KOLKATA: The Election Commission of India on Thursday directed the district magistrate (DM) and the District Electoral Officer (DEO) of West Bengal's Murshidabad district to file an FIR against ruling Trinamool Congress MLA Manirul Islam.
The action follows allegations that Manirul led vandalism inside the office of the Block Development Officer (BDO) in Farakka on 14 January.
The incident allegedly took place during hearings linked to the ongoing Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls in the state.
The ECI in its directives also asked the DEO to submit an action-taken-report in connection with the FIR against the legislator by this evening.
While reacting to the ECI directive Manirul told the media, “Law will take its own course.”
Anger over the alleged harassment of voters due to the contentious SIR and the claimed “bias” in the exercise erupted at the Farakka BDO office about a week ago.
The BDO office witnessed protests by around 100 booth-level officers who had submitted their resignations.
They were protesting what they described as the Commission’s “arbitrary, frequently changing instructions”, which they said had made their work “unmanageable”.
Amid protests by booth-level officers and some aggrieved residents outside the BDO office, a group of TMC supporters, allegedly led by Manirul Islam, stormed the building.
The office also houses a designated SIR hearing centre. The group reportedly damaged furniture and scattered files, officials said.
The unrest unfolded even as hearings to address logical discrepancies in voter data flagged by the EC continued, turning the electoral roll revision exercise into a growing test of public patience.
The TMC legislator had termed the process discriminatory.
"Objections are being raised for Rahim but not for Ram. The EC cannot divide voters by religion," he said.
Farakka BDO Junaid Ahmed had filed a complaint for obstruction of work and damage to property.
Murshidabad DM Nitin Singhania has ordered a departmental inquiry.
“The national poll body has taken proper steps against the MLA. The ECI action proved that the state government has been supporting such type of disruptive activities unleashing vandalism in hearing centres to stop the SIR exercise,” BJP leader Rahul Sinha said.
“Manirul is making provocative statements against the Commission even after leading the vandalism in the BDO office. But no action has been taken against by the state administration. We welcome the Election Commission’s move,” former Bengal BJP president said.