"Centre should intervene": Suvendu Adhikari demands President's Rule amid violence in Bengal panchayat poll

Purba Medinipur (West Bengal) [India], July 8 : Attacking the Trinamool Congress (TMC) for violence during the three-tier panchayat elections in West Bengal, State Leader of the Opposition Suvendu Adhikari on Saturday said that the state is burning and the Central government should intervene with Article 355 or Article 356 (President's Rule).

He alleged that more than 20,000 booths have been captured by hooligans of the ruling party in the presence of police.

Several incidents of election-related violence have been reported from different districts in West Bengal, with the ruling Trinamool Congress and Bharatiya Janata Party accusing each other of killing their party workers.

Several incidents of ballot box and ballot paper looting as well as destruction were reported from numerous polling booths in the state.

State Leader of Opposition Adhikari toldthat till 3 pm, over 15 people have died in the violence.

"West Bengal Governor CV Ananda Bose is trying his best to save lives and restore peace. But, his appeal has gone waste as the election-related violence continued in the state," he said.

"Now it is 3 pm, and more than 15 people have been brutally killed by the goons. More than 20,000 booths have been captured by TMC hooligans, in the presence of state police. CAPF is totally non-functioning due to the non-cooperation of the district police," Adhikari added.

He said that Bengal Governor should send a report to the Centre. "The state is burning and the Centre should intervene with either Article 355 or Article 356 (President's Rule)," he said.

The BJP leader said that hundreds of polling booths, where public resistance happened will go for a repolling.

Lashing out at the State Election Commission, he said that the poll body is a frontal organization of TMC.

"It (SEC) is a frontal organization of the ruling TMC. And the registered drunkard, Mr Rajiv Sinha, chief of State Election Commission is the paid dog of CM Mamata Banerjee," he alleged.

Mounting an attack on the TMC, he said that CM Mamata Banerjee and his nephew Abhishek Banerjee have turned the land of freedom fighters into turmoil.

"This is not an election...It's a 'jungle raj...the freedom fighters in 1942 declared India free on this land and today this land is in turmoil because of Mamata Banerjee and his nephew with the connivance of West Bengal Police...Central government should take the decision...it's my demand, if President's rule is not there let Mamata Banerjee be the CM...we will remove her after contesting in elections but Article 355 should be implemented for the safety of the citizens..." he said.

West Bengal has 3,341 gram panchayats and the number of village panchayat election centres is 58,594. There are 63,239 seats at the Gram Panchayat level, 9730 at Panchayat Samiti and 928 at the Zila Parishad level.

The counting of votes will be held on July 11.