BJP for all-party meet to resolve Bengal rural poll row

By IANS,

Kolkata : The BJP Thursday demanded an all-party meeting to resolve the row between the West Bengal government and State Election Commission (SEC) over scheduling of the rural body polls.


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Expressing its “worry” over the deadlock on the issue, the opposition Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), in a memorandum to Chief Secretary Sanjay Mitra, requested that the panchayat (rural body) elections be held in five phases for smooth and impartial polls.

Drawing Mitra’s attention to the “peaceful, free and fair elections” to the Lok Sabha in 2009 and the state assembly in 2011, the BJP said it was possible due to the presence of adequate number of central paramilitary forces.

“Hence, to make the panchayat polls free, fair and peaceful, a huge contingent of central forces need to be requisitioned,” the memorandum said.

The party said it was “much annoyed” with the conflicts between the SEC and the government and requested the convening of an all-party meeting along with the commission.

While the Mamata Banerjee-led government has sought a two-phase poll under the supervision of police, the SEC has been pitching for a three-day poll overseen by the central paramilitary troopers.

Trinamool Congress all-India general secretary Mukul Roy has alleged that SEC chairperson Meera Pandey was attempting to defer the polls.

Panchayat Minister Subrata Mukherjee recently claimed that according to the law, the government would notify the polls on its own.

“The commission will have to come up with a notification ratifying our decision within the next two days,” he had said.

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