West Bengal Assembly Elections 2021 Latest Updates: Urging people not to vote for “trigger-happy BJP”, West Bengal chief minister Mamata Banerjee on Sunday claimed that the tragedy in Cooch Behar was the “result of a conspiracy” hatched by the saffron party to intimidate voters. Amid polling for the fourth phase of elections on Saturday, four people died in Sitalkuchi area of Cooch Behar when CISF personnel opened fire allegedly after coming under attack from locals, who “attempted to snatch their rifles”, the police had said. The TMC supremo, who addressed three rallies in Jalpaiguri district during the day, also stated that BJP leaders, who have come out in support of the central forces, should sit back and reflect if they would have had the same stance if someone in their families met with a similar fate. “I have video footage that shows some BJP leaders are speaking in favour of the central forces after the firing incident. You (BJP leaders) don’t feel sad if sons die in other families. What if it had happened to someone in your family,” Banerjee said in Rajganj. At a poll event in West Bengal’s Basirhat Dakshin on Saturday, Union Home Minister Amit Shah says, “I have come here to make one request. Didi has ruled for 10 years. Would it look good to give her a small farewell? So, you should give her a farewell by giving 200 seats to BJP.” He adds, “Didi is repeatedly saying Amit Shah must resign. Didi, when people will ask me to resign, then I will. But you must prepare as you will have to resign on 2 May.” Invoking its Constitutional powers, the Election Commission on Saturday put in place certain restrictions, including extending the “silence period” from 48 hours to 72 hours, for the fifth phase of polling in West Bengal after violence in Cooch Behar district. It also barred the entry of politicians in Cooch Behar district for the next 72 hours to prevent any possible law and order flare-up. The decision came after four people were killed in the district as central forces opened fire allegedly when they were attacked by locals who “attempted to snatch their rifles” during the fourth phase of voting on Saturday. “The Election Commission of India further directs that the silence period for phase 5 (i.e. for polls scheduled on April 17) shall be extended to 72 hours and no campaigning shall be permitted during 72 hours before the close of the poll in order to ensure the conduct of free, fair and peaceful elections,” an EC order said. Speaking in Santipur, Union Home Minister Amit Shah lashed out at Mamata Banerjee over the violence in Cooch Behar during the fourth phase of election on Saturday. “I promise that after BJP comes to power here political and poll-related violence will end in Bengal,” he said. Union Home Minister and BJP leader Amit Shah holds a roadshow in Nadia district’s Santipur. West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee on Sunday alleged the Election Commission has restricted the entry of politicians in the district for 72 hours as it seeks to “suppress facts”. The TMC supremo, while addressing a press meet in Siliguri, claimed that central forces “sprayed bullets aiming at the torso of the victims” in Sitalkuchi area, when the fourth phase of polling was underway in the state. West Bengal chief minister Mamata Banerjee on Sunday termed the violence in Cooch Behar during the fourth phase of Assembly polls on Saturday as “genocide”. Four people were killed in the Cooch Behar district as CISF personnel opened fire allegedly when they were attacked by locals who “attempted to snatch their rifles” during the fourth phase of voting on Saturday. West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee on Sunday tweeted," EC should rename MCC as Modi Code of Conduct! BJP can use all its might but NOTHING in this world can stop me from being with my people and sharing their pain. They can restrict me from visiting my brothers and sisters in Cooch Behar for 3 days but I WILL be there on the 4th day!" The poll panel on Saturday barred the entry of politicians in Cooch Behar district for 72 hours to prevent any possible law and order flare-up, after four people were killed in the district as central forces opened fire allegedly when they were attacked by locals who “attempted to snatch their rifles” during the fourth phase of voting. Union Home Minister and BJP leader Amit Shah will hold three roadshows, two townhall meetings and one public meeting at various places in West Bengal on Sunday, the party said in a tweet. Invoking its Constitutional powers, the Election Commission on Saturday put in place certain restrictions, including extending the “silence period” from 48 hours to 72 hours, for the fifth phase of polling in West Bengal after violence in Cooch Behar district. It also barred the entry of politicians in Cooch Behar district for the next 72 hours to prevent any possible law and order flare-up. The decision came after four people were killed in the district as central forces opened fire allegedly when they were attacked by locals who “attempted to snatch their rifles” during the fourth phase of voting on Saturday. “The Election Commission of India further directs that the silence period for phase 5 (i.e. for polls scheduled on 17 April) shall be extended to 72 hours and no campaigning shall be permitted during 72 hours before the close of the poll in order to ensure the conduct of free, fair and peaceful elections,” an EC order said. A total of 45 seats will go to the polls in the fifth phase in West Bengal. The silence period — when public campaigning including rallies, meetings and press conferences cannot take place — is generally for 48 hours. The order also said that in Cooch Behar, comprising nine assembly constituencies (AC numbers 1 to 9) where voting will be over by Saturday, no political leader from any national, state or other party should be allowed to enter the geographical boundaries of the district for the next 72 hours. “This comes into force with immediate effect,” the poll panel said. The commission said it is issuing the order using its powers under Article 324 of the Constitution of India. It also cited some Supreme Court rulings to support its decision to use constitutional powers. The order also cited a joint report of its two special observers Ajay Nayak and Vivek Dube. The report said that recourse to open fire by the CISF personnel became “absolutely necessary” in order to save the lives of the voters lined up at the polling booth, those of other polling personnel and their own lives as the mob had attempted snatching their weapons also. The order also said the special observers had not received the reports of the district magistrate and the superintendent of police (SP) of Cooch Behar well after 5 pm though TV channels had been quoting the SP as saying since 3 pm that the CISF men opened fire “purely” in self defence. The order said it has been brought to the EC’s notice that the last rites of the four persons killed in firing had still not been completed and that some political leaders may visit the area “with the ostensible purpose of condoling the bereaved families which however, has the potent to cause a law and order problem of major proportions in this place as well as the adjoining places”. It also said since the firing happened in a confrontation with CISF, “the chances of central forces deployed in this area becoming or being made the butt of further grave provocation by groups of people cannot also be ruled out”.
West Bengal Assembly Elections 2021 Updates: BJP tried to 'intimidate voters' with Cooch Behar firing, claims Mamata Banerjee
West Bengal Assembly Elections 2021 LIVE Updates: Amid polling for the fourth phase of elections on Saturday, four people died in the district’s Sitalkuchi when CISF personnel opened fire allegedly after coming under attack from locals
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West Bengal Assembly Election LATEST updates
BJP asks EC to take action against TMC’s Sujata Mondal
The BJP on Sunday urged the Election Commission to take action against a Trinamool Congress leader and her party’s leadership for allegedly making disparaging remarks against scheduled castes by likening them to beggars.
In a memorandum to the poll watchdog, a BJP delegation said TMC leader Sujata Mondal Khan had targeted the SC community for its support to the BJP and accused her of making insulting remarks against its members.
The party delegation, which included Union minister Mukhtar Abbas Naqvi and party general secretary Dushyant Kumar Gautam, told the EC that Khan’s remarks were in violation of the Model Code of Conduct, Indian Penal Code and also the Scheduled Castes and Tribes (Prevention of Atrocities) Act.
“This is neither the first time, nor is it a one-off statement. It reflects a certain mindset in the AITC (All India Trinamool Congress) and follows a pattern set by Mamata Banerjee, where she has consistently attempted to polarise the elections on the basis of religion or caste and going to the extreme fringes by raising the bogey of ‘outsider’, thereby challenging and negating the very foundations of the Indian Constitution,” the BJP said.
(PTI)
West Bengal Assembly Election LATEST updates
‘TMC govt made no provision to punish intruders,’ claims Amit Shah
“There is no provision of punishment for nephews and intruders under didi’s rule, only for the common people. Those who committed political murders, ate the money for the rights of the poor, the BJP government formed in Bengal will do the work of putting all these behind bars,” said Union Home Minister Amit Shah while addressing a poll rally in West Bengal on Sunday.
West Bengal Assembly Election LATEST updates
‘Cooch Behar incident result of conspiracy hatched by BJP to intimidate voters’, claims Mamata
Urging people not to vote for “trigger-happy BJP”, West Bengal chief minister Mamata Banerjee on Sunday claimed that the tragedy in Cooch Behar was the “result of a conspiracy” hatched by the saffron party to intimidate voters. Amid polling for the fourth phase of elections on Saturday, four people died in Sitalkuchi area of Cooch Behar when CISF personnel opened fire allegedly after coming under attack from locals, who “attempted to snatch their rifles”, the police had said.
The TMC supremo, who addressed three rallies in Jalpaiguri district during the day, also stated that BJP leaders, who have come out in support of the central forces, should sit back and reflect if they would have had the same stance if someone in their families met with a similar fate.
“I have video footage that shows some BJP leaders are speaking in favour of the central forces after the firing incident. You (BJP leaders) don’t feel sad if sons die in other families. What if it had happened to someone in your family,” Banerjee said in Rajganj.
West Bengal Assembly Election LATEST updates
Cooch Behar killings turning point, BJP to be routed from north Bengal, says GJM’s Bimal Gurung
Asserting that Saturdays firing by the CISF in Cooch Behar, which claimed four lives, would prove to be a “turning point” in Bengal polls, Bimal Gurung, the chief of one of the two GJM factions, claimed that the BJP would face the wrath of voters in the remaining four phases of polling in the northern part of the state.
Gurung, in an interview with PTI, reaffirmed that “statehood is a dream nurtured by every Gorkha” living in the hills, while also noting that the TMC’s pitch for a “permanent political solution” and the overall development of Darjeeling and its adjoining areas sounds “very encouraging”.
Lashing out at the BJP for “deceiving the Gorkha jaati for 12 years with fake promises”, Gurung, who deserted the NDA and joined hands with the TMC in October last year, said he will teach the saffron camp a “lesson for life”, with Mamata Banerjee by his side.
West Bengal Assembly Election LATEST updates
Amit Shah holds roadshow in Panihati
West Bengal Assembly Election LATEST updates
Congress candidate ‘attacked’ in West Bengal’s Manikchak while campaigning
Congress candidate for Manikchak Assembly constituency in West Bengal, Md Mottakin Alam, was allegedly attacked by miscreants during campaigning in the area, the party claimed on Sunday. The vehicle of party MP Abu Hasem Khan Chowdhury, who was accompanying Alam, was also vandalised, it said.
The district Congress leadership alleged that Trinamool Congress supporters were behind the attack, a charge denied by the ruling party. Manikchak goes to polls in the last phase of the Assembly elections on 29 April.
Assembly Election LATEST updates
BJP candidate for Tamil Nadu polls tests COVID-19 positive
BJP nominee from Aravakkurichi constituency in the 6 April Tamil Nadu Assembly polls, K Annamalai, has tested positive for COVID-19. Annamalai tweeted saying he has tested positive for coronavirus and has been hospitalised. He requested those who came in contact with him recently “to watch out for any symptoms and get tested.”
A former Karnataka cadre IPS officer, Annamalai had taken voluntary retirement from service in 2019 and joined the BJP last year. He was fielded from Aravakkurichi Assembly constituency in the Assembly polls. Actor-politician Khushbu Sundar, also with the BJP, said her filmmaker husband Sundar C has tested positive for COVID-19.
West Bengal Assembly Election LATEST updates
‘If people ask me to resign, I will,’ says Amit Shah in response to Mamata Banerjee
At a poll event in West Bengal’s Basirhat Dakshin on Saturday, Union Home Minister Amit Shah says, “I have come here to make one request. Didi has ruled for 10 years. Would it look good to give her a small farewell? So, you should give her a farewell by giving 200 seats to BJP.”
He adds, “Didi is repeatedly saying Amit Shah must resign. Didi, when people will ask me to resign, then I will. But you must prepare as you will have to resign on 2 May.”
West Bengal Assembly Election LATEST updates
Visuals from Mamata Banerjee’s roadshow in Bardhaman
West Bengal Assembly Election LATEST updates
Amit Shah holds roadshow in Ranaghat Dakshin
West Bengal Assembly Election LATEST updates
EC bans entry of politicians in violence-hit Cooch Behar for 72 hrs
Invoking its Constitutional powers, the Election Commission on Saturday put in place certain restrictions, including extending the “silence period” from 48 hours to 72 hours, for the fifth phase of polling in West Bengal after violence in Cooch Behar district. It also barred the entry of politicians in Cooch Behar district for the next 72 hours to prevent any possible law and order flare-up.
The decision came after four people were killed in the district as central forces opened fire allegedly when they were attacked by locals who “attempted to snatch their rifles” during the fourth phase of voting on Saturday.
“The Election Commission of India further directs that the silence period for phase 5 (i.e. for polls scheduled on April 17) shall be extended to 72 hours and no campaigning shall be permitted during 72 hours before the close of the poll in order to ensure the conduct of free, fair and peaceful elections,” an EC order said.
West Bengal Assembly Election LATEST updates
Mamata Banerjee has right to meet families of those who died in Sitalkuchi, says Kakoli Ghosh Dastidar
TMC MP Kakoli Ghosh Dastidar claimed West Bengal chief minister Mamata Banerjee has a right to speak to the families of those who died in the firing in Sitalkuchi on Saturday. “Stopping Mamata Banerjee from meeting the victims of the genocide in Sitalkuchi speaks volumes about the impartiality of the Election Commission. Apart from being the chief minister of the state, she is also in charge of the law and order. She also has the right to speak to the families,” the TMC MP tweeted.
West Bengal Assembly Election LATEST updates
Amit Shah holds roadshow in Ranaghat Dakshin
Assam Assembly Election LATEST updates
Anchalik Gana Morcha urges EC to videograph counting process
The Anchalik Gana Morcha (AGM), a constituent of the opposition Congress-led ‘Mahajoot’ in Assam, on Sunday urged the Election Commission to videograph the 2 May counting of the Assembly elections in the state. In a letter to the EC, AGM president and Rajya Sabha member Ajit Kumar Bhuyan said the Commission has to depend on the state bureaucracy in the entire process of the Assembly elections, and claimed that there is an “apprehension"that some sections of the employees may favour the ruling BJP and “can do mischief in the counting”. “To make the counting process fair and transparent we urge the Hon’ble Forum (EC) to take all such possible steps as provided in the Conduct of Election Rule, 1961 as well as the notifications issued by the Commission from time to time. One such step towards transparency would be to do videography of the entire counting process,” the party chief said in the letter.
The AGM said the videography of the counting will ensure transparency in the counting process and there will be no scope for any party or individual to raise any grievance regarding manipulation in the counting process.
PTI
West Bengal Assembly Election LATEST updates
Political violence will end after BJP comes to power, promises Amit Shah
“Except for this one incident (Sitalkuchi), elections in West Bengal have been conducted peacefully by and large. though more than five BJP workers have been killed during the elections.Mamata didi didn’t speak anything about this. This is a new beginning in Bengal that the elections are being carried out peacefully” Shah said and appealed to people to vote peacefully during the remaining four phases. “I promise that after BJP comes to power here political and poll-related violence will end in Bengal,” he said.
West Bengal Assembly Election LATEST updates
Amit Shah blames Mamata Banerjee for Cooch Behar violence
Blaming the violence in Sitalkuchi on Saturday on Mamata Banerjee’s speech a few days ago, Shah said the TMC chief should apologise to the people of Bengal. “In the same Sitalkuchi seat, Mamata didi had given a speech a few days ago asking people to surround CISF, CAPF personnel, to attack them. I want to ask Mamata didi a question: Is your speech not responsible for the death of those four people? If you had not made the speech, the four youths had dared to attack the CRPF? You instigated them and gave a reason for ‘goli-baari’. I believe Mamata didi still has time, she should give shraddhanjali to the fifth youth who died and apologise for the people of Bengal for her speech."
West Bengal Assembly Election LATEST updates
Amit Shah hits out at Mamata Banerjee
Speaking in Santipur, Union Home Minister Amit Shah said “During the fourth phase of the Bengal elections, a sad incident took place. A booth was attacked by unknown people,they tried to loot CRPF’s weapons. CAPF had to fire in their defence to defend their weapons and four people were killed. This is an unfortunate incident. But even more unfortunate is the manner in which the incident is being politicised. I have seen Mamata Banerjee’s statements. At the same booth in the morning, Anand Barman was killed by goons. He was killed so that voting doesn’t happen. The same booth was attacked and at the same booth attempts were made to loot the CISF’s weapons. But Mamata didi pays homage to only four people, she doesn’t care about the death of Anand Barman”.
Targetting the TMC chief Shah said, “Even in death, (there is) appeasement and vote bank politics. This is an example of how low Mamata Banerjee has taken Bengal’s politics to.” “We are sad about Anand Barman’s death and also about the deaths of the four others. Death should be beyond politics. But no tears have been shed over Anand Barman, no statements were made and till today no homage has been paid. Because Anand Barman is a rajvanshi youth and this doesnt fit their vote bank. This kind of politics is not Bengal’s culture” Shah further said.
West Bengal Assembly Election LATEST updates
I am a ‘Royal Bengal Tiger’, says Mamata Banerjee
Addressing a rally in Jalpaiguri, West Bengal chief minister Mamata Banerjee called herself a ‘Royal Bengal Tiger’. “They didn’t let me go (to Cooch Behar). I talked to them (families of deceased in firing incident) over video call sitting in Siliguri,” news agency ANI quotes her as saying. “They (BJP-ruled Centre) know they have lost in 4 phases (of Assembly polls) so now they are using guns. We will take revenge for these bullets in form of ballots,” she further said.
West Bengal Assembly Election LATEST updates
Amit Shah holds roadshow in Santipur
West Bengal Assembly Election LATEST updates