No one has threatened me, asserts SEC

Kolkata: In a major development on Monday, State Election Commissioner A K Singh reacted sharply to the claims of BJP national secretary Rahul Sinha and categorically stated that neither did he receive any life threats nor was his phone being tapped.

During a press conference at the State Election Commission office, Singh said: "A political party leader stated that I had received life threats and my phone calls were being tapped. The allegations are utterly false. I never received threat calls from any political party. There was no tapping of telephone calls to the best of my knowledge. I thought that the matter must be clarified."

He further added: "Had I received any threat calls, I would have lodged a complaint with the police. Even it was alleged that some outsiders used to be present inside my office and overhear the conversations. This is also false as my security persons are always present whenever there are delegations visiting me."

When asked if he would take any steps against the political party, Singh did not indicate anything clearly. He said that the Commission would look into the matter.

BJP national secretary Rahul Sinha on Sunday claimed that the State Election Commissioner received life threats ahead of the Panchayat polls and both his landlines and mobile phone were being tapped.

Trinamool Congress supremo Mamata Banerjee hit out at the Opposition alleging that they were indulging in theatrics to stall the election process. "They are killing people, setting property on fire and spreading canards." She added that as many as 14 TMC supporters have been killed during the nomination process. "A single death during the election is not at all desirable," she maintained.

Meanwhile, the Calcutta High Court instructed the State Election Commission (SEC) to produce details of complaints it had received from intending candidates over not being able to file nominations for the Panchayat polls by 7 pm on Monday in the judges' chamber.

A division Bench of Justices B Somadder and A Mukherjee concluded the hearing on opposition CPI(M)'s appeal to allow the filing of nominations by candidates, who were unable to do so for various reasons, through e-mail. The Bench said it would pass the order on the appeal on Tuesday.

All eyes will be on Calcutta High Court with the division Bench of Chief Justice Jyotirmay Bhattacharya likely to decide on Tuesday whether the Bengal Panchayat polls can actually be held on May 14 or not. The key issue before the court will be the security measures undertaken by the State Election Commission for peaceful voting.