The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) on Monday lodged a complaint with the Election Commission (EC) over Trinamool Congress (TMC) supremo and West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee’s “highly divisive and communal” appeal to the Muslims to vote for her party in the assembly polls in the state.
The BJP alleged that the Trinamool Congress supremo had violated not only the Model Code of Conduct but also Section 123 and 125 of the Representation of People’s Act 1951.
A delegation of the BJP met the EC and lodged the complaint against the TMC chief, drawing the poll panel’s attention to her speech at an election rally at Tarakeshwar in West Bengal on April 3. The BJP quoted the Chief Minister of West Bengal asking that minority Muslims that they must not listen to "shaitaan" (demon) and must not let votes of the community split. She also allegedly warned the Muslims that they would “face the biggest danger if BJP came to power”.
“Not only her appeal to minority voters is highly divisive with heavy communal undertones, she is also trying to instill fear amongst not only the minority voters but also the other voters, thereby driving a wedge between them and the rest of the electorate,” the BJP alleged, asking the EC to take appropriate action against her.
The BJP also drew the attention of the EC to a separate communique wherein Mamata had recently asked people not to allow the “outsiders” and the “goons” of the saffron party to enter their localities after 6 pm. “They (personnel of the central paramilitary forces) can scare you for a maximum of two days… Listen to the security personnel who have come from outside for just these two days,” the BJP quoted her saying in an election rally.
Due to fears of the polling process being hampered by violence by anti-social elements, Central Armed Police Forces (CAPFs) are required to be deployed by the Election Commission in West Bengal in the upcoming phases of election, the BJP wrote to the EC. “It is stated that free and fair election in State of West Bengal is only possible if the Election Commission is able to instill a sense of security and safety amongst electorate.”