TMC moves court fearing arrests of workers ahead of polls
What's the story
The Trinamool Congress (TMC) has approached the Calcutta High Court, fearing that around 800 of its workers may be arrested before the upcoming West Bengal Assembly elections. The elections will be held in two phases, on April 23 and April 29. The party alleges that the Election Commission of India (ECI) has requested the names of these workers through the state police, as per The Indian Express.
Arrest allegations
TMC's plea in court
The TMC's petition, filed by advocate Md Danish Farooqi, was heard by a division bench of Chief Justice Sujoy Pal and Justice Parthasarathy Sen. Senior counsel Kalyan Banerjee represented the party in court. The plea claims that a list designating certain individuals as "trouble makers" has been secretly circulated among recently appointed Police and General Observers for election duties.
Political conspiracy
BJP using central agencies to arrest TMC workers: Banerjee
Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee alleged that she had specific information about planned crackdowns on her party workers. She claimed, "They have planned to arrest many of our party workers. I have the list. However, I will fight inch by inch. They have targeted only Trinamool Congress workers." Banerjee also accused the BJP of trying to disable her party's poll strategist, I-PAC, through central agencies.
Election integrity
Manipulating EVMs, tampering with vote counting: Banerjee alleges
Banerjee also alleged that central forces deployed for the elections have been assigned to manipulate Electronic Voting Machines (EVMs). She urged those present during the vote counting to remain vigilant against such attempts. The TMC's plea in court argues that this list has been secretly circulated among observers with an explicit directive to identify, locate, and arrest these individuals before polling begins.
Campaign criticism
Banerjee takes dig at PM Modi
Banerjee also took a dig at Prime Minister Narendra Modi for his recent campaign stunt in Jhargram, where he bought jhalmuri from a vendor. She questioned its authenticity, saying it was scripted. Further, she alleged harassment by central authorities when her helicopter was delayed after a campaign meeting in Murarai. She accused airport authorities of deliberately delaying her flight to Khardah for another campaign event.