West Bengal: TMC, BJP workers clash at Sahebganj's BDO office, MoS Nisith Pramanik attacked
2 min read 17 Jun 2023, 02:43 PM ISTThe fresh incidents of clashes between BJP and TMC workers mark the continuation of the violence in West Bengal, which is gearing up for the panchayat elections on 8 July
PremiumThe workers of Trinamool Congress (TMC) and Bhartiya Janata Party (BJP) clashed on Saturday at the office of the Block Development Officer (BDO) in the Sahebganj district during scrutiny of nomination papers for the panchayat polls in West Bengal. The news agency ANI reported that Minister of State for Home Affairs, Nisith Pramanik was also attacked.
The fresh incidents of clashes mark the continuation of the violence in West Bengal, which is gearing up for the panchayat elections on 8 July.
West Bengal Governor Dr. CV Ananda Bose visited the violence-hit areas in the South 24 Parganas district of the state and also summoned the State Election Commissioner (SEC) Rajiva Sinha to Raj Bhavan on Saturday.
The West Bengal BJP President Sukanta Majumdar also met the Governor on Saturday and received assurances that proactive and effective steps will be taken to stop the violence.
"I told the Governor everything about the violence. He told us that all proactive & effective steps will be taken to stop the violence happening in West Bengal during the Panchayat election. He told us that everything will be done...He (Governor) went to the ground to have a first-hand experience...," Sukanta Majumdar told news agency ANI.
"Their planning is underway regarding how to make others withdraw nomination and loot votes...They will make all these plans," Sukanta Majumdar added when asked about the upcoming meeting of West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee with TMC leaders.
States Election Commission moves SC
The West Bengal Election Commission moved to the Supreme Court on Saturday against the order of Calcutta High Court regarding the deployment of Central paramilitary forces during the panchayat polls in the state.
A bench of the Calcutta High Court, headed by Chief Justice TS Sivagnanam, issued a directive to the election commission of West Bengal on Thursday which instructed the commission to formally ask for the presence of central paramilitary forces in every district of the state within the next 48 hours.
The three-tier panchayat elections in the state will provide an opportunity for over 5 crore voters to exercise their right to vote. These elections aim to select approximately 74,000 candidates for zilla parishads, panchayat samiti, and gram panchayats.