Bengal Panchayat Polls: Section 144 Imposed Near Nomination Centres, Governor Warns Against Violence

Section 144, which will be in force till Thursday, have been imposed to ensure that the nomination process passed off safely, said an official.

Prohibitory orders under Section 144 of Criminal Procedure Code was has been imposed in a 1-kilometre radius of all nomination centres in West Bengal ahead of July 8 panchayat elections following direction by the state election commission (SEC) to all the district magistrates and superintendents of police in the state, a senior official said on Monday. The orders, which will be in force till Thursday, have been imposed to ensure that the nomination process passed off safely, he added, as per a report by news agency PTI. 

“We decided to impose prohibitory orders in a 1km radius of nomination centres,” the official said, adding that an order to this effect was issued by the SEC on Sunday. 

As per the SEC, only two people would be allowed to step inside the nomination centre for filing papers, he said. 

BJP MP Locket Chatterjee was on Monday stopped from entering the BDO office in Pandua during nomination filing by a BJP candidate after which the MP indulged in a verbal spat with the police officials at the spot. 

As per the official, over 10,000 nomination papers were filed for the rural body polls on the first two days across the state with the majority numbers filed by opposition parties. 

No Violence Will Be Tolerated, Warns Bengal Governor 

Amid reports of violence during preparations for the rural body polls, Bengal Governor C V Ananda Bose on Monday warned that no violence will be tolerated, and urged all stakeholders to ensure peace and harmony in society.

"The elections in West Bengal will be conducted peacefully, and no violence will be tolerated", Bose told PTI here after visiting the Bharatiya Vichara Kendram, an organisation founded by RSS ideologue P Parameshwaran.

All the stakeholders responsible for the conduct of the panchayat elections in West Bengal have the responsibility to ensure peace and harmony in society, he added. 

Bose, who received numerous requests for intervention from various political parties to ensure peace and harmony during the election, had called for an urgent meeting with the State Election Commission and warned of stringent action against the perpetrators of violence during the nomination to the panchayat polls in the state.