District committees asked to take action against TMC leaders contesting as Independents in Bengal civic polls

A section of rebel TMC leaders have joined the fray as Independents that prompted Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee on Thursday to ask them to withdraw their candidature or face action.

Kolkata:Senior West Bengal Minister Partha Chatterjee said on Sunday that Trinamool Congress district committees have been asked to take action against disgruntled party leaders who have filed nominations as Independents for the February 27 elections to 108 municipalities after being denied party tickets.

A section of rebel TMC leaders have joined the fray as Independents that prompted Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee on Thursday to ask them to withdraw their candidature or face action.

"Everyone cannot be a candidate, some of those who were not given party tickets to fight the elections have filed their candidature as Independents;" Chatterjee, who is also the TMC secretary general, said.

The disgruntled aspirants have been asked to withdraw their nominations and join the campaign in favour of the official candidates, and have been warned that action would be taken against them if they continue with their belligerence. The TMC district leaderships have already started expelling such candidates and even those whose close relatives are fighting the polls as Independents against the party's wishes.

The North 24 Parganas district TMC leadership has expelled 62 such leaders at one go, Naihati MLA Partha Bhowmick told reporters. Chatterjee refused to comment when asked about protests by political parties across the state over the mysterious death of Leftist student leader Anish Khan in Howrah district. The opposition parties are demanding an independent probe into the incident.

READ:Jolt for BJP ahead of civic polls in West Bengal as three leaders rejoin TMC

Khan's family alleged that people donning police uniforms entered their residence in Amta on Friday night, dragged the Left leader, who had gained prominence during the anti-CAA stir, to the terrace, and threw him down, causing his death. The incident has triggered widespread protests, with the Congress, CPI(M), and the BJP accusing local Trinamool Congress leader of masterminding the killing, while the ruling party claimed it was a "deep-rooted conspiracy" which could have been hatched outside West Bengal.

Asked about the BJP filing a police complaint against Udayan Guha, TMC MLA of Dinhata in north Bengal, for allegedly threatening that knees of those joining demands of separate statehood will be broken, Chatterjee said that what Guha spoke about is a very sensitive issue.

"People of the state will rise in protest against those who are trying to break West Bengal," he said.

Canvassing for a ruling party candidate for the upcoming civic polls, Guha allegedly said at a recent public meeting in Cooch Behar, if anyone raises the demand for a separate Cooch Behar state, he/she will not have his/her knee intact. If anyone takes out a rally supporting Cooch Behar statehood, we will break the knee of that person.

(PTI)