Trinamool Congress MLA Monirul Islam fired violent threats at the Election Commission Wednesday as the fight continues between Bengal's ruling party and the top poll body – over a special intensive revision of the state's voter lists – months before a critical Assembly election.
Islam also threatened to 'break the Commission's waist with lathis' and also seemed to refer to the controversial law granting lifetime protection from prosecution to the Chief Election Commissioner and Election Commissioners over decisions taken in their official capacities.
Islam, who won the Farakka seat in the 2021 election, also used crude language to refer to Chief Election Commission Gyanesh Kumar, declaring he would "drag him from the grave" to hold him responsible for "harassing" the people of Bengal "to please the Bharatiya Janata Party", echoing grumblings by opposition leaders the SIR is the EC's move to ensure election wins for the BJP.
"… it has to be broken with a stick. We want lathis to break the Election Commission's waist. You are playing with people but staying inside a protected shield," Islam ranted, "You are in the bubble but we will drag you out… I will drag him (referring to Kumar) from beneath the earth."
Physical action against the Election Commission – over the SIR issue – has been talked up by other Trinamool leaders too, including Abhishek Banerjee, Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee's nephew and the party's No 2. In October Banerjee called for a no-holds barred battle against BJP leaders intervening in the voter re-verification drive. "If local BJP leaders enter… gherao them and ask them to show their father's and grandfather's certificate…" Banerjee told party workers.
Islam's gross comments drew an immediate response from the Congress' Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury, who criticised Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee for a 'breakdown in governance'.
“Everything is happening on Mamata Banerjee's direct instructions," he claimed, alleging focus on issues like education, health, jobs, and industries had been sidelined ahead of the election.
“There is no discussion on people's problems… only political intimidation. The Chief Minister has created an atmosphere where SIR alone is being projected as deciding people's fates."
As an aside, Chowdhury's snapback underlines friction between the Trinamool and Congress in the months leading up to an election for which, on paper, the two parties are allies. They are part of the INDIA bloc but have never seen eye-to-eye on any issue, including election seat-sharing.
The Trinamool leader's remarks came days after violence in his constituency; vandals targeted the workplace of the BDO, or block development officer. The mob, which the BJP's Amit Malviya said was engineered by Islam, was protesting "harassment" of voters during the re-verification exercise, which has included demanding additional details from already registered voters.
The EC's voter re-verification drive has become a major flashpoint between the Trinamool, the poll body, and the BJP, with the Supreme Court also involved. The Trinamool has alleged the SIR is a ploy to delete lakhs of legitimate voters, particularly those who might for vote for it, while the EC has said SIR drives are part of its mandate as delivered by the Constitution.
With input from agencies
