Kolkata: Trinamool Congress (TMC) national general secretary Abhishek Banerjee on Thursday accused the Election Commission of India (ECI) of deliberately undermining the voting rights of genuine citizens in Bengal.
Launching a sharp attack, Banerjee alleged that the ECI had compromised its Constitutional neutrality and was playing an “active and shameless role” in denying legitimate voters their democratic rights. He claimed the poll body’s actions were politically motivated and aimed at manipulating the electoral
process in the state.
Addressing a press conference before leaving for Delhi to attend a dinner at Rahul Gandhi’s residence for a joint strategy on Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls, Banerjee said: “The EC also needs to understand and realise that it is an impartial, unbiased organisation and it has to operate within the ambit of the Constitution.”
Banerjee alleged that the poll body was overstepping its Constitutional boundaries to give political advantage to the BJP. Alleging that the ECI has become a tool in the hands of the BJP, Banerjee said: “The work they (ECI) have started over the past 3-4 months, when the Bengal election is still 10-11 months away, clearly shows that they are not going to let an elected government function.”
He added: “ECI was being used by the BJP as a tool “so that the established Bengalis of Bengal, who speak Bengali and live in Bengal, cannot exercise their voting rights. Now the EC has taken a shameless role to snatch the voting rights of genuine voters.”
Speaking to the reporters, Banerjee also defended the autonomy of the elected state government.
The Bengal government was voted to power in 2021 by 12 crore people of Bengal. The government is solely committed and accountable to the 12-crore people, not to any political party or any central government,” Banerjee stated.
Referring to the recent suspension of 4 electoral officials by the ECI, he stated: “The ECI’s responsibility begins only when the Model Code of Conduct is in place.
After that, it can take over the state’s civil and police administration to ensure a free and fair election. But what it is doing now, months ahead of the polls, shows it is working to benefit the BJP.”