Violence won’t be tolerated in panchayat polls, says WB Guv

Kolkata, June 10: West Bengal Governor C V Ananda Bose on Saturday asserted that violence will not be tolerated in the ensuing panchayat elections in the state.
His assertion came after State Election Commissioner Rajiva Sinha called on him to explain the commission’s stand on demands for extending the date of filing nominations for the three-tier panchayat polls and to explain steps taken to contain incidents of violence.
Bose, in a statement, said, “Ever since the announcement of the panchayat elections, political parties have been flooding the governor with requests of intervention to ensure peace and harmony during the election. They came out with a number of suggestions expressing their apprehension about the likelihood of ‘muscle raj’ in the coming elections in the state.” “The governor assured them that the elections will be held in a free and fair manner. He also reiterated that violence will be the first casualty in the ensuing election. He said that the ensuing panchayat election will prove the victory of democracy and the defeat of mobocracy,” the statement added.
On his meeting with Sinha, he said, “The Election Commission will leave no stone unturned in conducting the election without violence and intimidation. All the stakeholders will join together in warding off unhealthy trends during election campaign and will resist any attempt of violence and musclemanship in the conduct of the election.” Officials said the governor sought from Sinha details of allegations of violence marring the process of filing nominations and asked whether the SEC had considered seeking central forces to manage the polling process. (PTI)