'SEC should request Central force deployment in all dists within 48 hrs'

KOLKATA: A division bench of Calcutta High Court, led by Chief Justice TS Sivagnanam, on Thursday directed the election commission in West Bengal to request the deployment of central paramilitary forces in all districts of the state within the next 48 hours, ahead of the upcoming panchayat elections in the state. The direction came amid allegations from Opposition forces that the ruling Trinamool Congress was resorting to violence and intimidation to deter their candidates from filing nominations for the July 8 polls.

The division bench also reserved its order on a PIL filed by the Leader of the Opposition in the West Bengal Assembly, Suvendu Adhikari, alleging violence during the filing of nominations for the rural polls. Adhikari, in his PIL, alleged that the State Election Commission failed to comply with an earlier ruling of the high court, seeking the deployment of central forces in 7 'sensitive' districts of the state. However, the HC division bench reserved its order on Adhikari's petition.

The chief justice also made it clear that the court would not "sit silent" if the state poll panel failed to comply with its earlier orders. "There are two ways on how we understand the role of the SEC. We are not here to advise you (SEC) to accept our judgment as it is. If you are aggrieved, you can take it to appeal. But if you are of the view that your action is to thwart or make the judgment unworkable, we are not here to sit silent," the Chief Justice said.

The HC, on Tuesday, ordered the requisition and deployment of central forces in all areas declared sensitive by the State Election Commission (SEC) for the polls. "In areas where Central forces are not deployed, it should be the responsibility of the State Police. SEC should ensure the safety of the polling agents. SEC should and shall consider the requisition of deployment of Central Paramilitary forces for sensitive areas," the court said in its order earlier.

In addition to the deployment of central forces, the court also ordered the SEC to install CCTV cameras at every booth and corner of the counting centres. It, however, refused to consider PILs seeking an extension of time for filing nominations for the July 8 polls, leaving it to the State Election Commission to take a call on the same.

Meanwhile, there was heavy security deployment in the South 24 Parganas district on the last day of filing nominations for the panchayat polls on Thursday.

On Wednesday, tension and a general air of disquiet prevailed in several areas of the state, especially the Bhangar block in the South 24 Parganas district, which saw clashes between supporters of the ruling TMC and Naushad Siddiqui-led Indian Secular Front (ISF) over the past two days.

The two sets of supporters were seen on the roads, wielding sticks, as the police struggled to maintain law and order. Some police personnel, including the SDPO, sustained injuries during the clashes. On Wednesday, Adhikari broke the barricades installed outside the State Election Commission office in Kolkata, claiming that the TMC said since there were no sensitive booths, there was no need for the deployment of central forces in the panchayat elections.

"This is an attempt to kill democracy. We will launch protests against this. We will end Mamata Banerjee's jungle raj in West Bengal. We are fighting for the restoration of democracy in Bengal and the people will prevail. They are claiming that since there are no sensitive booths in West Bengal, there is no need for central forces to be deployed in the state," Adhikari said.