Trinamool Congress has accused the jawans of Central forces of appealing to people to vote for the Bharatiya Janta party (BJP) in West Bengal Panchayat polls. TMC leader Kunal Ghosh said that the jawans who have been deployed at various booths across the state are asking people to vote for the BJP. This comes as several incidents of violence hit the state which votes to elect nearly 75,000 members of the rural body.
"Some jawans of central forces at a booth are going to the people and appealing to them to vote for BJP but people of West Bengal will not respond to their appeal," says TMC leader Kunal Ghosh.
Around 11 people have reportedly died in different incidents of violence across Bengal.
Reacting to violent clashes and other incidents, Union Sports Minister Anurag Thakur said that the announcement of polls in Bengal means the beginning of the murder of democracy.
"...Fighting with people, firing, bombings, and arson have become a common thing and many such examples have been seen more than once. Under Mamata Banerjee's government, ballot boxes are looted and democracy is crushed and killed. Mamta Banerjee and TMC leaders do the work of stooping to any level to win the elections, but Congress & Rahul Gandhi remains silent. Congress wants to form an alliance with Mamata Banerjee? Will Rahul Gandhi say something? What is the compulsion of Mamata Banerjee that in every election there is murder, murder and murder of people...," he told ANI.
West Bengal LoP and BJP leader Suvendu Adhikari tweeted some photos and videos of violence and said, "West Bengal Panchayat Elections - Carnival of DEMO'N'CRACY. Mamata Banerjee's henchman & contract killer; State Election Commissioner Rajiv Sinha is executing her plans across the State."