Alleging that the Election Commission has failed to do “justice”, West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee requested it to conduct Sunday’s election without bias.
In a letter to the Commission on election eve, she said: “I would request your good office to kindly ensure that election is completed peacefully, impartially and without any undue interference of the Central government and without any intervention by the ruling party at the Centre.”
Alleging that the appointment of two retired government officers as special observers is “not in accordance with the law”, Ms. Banerjee said they had shown a “partisan attitude and always complied with the instructions given by the Central government”.
The Commission had earlier denied similar allegations.
Charge against officer
She said the Kolkata Police Commissioner, appointed by the Commission, had “withdrawn Section 144 in the area where BJP president Amit Shah’s mega rally took place, to “defame” her government.
“The roadshow was itself a deliberate, intentional and criminal conspiracy to vandalise the culture and heritage of West Bengal…”, she said.
Ms. Banerjee’s nephew Abhisekh Banerjee, MP, issued a legal notice to the Prime Minister for “slanderous, malicious and false” allegations.
Seeks apology
The notice said the Prime Minister had threatened to lock up his office after the election results were announced. Mr. Banerjee demanded an unconditional apology from the Prime Minister.
BJP State president Dilip Ghosh told The Hindu that the Trinamool had been raising allegations against all. “They have allegations against all…the EC, the PM, the voting machine and they also sent a letter to the EC. When a party is all set to lose, they come up with allegations all the time,” Mr. Ghosh said.
