Didi stages protest against EC ban
KOLKATA: West Bengal chief minister and Trinamool Congress (TMC) supremo Mamata Banerjee on Tuesday staged a three-and-a-half-hour protest in the heart of Kolkata to protest against the Election Commission of India’s (ECI) “unconstitutional” decision to bar her from campaigning for 24 hours over her remarks against central forces and a statement during an election rally which the poll watchdog said had religious overtones.
Banerjee, still confined to a wheelchair owing to the injuries she sustained in Nandigram last month, arrived at Mayo Road here around 11.40 am and began her sit-in next to a statue of Mahatma Gandhi, with the security personnel having cordoned off the area.
No TMC leaders or supporters were spotted nearby.
A senior TMC leader, who did not want to be named, said, “No party member was allowed anywhere near the site of the dharna. She sat there alone.”
The CM, who had a black scarf wrapped around her neck as a mark of protest, took to painting -- one of her favourite hobbies -- during the 3.5-hour sit-in, even as leaders of other
political parties criticised the ban on her.
Shiv Sena lawmaker Sanjay Raut called the ban a direct attack on democracy. “ECI has imposed a ban on Mamta didi for 24 hours. This is clearly done at the behest of BJP, ruling party in India,” he tweeted. “It is a direct attack on democracy and sovereignty of independent institutions of India. Solidarity with Bengal Tigress...”
In a tweet, Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (DM) chief
MK Stalin said the EC “must ensure a level playing field for all parties and candidates and ensure that impartiality and neutrality is maintained.”
ECI had on Monday banned Banerjee from campaigning for 24 hours for violating the model code of conduct and the 1951 Representation of the People Act with her speeches. The allegations against Banerjee were that, on April 7, she appealed to Muslim voters to unite and not split their vote;
and on April 8, she criticised central forces and urged people to surround them if they create disturbances.
The ban came into force at 8pm on April 12 and was lifted on April 13 at the same time, after which the CM held two back-to-back rallies in North 24 Parganas.
The fifth round of the state’s eight-phase polls is on April 17, and the silent period kicks in 72 hours earlier, in the constituencies going to polls. With her one-day ban, Banerjee had little time left for campaigning because the EC extended the pre-poll silent period from 48 to 72 hours for the fifth round, to ward off any disturbances.
The fifth phase of polls for 45 seats in four districts on Saturday is the largest of the eight rounds of the elections in the state.
“The EC has already increased the silence period from 48 hours to 72 hours for the fifth phase [of polling in West Bengal on Saturday]. All political campaigns for the fifth phase would have to be stopped on April 14 [Wednesday], instead of April 15 [Thursday]. So, there is no time to lose,” said a second TMC leader.
Banerjee called the ban “undemocratic” and said she will protest against it. The ban came amid tensions in the state after the death of four people during voting on Saturday last in Coochbehar. The central forces and EC said the forces fired in self-defence after being surrounded by an armed crowd. But TMC and the villagers accuse the security personnel of opening fire without provocation.
Last week, the EC sent two separate notices to Banerjee over her comments on April 7 and April 8.
In her response to the first notice, she said that she did not appeal for votes on communal lines and instead promoted peace and harmony. To the second notice, Banerjee said that she only advocated for peaceful and democratic forms of protest.
Criticising Banerjee over her decision to hold a protest in the city, state Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) chief Dilip Ghosh said the TMC supremo has “no regard for the poll panel”. “There have been instances when the EC banned our leaders from campaigning. We have always respected the EC’s decision. What she (Banerjee) did is unacceptable,” he said.