IANS/Kolkata
Amid mounting protests over allegations of violence and rampant malpractices during the local body polls, the West Bengal State Election Commission yesterday decided to postpone the vote count indefinitely in three civic bodies.
“We have decided to put on hold the vote count indefinitely as we have received some allegations. We have also watched some incidents in our web cameras. We have also got some information through SMS from the presiding officers. So we have taken the decision so that we can look into these thoroughly,” state Election Commissioner Sushanta Ranjan Upadhayay said here.
Allegations of irregularities and violence were received from Bidhannagar Municipal Corporation, Asansol Municipal Corporation and wards of the erstwhile Bally Municipality now merged with the Howrah Municipal Corporation, where polls were held on Saturday.
Seventeen journalists, photojournalists and cameramen were roughed up at Bidhananagar, while a woman reporter of a TV channel was threatened with rape by hoodlums allegedly backed by the ruling Trinamool Congress.
West Bengal Governor K N Tripathi has called for action.
“Irrespective of whether it goes against anyone or in favour of anyone, the state Election Commission should take into consideration taking such action which is permissible under the law,” Tripathi said.
The unprecedented attack on the media attracted severe criticism from several quarters including political parties while many took to social networking sites to vent their ire on the “absence of democracy” in the state under the Mamata Banerjee-led Trinamool Congress regime.
Condemning the attack on the journalists as well as the large-scale violence, the Congress staged a demonstration demanding the removal of the state election commissioner.
Meanwhile members of Aakranto Aamra, a forum of victims of human rights violations and administrative excesses, met the journalists undergoing treatment at a city nursing home.
Congress activists stage a demonstration against West Bengal state Election Commission in Kolkata yesterday.
