New Delhi: A day after dominating the West Bengal panchayat elections, Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee criticized the BJP for dispatching a fact-finding committee to investigate incidents of violence during the polls, labeling them as “provocation committees” instead.
She condemned the party for failing to send such a delegation to violence-stricken Manipur or even Assam during protests against the National Register of Citizens (NRC).
“How many commissions visited those places? But in just two years, almost 154 teams have visited West Bengal. These are BJP’s provocation committees, not fact-finding committees. It is unfortunate that so many people died (during the panchayat polls). They were victims of circumstances. I have instructed the police to take action,” said Banerjee on Wednesday.
The three-tier rural council elections were plagued by political violence from the moment the elections were announced.
The Trinamool secured a resounding victory in the elections, while the BJP came a distant second, although it gained in terms of both seats and vote share.
Banerjee also pledged to provide compensation of Rs 2 lakh and a special home guard job to the families of the 19 people who died.
“Out of the 19, 10 belonged to the Trinamool. We will not discriminate based on political affiliation,” she added.
The chief minister stated that out of the 71,000 polling booths in the state, violence was only reported from 60. “I am saddened by the loss of life and I am giving the police a free hand to take action against the culprits,” she said.
Meanwhile, the BJP’s four-member fact-finding committee toured the state on Wednesday. Senior leader Ravi Shankar Prasad, who led the team, told the media: “What kind of election are you conducting, Mamata Banerjee, with your administration and police? Such incidents occurred 15 to 20 years ago in Bihar and Uttar Pradesh. Even there, violence has ceased.”
Prasad claimed that 48 people had died since the polls were announced. “Even the High Court and the Supreme Court had to intervene,” said Prasad.
Last night, Mamata Banerjee expressed her gratitude to the people for their “tremendous support and love” in a Facebook post, stating that the results of the panchayat elections had once again proven that her party “held sway in the hearts of the Bengali people”.
Elections for the three-tier rural councils – the gram panchayats, panchayat samitis, and zila parishads – were held on July 8 and counting began on the 11th.
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