Kolkata: The Trinamool Congress on Tuesday refuted a BJP poll complaint against Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee – that she had did not disclose five police cases against her while filing nomination papers for the crucial September 30 Bhabanipur bypoll.
The party has declared that Ms Banerjee – who must win the bypoll to stay Chief Minister, after she did not win from Nandigram within the April-May election – was only required to disclose details of cases if she is really named within the blotter .
Earlier the Chief Election Agent for the BJP’s Priyanka Tibrewal – the party’s candidate for the bypoll – wrote to the Bhabanipur official to register his complaint.
He cited reports from three publications, including one by India Today, to say that cases had been filed in five police stations in BJP-ruled Assam.
“… beg to object to the nomination/declaration filed by Mamata Banerjee…. on the bottom that the candidate has did not disclose… particulars of the subsequent pending criminal proceedings against her,” the letter read.
The referenced link to an August 2018 report by India Today said Assam Police had registered the cases against her “for making provocative remark regarding the Assam NRC issue”.
Days before the cases were filed, Ms Banerjee made several critical comments about the Assam NRC, including declaring “whoever may be a BJP voter are going to be in… those that aren’t , are going to be deleted from the list”.
She also warned the BJP against an identical exercise in her state; “… there’ll be bloodbath, there’ll be war ,” the Chief Minister had said.
She then scoffed at reports of the cases being filed, saying: “There is not any democracy within the country… i’m not scared… they will lodge many FIRs against me, I don’t care.”
A similar complaint was filed against her before the April-May election, during which the Trinamool recorded an emphatic convert a very aggressive BJP election machine. Ms Banerjee, however, lost her fight from Nandigram to aide-turned-BJP leader Suvendu Adhikari, leaving her position precarious.
She must now win another election by November – like the Bhabanipur bypoll – to qualify as a member of the legislature and be ready to retain the chief minister’s post.
The BJP has fielded Priyanka Tibrewal, a lawyer, against Ms Banerjee and therefore the CPM has offered Srijib Biswas to the peop
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