Kolkata: The West Bengal BJP leadership on Monday took a section of the party's panchayat polls candidates to Raj Bhavan and narrated their harrowing experiences during nomination filing to Governor C V Ananda Bose. They also urged him to ensure safety and security on the day of elections on July 8.
The ruling Trinamool Congress dubbed it a "well-crafted drama" in collusion with the Raj Bhavan to malign the state government. Widespread violence over the filing of nominations for July 8 polls has left at least five people dead and several injured in various parts of the state.
Led by BJP state president Sukanta Majumdar, several party candidates from various parts of the state went to Raj Bhavan this evening. The candidates narrated their experiences and alleged that they have been receiving threats from the day nomination filing began. The governor gave them a patient hearing.
"We took our candidates to the honourable governor to apprise him of the ground realities. The way the TMC is trying to destroy the democratic process is unprecedented and shameful. The SEC is behaving like a frontal organisation of the TMC. So our last hope to protect democracy lies with Raj Bhavan," Majumdar told reporters after the meeting.
Bose on Monday said incidents of violence in the run-up to the rural polls are "a reality and not fiction", which he is focused on containing. He said the 'Peace Room' has been set up at the Raj Bhavan primarily to establish that the commoners of the state could live in peace and exercise their franchise fearlessly.
Reacting to the development, TMC spokesperson Kunal Ghosh said the governor should behave impartially. "Did the governor think of meeting the family members of the TMC workers' who were killed by the goons of the opposition parties? The BJP is trying to malign the state, and the governor is helping it in its endeavours," he said. (PTI)
