EC must ensure 'level playing field' for all candidates: Stalin after Mamata banned from campaigning

After the Election Commission (EC) banned West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee from campaigning for 24 hours in the ongoing Assembly polls, Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (DMK) supremo MK Stalin urged the poll body to ensure a "level playing field" for all political parties and candidates.

Taking to Twitter, Stalin wrote, "The faith in our democracy rests on free and fair elections. The Election Commission of India must ensure a level playing field for all parties and candidates and ensure that impartiality and neutrality is maintained. #MamataBanerjee."

The EC banned Banerjee from campaigning in the ongoing state elections for 24 hours from 8 pm on Monday and said she had made "highly insinuating and provocative remarks laden with the serious potential of the breakdown of law and order and thereby affecting the election process".

The ban comes into force ahead of the fifth phase of assembly polls in the state on April 17.

The TMC chief said that EC's decision to ban her from campaigning in the assembly polls for 24 hours was "undemocratic and unconstitutional" and said she will sit on dharna on Tuesday in Kolkata from 12 noon to protest against it.

"To protest against the undemocratic and unconstitutional decision of the EC, I will sit on dharna tomorrow (Tuesday) at Gandhi Murti, Kolkata from 12 noon," Banerjee had said in a tweet.

Meanwhile, TMC MP Derek O'Brien slammed the EC move to ban Banerjee, calling it a "black day for democracy".

TMC tweeted, "Today is a black day in Indian democracy. They can not beat us, that is why they ban us."

( With inputs from ANI )