BJP Calls for Action Against TMC MP for CEC Threat
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Kolkata, March 9 (NationPress) On Monday, a team from the West Bengal chapter of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) appealed to the full bench of the Election Commission of India (ECI) to take appropriate measures against Kalyan Banerjee, a four-time Lok Sabha member from the Trinamool Congress and a senior advocate at the Calcutta High Court. This request follows Banerjee's recent public statement that was perceived as a threat toward the Chief Election Commissioner (CEC), Gyanesh Kumar.
Leading the three-member BJP delegation was Jagannath Chattopadhyay, the party's state vice president and a former journalist, who met with the Commission's full bench, including the CEC.
Currently, Kumar is in West Bengal for a two-day visit, aimed at reviewing “logical discrepancy” concerns related to voters’ documents and preparing for the upcoming Assembly elections scheduled for later this year.
During the discussion, BJP representatives brought to the Commission's attention the remarks made by Banerjee last week while he was speaking at a Trinamool Congress protest against the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls, which is spearheaded by Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee.
The delegation also urged Kumar to facilitate the filing of a First Information Report (FIR) against Kalyan Banerjee for allegedly stating that “had Kumar not been the CEC, he would have chopped off his fingers.”
“We have submitted a total of 16 demands to the full bench of the Election Commission. We did not focus on the current SIR exercise in the state. Our primary concerns revolved around actions the Commission should take to ensure that the upcoming elections in West Bengal are conducted in a transparent and fair manner, especially given the history of violence, rigging, and voter intimidation in previous elections,” stated Jagannath Chattopadhyay.
He elaborated on the reason the BJP delegation refrained from discussing the SIR issue during the meeting.
“The matter is still under review by the Supreme Court. We must respect the apex court's decision. Thus, we chose to limit our discussion to the forthcoming elections in the state,” he concluded.