Kolkata, April 4 – Following the arrest of a Trinamool Congress leader in Berhampore, West Bengal, another Trinamool Congress leader was arrested on Saturday in the town of Canning in the South 24 Parganas district, acting on the orders of the Election Commission of India (ECI). The arrest was made for allegedly threatening voters ahead of the upcoming state Assembly elections.
According to an official from the ECI, Hafizul Mollah, a leader of the Trinamool Congress and the head of the Deuli-1 Gram Panchayat in South 24 Parganas district, has allegedly threatened voters in the district.
Mollah reportedly made the statement during a Trinamool Congress meeting in Jibantala, saying: "After the counting of votes, the 'steam roller' will continue."
The Commission had instructed Mollah to be arrested following his comments, and the police subsequently arrested him.
The Commission has instructed the police to take appropriate legal action against Mollah.
A video of Mollah's controversial speech has gone viral on social media, where he can be heard saying, "The voting for the West Bengal elections will take place on April 29, and the counting of votes on May 4. We are openly saying that the 'steam roller' will be used on those who will betray us and vote against our party, from the evening of counting. Because, we have to win this fight."
Incidentally, earlier, acting on the orders of the ECI, the police had also arrested Raju Mandal, the president of the Ward 8 Trinamool Congress committee in Berhampore Municipality, for allegedly intimidating voters.
The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) has criticised the Trinamool Congress-led state government for not taking action against such party leaders.
"A Trinamool leader from South 24 Parganas has threatened to 'crush' the common people after the poll results are declared. Trinamool has nothing left in its hands now, except to intimidate. They know that the people of West Bengal will not accept this situation anymore," the BJP said in a social media post on X, sharing a clip of Hafizul Mollah's video.
"They (Trinamool Congress) know that the people of West Bengal will not tolerate corruption and appeasement politics anymore. They know that the people of Bengal are ready to give their verdict in favour of the double-engine government," the BJP added.