LS polls: RS Prasad urges EC to deploy paramilitary forces in WB citing rising instances of 'undemocratic activities'

Union Minister Ravi Shankar Prasad on Monday urged the Election Commission (EC) to deploy paramilitary forces in all the constituencies of West Bengal ahead of the upcoming Lok Sabha elections.

"West Bengal has a record of violent elections. They engage in all kinds of 'undemocratic activities', starting from the murder of a BJP party worker, to not giving permission to candidates for public meetings. In my representation today, I have requested EC to deploy paramilitary forces at all the 42 constituencies in the state," Prasad told reporters here after meeting with EC officials.

In the memorandum submitted to the EC, the BJP stated that violence "continues to brew" as if "law and order never existed," while claiming that BJP workers are threatened and intimidated.

The BJP mentioned that 'tainted officers' such as the likes of former Kolkata police commissioner Rajeev Kumar must not be allowed to participate in the election mechanism.

Prasad also said the BJP has asked the EC to ensure that henious criminals leave the state and "not just their mere constituencies."

The poll for West Bengal's 42 Lok Sabha seats will be held in seven phases from April 11 to May 19. The counting of votes will take place on May 23.

Speaking on the issue of removal of 687 pages by Facebook on Monday, Prasad said: "Today a very historical development has taken place. Owners of those accounts were not known. It was fake. It was used to spread falsehood against Narendra Modi government. When inquiry was done, it was found that those individuals were linked to Congress IT cell."

He added, "Facebook has also removed 180 pages of ISI which were spreading misinformation with fake news in Pakistan. What is happening in India and in Pakistan, the investigation showed that. Congress is desperate, therefore, resorting to these types of dubious means to garner support. However, people are confident after seeing the performance of the Narendra Modi government."

Earlier in the day, Facebook Inc announced that it is removing 687 pages and accounts linked to the Congress party for "coordinated inauthentic behaviour", merely two weeks ahead of the commencement of polling in the country.