TMC depriving rural Bengal of democratic rights: FB

Condemns the authoritarian Trinamool Congress' confrontation with State Election Commission

As the deadlock continues over panchayat elections in West Bengal, Left Front partner Forward Bloc today decried the "authoritarian" Trinamool Congress' confrontation with the State Election Commission and accused it of robbing rural Bengal of its right to exercise democratic rights.

Forward Bloc general secretary Debabrata Biswas told reporters that the TMC government had entered into a patently "undesired and unprecedented" confrontation with the SEC over holding of the panchayat elections.

"The Trinamool Congress government is deliberately delaying pancahayat election. This clearly shows its anti-democratic and authoritarian attitude. The Trinamool regime is going into an unprecedented and undesired confrontation with the State Election Commission," Biswas noted.

The state government and the SEC are locked in a bitter fight over conduct of the election under supervision of central forces and the number of phases, with the former announcing that the elections will be held in two phases under the supervision of the state police only.

"During the Left regime too panchayat polls were held, but we had never witnessed such a situation. Actually in the last two years of the Trinamool regime, it didn't have any achievement to project and that is why it is creating such a controversy," Biswas observed.

Biswas also reminded TMC of its demand for central forces when panchayat polls were held during the Left regime.

"Has it forgotten that during its tenure in the Opposition, it too had made the demand for central forces. The state government must provide all necessary assistance to the SEC," he said.