On the issue of deployment of central forces in West Bengal, BJP leader Dilip Ghosh on Saturday said elections cannot be held without central forces, citing tensions and incidents of violence during the Special Intensive Review (SIR) exercise in the state.
He said that the presidential elections were held in the state amid tensions and violence, and that the elections are a difficult task and cannot be held without central powers.
“The SIR was conducted in the state amid tensions and violence. Elections are a difficult task and cannot be conducted without central powers. People are demanding central powers during elections,” he told ANI.
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Talking about the BJP Parivartan Yatra, he claimed that the state government is not giving permission for the yatra but asserted that the party has received court approval to go ahead.
“The state government is not giving permission for the yatra, but we have permission from the court and we will go ahead with it. People want change in these upcoming elections,” he said.
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Earlier this week, West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee expressed concern over the ongoing SIR action, indicating that around 1.20 crore names are expected to be deleted from the electoral roll. The Prime Minister described it as a matter of democratic rights, adding that the issue transcends party lines and religious identities.
Earlier on Tuesday, the West Bengal government welcomed the Supreme Court’s decision to allow the Chief Justice of Calcutta High Court to deploy additional civil judges with three years’ experience, and sought assistance from the Chief Justices of Jharkhand and Odisha, if necessary, to verify objections under the Special Intensive Review (SIR) of voters’ lists in the state.
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The directions were issued by a bench led by Chief Justice of India Surya Kant after the Chief Justice of the Calcutta High Court cited a shortage of officers to verify over 50,000 objections under the “logical inconsistency” category within the current time frame.
The Supreme Court has observed that even 250 judicial officers would need about 80 days to complete the verification process.
This story has been published from a news agency feed without modifications to the text.
