By ANI
KOLKATA: West Bengal Governor C.V. Ananda Bose on Friday visited Bhangar in South 24 Parganas district, the epicentre of the recent violent clashes over the nomination for the July 8 panchayat elections.
Just an hour before the Governor reached the violence-hit area, the police recovered seven bags full of crude bombs.
#WATCH | West Bengal Police recover bomb-making material in Bhangar, South 24 Paraganas, following recent violence during nominations for Panchayat elections pic.twitter.com/3TJD0gFN8B
— ANI (@ANI) June 16, 2023
Bose first reached the Block Development Office of Bhangar Block-II, which was the epicentre of the clashes on Thursday that killed three people. He was seen interacting with the local people, who described the situations that prevailed in the region for the last couple of days.
Reacting over the violence in West Bengal during the filing of nomination for Panchayat elections in the state, Governor CV Ananda Bose on Thursday said that “effective and corrective” action will be taken against those responsible.
“No words, only action. Wait and watch. You will see effective action, concrete action. That is all I can say now,” he said while speaking to ANI.
Earlier, the Governor had issued a strongly worded statement condemning the massive violence during the nomination phase.
“Shocked to hear that the death toll in pre-election in Bengal is increasing. It is revolting that the media is also under attack by the hooligans. Victory in Elections should depend on the count of votes not the count of dead bodies,” the Bengal Governor said in a statement.
He added, “When the fourth estate is under attack it means democracy is under attack. It means the common man is under attack. It means the Constitution is under attack. It means the new generation is under attack”.
The Bengal Governor said that the violence will be eradicated from the state and miscreants will be shown their place behind bars.
“At any cost, violence will be eradicated and made the first casualty of this Panchayat Elections. No one, howsoever high & mighty they fancy themselves to be, will be allowed to take the law in their hands,” the Governor stated.
He added, “Bengal is committed to protecting the right of the common man for freedom and peace in society, at the time when elections to the local bodies are about to take place. Miscreants and those who flaunt muscle power will be brought to book and shown their due place behind bars”.
Governor Bose further requested all the political parties and the people of Bengal to stand united and defend democracy in the state.
#WATCH | I interacted with the victims of violence and locals. I can assure the people of Bengal that violence will be the first victim in this election. The perpetrators of violence will be silenced in a permanent way under the Constitution and law of the land. Peace-loving… pic.twitter.com/U0XKioj77g
— ANI (@ANI) June 16, 2023
The final day of filing nominations witnessed continued clashes across various parts of the state, including an outbreak of violence at the Block Development Office in Birbhum’s Ahmadpur, where crude bombs were reportedly thrown. However, as per the officials, no casualties have been reported in the incident.
Moreover, a division bench of Calcutta High Court, led by Chief Justice TS Sivagnanam, on Thursday directed the election commission in West Bengal to request the deployment of central paramilitary forces in all districts of the state within the next 48 hours, ahead of the upcoming panchayat elections in the state.
In an effort to maintain order, heavy security deployment has been made in the South 24 Parganas district. Tension and unease prevailed in several areas, particularly the Bhangar block, where clashes between supporters of the ruling TMC and Naushad Siddiqui-led Indian Secular Front (ISF) have been going on for over the past two days.
The Panchayat elections in West Bengal will be held in a single phase on July 8, with the counting of votes scheduled for July 11.
The panchayat polls in West Bengal are likely to see a fierce contest between the BJP and the ruling Trinamool Congress being touted as a litmus test for both parties ahead of next year’s Lok Sabha elections.
Of the five deaths, three were reported from Bhangar and two from Murshidabad district.
#WATCH | West Bengal Governor C.V. Ananda Bose in Bhangar, South 24 Paraganas to assess the impact of recent violence during nominations for panchayat elections pic.twitter.com/rVOdt8HSB6
— ANI (@ANI) June 16, 2023
“This game of ‘Shaitan’ should end, will end. The beginning of the end will be in West Bengal,” the Governor had said.
In response, Trinamool Congress state spokesman Kunal Ghosh said such comments from the Governor based on certain stray incidents are totally unwarranted.
“On what basis does the Governor say such things? He never speaks of the situations in Manipur and Uttar Pradesh. Even though he is the Governor of West Bengal, he could have issued a Twitter message over the situation there as an Indian citizen,” Ghosh said.
(with inputs from IANS)
KOLKATA: West Bengal Governor C.V. Ananda Bose on Friday visited Bhangar in South 24 Parganas district, the epicentre of the recent violent clashes over the nomination for the July 8 panchayat elections.
Just an hour before the Governor reached the violence-hit area, the police recovered seven bags full of crude bombs.
#WATCH | West Bengal Police recover bomb-making material in Bhangar, South 24 Paraganas, following recent violence during nominations for Panchayat elections pic.twitter.com/3TJD0gFN8Bgoogletag.cmd.push(function() {googletag.display(‘div-gpt-ad-8052921-2’); });
— ANI (@ANI) June 16, 2023
Bose first reached the Block Development Office of Bhangar Block-II, which was the epicentre of the clashes on Thursday that killed three people. He was seen interacting with the local people, who described the situations that prevailed in the region for the last couple of days.
Reacting over the violence in West Bengal during the filing of nomination for Panchayat elections in the state, Governor CV Ananda Bose on Thursday said that “effective and corrective” action will be taken against those responsible.
“No words, only action. Wait and watch. You will see effective action, concrete action. That is all I can say now,” he said while speaking to ANI.
Earlier, the Governor had issued a strongly worded statement condemning the massive violence during the nomination phase.
“Shocked to hear that the death toll in pre-election in Bengal is increasing. It is revolting that the media is also under attack by the hooligans. Victory in Elections should depend on the count of votes not the count of dead bodies,” the Bengal Governor said in a statement.
He added, “When the fourth estate is under attack it means democracy is under attack. It means the common man is under attack. It means the Constitution is under attack. It means the new generation is under attack”.
The Bengal Governor said that the violence will be eradicated from the state and miscreants will be shown their place behind bars.
“At any cost, violence will be eradicated and made the first casualty of this Panchayat Elections. No one, howsoever high & mighty they fancy themselves to be, will be allowed to take the law in their hands,” the Governor stated.
He added, “Bengal is committed to protecting the right of the common man for freedom and peace in society, at the time when elections to the local bodies are about to take place. Miscreants and those who flaunt muscle power will be brought to book and shown their due place behind bars”.
Governor Bose further requested all the political parties and the people of Bengal to stand united and defend democracy in the state.
#WATCH | I interacted with the victims of violence and locals. I can assure the people of Bengal that violence will be the first victim in this election. The perpetrators of violence will be silenced in a permanent way under the Constitution and law of the land. Peace-loving… pic.twitter.com/U0XKioj77g
— ANI (@ANI) June 16, 2023
The final day of filing nominations witnessed continued clashes across various parts of the state, including an outbreak of violence at the Block Development Office in Birbhum’s Ahmadpur, where crude bombs were reportedly thrown. However, as per the officials, no casualties have been reported in the incident.
Moreover, a division bench of Calcutta High Court, led by Chief Justice TS Sivagnanam, on Thursday directed the election commission in West Bengal to request the deployment of central paramilitary forces in all districts of the state within the next 48 hours, ahead of the upcoming panchayat elections in the state.
In an effort to maintain order, heavy security deployment has been made in the South 24 Parganas district. Tension and unease prevailed in several areas, particularly the Bhangar block, where clashes between supporters of the ruling TMC and Naushad Siddiqui-led Indian Secular Front (ISF) have been going on for over the past two days.
The Panchayat elections in West Bengal will be held in a single phase on July 8, with the counting of votes scheduled for July 11.
The panchayat polls in West Bengal are likely to see a fierce contest between the BJP and the ruling Trinamool Congress being touted as a litmus test for both parties ahead of next year’s Lok Sabha elections.
Of the five deaths, three were reported from Bhangar and two from Murshidabad district.
#WATCH | West Bengal Governor C.V. Ananda Bose in Bhangar, South 24 Paraganas to assess the impact of recent violence during nominations for panchayat elections pic.twitter.com/rVOdt8HSB6
— ANI (@ANI) June 16, 2023
“This game of ‘Shaitan’ should end, will end. The beginning of the end will be in West Bengal,” the Governor had said.
In response, Trinamool Congress state spokesman Kunal Ghosh said such comments from the Governor based on certain stray incidents are totally unwarranted.
“On what basis does the Governor say such things? He never speaks of the situations in Manipur and Uttar Pradesh. Even though he is the Governor of West Bengal, he could have issued a Twitter message over the situation there as an Indian citizen,” Ghosh said.
(with inputs from IANS)
