019 08:25 PM IST. For more news and updates on politics, world, sports, entertainment and lifestyle, log on to our website latestly.com).