Trinamool Mahila Congress rally demands 'impartial' poll panel

In a bid to increase pressure on the West Bengal State Election Commission, hundreds of activists of the Trinamool Mahila Congress Monday took out a rally in the heart of the city demanding it carry out its duties for the coming panchayat polls "impartially".

Carrying banners demanding "impartiality" on the part of the SEC, the activists marched from the Birla Planetarium till they were stopped by police.

"We want impartial panchayat election," said Mahila Congress chief and state Law Minister Chandrima Bhattacharya.

Later, a Trinamool Mahila Congress delegation submitted a memorandum to the Commission asking for solving all tangles regarding the upcoming polls through discussions and not through the legal process.

Following a bitter legal battle, the commission and the state government had concurred on the schedule of the three-phase elections for 17 districts to be held July 2, 6 and 9.

However, the SEC and the state government has now been locked over the number of security personnel to be deployed for the polls.

While the SEC has been asking the government for making available the number of security personnel as per the Calcutta High Court directive, Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee Monday said her government had not been able to make arrangements for so many personnel.