'Torture Commission': Mamata likens EC to Tughlaq

Kolkata: West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee on Tuesday asked whether the country was heading towards a Presidential form of government, as she reiterated her charges against the Election Commission of deleting the names of genuine voters in the state.

“We don’t know what is going on. We don’t know whose names have been deleted. We are completely in the dark. There were over two lakh voters in my constituency, Bhowanipore. Forty-thousand voters have disappeared. We have no information. They are playing hide and seek,” Mamata said addressing a news conference at the state secretariat.

Drawing parallels with the medieval era Delhi Sultan Muhammad-bin-Tughlaq and Adolf Hitler, Mamata said the commission had inflicted torture on the Bengal voters.

“This is the torture commission. They are behaving like Tughlaq, committing atrocities like Hitler. My question to them do the people elect a government? Or is it a Tughlaqi commission that does it on behalf of a political party? There were complaints in Haryana, Bihar and Maharashtra. Then why is Bengal being targeted?” she asked.

“No political party, no agency is permanent in democracy. This is a democratic country. If this continues democracy will be in ruins in Bengal and the rest of India. If they have to push for one nation, one party then they have to introduce a presidential form of government. Is the country heading towards that?”

The Bengal Chief Minister has been involved in a feud with the commission, which started around a year ago with anomalies in the voters list and took a serious turn as the SIR process went ahead in the state. “The definition of democracy is clearly mentioned. The EC has its manuals, rules. If someone violates all the rules it creates confusion and confrontation with people resulting in deaths. They violate the directives given by the Supreme Court every day,” Mamata said.

The commission and the Trinamool Congress have locked horns over the deployment of personnel, the list of documents to be submitted for the verification of the voters among others.

“The documents that were acceptable in Bihar are being denied here. Why is Bihar not a part of India or is Bengal not a part of India?” she asked.

The CM also asked how the commission could suspend seven poll officials on deputation from the state without giving them a hearing. “The officials were not even served a show cause notice. I know some of them worked hard to ensure a smooth roll out of the SIR process. These are atrocious steps, vindictive attitude. A government cannot act vindictively,” the chief minister said. “We are with the people, we are with the officials and we will remain with them.”