EC showcauses Sukanta, refutes TMC charges of inaction
Times of India | 12 November 2024
12 Kolkata: The Election Commission on Monday issued a show-cause notice to BJP state president and Union minister Sukanta Majumdar for making a comment "insulting the national emblem of India" that adorned police uniform during his speech at Bankura's Taldangra, which goes to bypolls on Wednesday. Majumdar was asked to reply by 8pm on Monday.
Trinamool had written to the commission on Saturday, urging the poll panel to initiate action against Majumdar for his comments during the campaign.
"In view of the complaint, you are asked to reply by 8 pm on 11 Nov 2024. In the event of no response from your side within the stipulated time, it will be presumed that you have nothing to say in the matter and the EC will take appropriate action or decision in the matter without making any further reference to you," the EC letter stated.
BJP Rajya Sabha MP Samik Bhattacharya refused to comment on the issue but only said: "It is no doubt that the Trinamool is using the police force for their political gains."
On Monday, in another letter, the EC wrote to TMC's Derek O'Brien, refuting the allegations made by the party of EC inaction while responding to TMC complaints. The EC stated that it had taken prompt action in case of Majumdar. TMC had sought an appointment with the EC officials, the letter said, but did not mention the issue they wanted to discuss. The letter added that the panel directed Bengal CEO Aariz Aftab to take prompt action regarding force deployment and the CEO held a meeting on 10 Nov with the state police nodal officer and the central force coordinators.
On Monday, Aftab held an all-party meeting on the draft voter list, which is supposed to be released on Tuesday. The meeting was attended by Trinamool, BJP and Left Front netas.
In the meeting, BJP's Sisir Bajoria said that they had wanted all names of bogus voters deleted and that booth-level officers should act impartially. Trinamool's Jay Prakash Majumdar said that they too were asking for an error-free voter list and wanted central forces to act unbiased during the polls.