Opposition trying to derail panchayat poll process: Mamata

West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee today slammed the Opposition for conspiring to prevent her government from holding panchayat polls on time and vowed that elections will be held at the appropriate time.
"Panchayat polls will be held at the appropriate time. Work for panchayats and 10O days' will not be hampered", she said at a party rally here without elaborating.
"We have been trying to hold panchayat elections in the state since last September. Who went to court? Those who will lose. The CPI(M), Congress and the BJP went to court," Banerjee said.
Banerjee said her government was well aware of the laws and will go by that.

"But we won't cave in before conspiracies of CPI(M) and Congress."
Without referring to the Calcutta High Court order, she said state Panchayat Minister Subrata Mukherjee had already said whatever the state government had to say.

Earlier today, Mukherjee said West Bengal government will appeal against the Calcutta High Court order upholding the primacy of the State Election Commission and asking it to provide names of 400 observers for panchayat polls by tomorrow.
"We will appeal against the order before a division bench as early as possible because it is unrealistic and will undermine the federal structure and the state's minimum powers," Mukherjee told reporters regarding the HC order.

The Calcutta High Court today upheld the primacy of the State Election Commission and directed that the panchayat elections be held in three phases with central police forces.