Kolkata, March 24 West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee on Tuesday alleged that the purported BJP stamp on a communication from the Election Commission proved beyond doubt which party was controlling the poll watchdog from behind.
A political row erupted on Monday after a March 2019 letter from the EC was found carrying the seal of the BJP's Kerala unit.
"This BJP stamp on the EC notification clearly shows who is running the commission from behind. The truth is out," Banerjee told reporters at the Kolkata airport before boarding a flight to Bagdogra in north Bengal, where she is scheduled to begin election campaigns.
She cited a newspaper report to support her claims about the Election Commission's "lack of neutrality" in conducting the state assembly elections.
"We don't need to hide behind accusations. We need to face each other and fight fairly," the CM said, without naming the commission.
Banerjee alleged that the EC's decision to transfer the Nandigram BDO, whom she indirectly claimed was close to Suvendu Adhikari, to Bhabanipur, where the BJP leader would contest against her, was a political conspiracy.
"On Monday, the EC reshuffled 73 returning officers across the state. Earlier, they transferred about 70 top IAS and IPS officers from Bengal, including the chief secretary, home secretary, the DGP, and the Kolkata CP. Now, we know which party is pulling the strings," she said.
"This was not a clerical error; it was done with a deliberate political intention," Banerjee claimed, refuting the EC's reported response that it was a human error.
She claimed that the EC communication was not intended only for Kerala but was addressed to the chief electoral officers of all states and union territories.
Alleging that this put a serious question mark on the poll panel's impartiality, Banerjee urged all parties to unite and fight against the "attempt to impose one-party rule in India".
"It doesn't matter if opposition parties belong to the Right or Left ideologies. I urge them to come together and fight against dictatorship, autocracy, and the one-party rule of the government and its agencies. I urge them to protest in the country's interest and ensure free and fair polls," she said, adding that her call was not to solicit support but to "save democracy".
CPI(M) central committee member Sujan Chakraborty said, "When TMC leaders frequently claim that we have become zero in Bengal, why is their supremo seeking our support? We have always been at the forefront in the fight against fascist forces," Chakraborty said. The Left party has no representation in the outgoing West Bengal assembly.
The TMC supremo must remember that the Left Front had always been in the battle against the "BJP's attempt to take away people's rights", he said.
Questioning the EC's publication of the first supplementary list late on Monday, Banerjee alleged that even hours later, people do not know whether they are included in the rolls or deleted from it because hard copies of the list are yet to be put up at district, block, or booth offices.
"Two more people died by suicide on Monday, taking the total SIR-induced death toll to nearly 220," she said and claimed that names were added to the rolls as a result of her petition in the Supreme Court.
Banerjee questioned the delay in the publication of the rolls, hinting at possible foul play.
"Why are they so apprehensive about publishing the rolls? Surely because the EC lacks transparency. Otherwise, why had they taken so long to put the list out when the judicial officers completed the task of finalising the (first supplementary) rolls almost a week ago? Have you deleted more names? Have you unilaterally added names for a particular political party? We will get a clearer picture of that once the full list is published," the CM said.
Around 60 lakh names were marked as "under adjudication" in the post-SIR electoral rolls published on February 28.
The supplementary list contains the names of around 29 lakh voters whose cases have been adjudicated by the judicial officers, according to the Election Commission.
BJP MLA Sankar Ghosh accused the CM of attempting to stall the Special Intensive Revision of electoral rolls and spreading misinformation about the exercise.
"I don't want to comment on the statement of the CM who frequently makes false, illogical statements even on the floor of the assembly," Ghosh, the BJP chief whip, alleged.
He said the "EC will verify if there is any anomaly, and the CM does not need to worry".
Chakraborty alleged that the TMC was responsible for the "growth of the BJP in West Bengal".
"When all our leaders, including party patriarch Jyoti Basu, had severely condemned the BJP and described it as a barbaric party, Mamata Banerjee and other TMC leaders did not speak a single word against the saffron camp at that time," he claimed.
"The TMC supremo has a secret understanding with the BJP at the Centre. The tardy progress in the probe by central agencies against corruption cases of TMC heavyweights is testimony to it," the CPI(M) leader said.
Elections to the 294-member West Bengal assembly will be held on April 23 and 29, with counting scheduled for May 4.