Mamata’s Nandigram allegations factually incorrect, says EC

NEW DELHI: In a strongly worded rejoinder to West Bengal chief minister Mamata Banerjee, the Election Commission has rejected her claim about the presence of outsiders at a polling booth in Nandigram as “factually incorrect” and “devoid of substance”.

In a letter to Banerjee on Saturday, Election Commission (EC) Secretary General Umesh Sinha also said, “It is being separately examined whether happenings of April 1 merit any action under Sections 131 and 123(2) of RP (Representation of the People) Act and/or Model Code of Conduct.” Section 131 deals with penalty for disorderly conduct in or near polling stations, while Section 123 (2) pertains to “undue influence.

The EC sent the letter to Banerjee, who is the TMC chief, in response to a complaint filed by her on April 1, when polling was held in Nandigram, alleging irregularities in the polling process. The EC said Banerjee’s letter regarding booth capturing and the presence of outsiders at a booth in Boyal was “preceded by a massive coverage all over the country... which showed dozens of audio-visual shots of your being in this polling station and literally hurling an avalanche of allegations on some officials...paramilitary forces and eventually the EC”.

KHANAKUL: West Bengal chief minister Mamata Banerjee on Sunday wondered whether Prime Minister Narendra Modi is “god or a superhuman” to make claims of a BJP triumph in the assembly elections, six phases of which still remain.

At an election rally in Hooghly district, the TMC boss, without naming the Indian Secular Front or its founder Abbas Siddiqui, also said the BJP is giving money “to a person” to eat into minority votes. “What do you (Modi) think of yourself, are you god or superhuman?” Banerjee said, referring to remarks by the PM at public meetings that he will attend the oath-taking ceremony of the BJP government in Bengal and request it to implement the PM Kisan Nidhi scheme as early as possible. The TMC chief alleged that Modi’s recent visit to Bangladesh to commemorate its first prime minister Sheikh Mujibur Rahman’s birth centenary year had led to rioting in the neighouring country. The CM also claimed that Amit Shah was instructing the EC to transfer police officers in the state.