 "Buddhadeb accuses Mamata of declaring war against EC")
Former West Bengal chief minister Buddhadeb Bhattacharjee Friday accused his successor and Trinamool Congress supremo Mamata Banerjee of declaring an "all-out war" against the Election Commission (EC).
Admitting that the state's erstwhile Left Front government too had its share of differences with the poll panel, Bhattacharjee said Banerjee's relentless attack and public outbursts against the commission were unprecedented.
"We too had our differences, but we never declared a war against the EC. It is unheard of, the way she has been attacking the EC, the language she has been using, her body language," the veteran Marxist leader said.
With the EC compelling the Bengal government to twice remove several officials and policemen from poll duty, Banerjee has led a no holds barred attack on the panel, accusing it of colluding with the Congress, the BJP and the CPI-M to ensure the Trinamool's defeat in the polls.
"She did not even hesitate to accuse a senior official of criminal charges. How can she launch such an attack on another constitutional body? It is unheard of and I don't know how it is being allowed to happen," said the CPI-M politburo member.
He was referring to Banerjee's claim where she accused Deputy Election Commissioner Vinod Zutshi of being involved in a scam in Rajasthan and sought his removal from the poll panel.
Bhattacharjee also attacked Banerjee for her recent comments at a public rally where she claimed that some "CPI-M and Congress leaders draw up the transfer list of Bengal officers at the residence of Congress chief Sonia Gandhi's political secretary Ahmed Patel".
The CPI-M leader expressed satisfaction over the EC's performance in the state during the Lok Sabha election.
"We are satisfied by EC's performance, they are doing a good job. However, it would have been better if there were more central security forces. But at the same time, we don't have any complaint regarding the deployment of central forces," he added.
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