Stoking controversy, Birbhum district president of Trinamool Congress Anubrata Mondal has instructed party workers at a rally to file nominations for the panchayat polls and not allow others to do so.
"Remember CPI(M) is our enemy, Congress is our enemy. From Monday you will file nominations and you will not allow others to file nominations. If you have any problem call me immediately. I'll be with you," Mondal told a party rally at Rampurhat yesterday.
Two ministers, Nure Alam Chowdhury and Chandranath Sinha, party MP Satabdi Roy and party MLA Rampurhat Asish Banerjee were present in the meeting.
Mondal left the meeting without speaking to media, but later clarified over phone, "What I wanted to say was that in the last 34 years the CPI[M] had captured panchayats forcibly and did nothing for the people. They themselves should abstain from contesting the forthcoming elections."
District Congress President Syed Siraj Jimmi said, "We will lodge a complaint with the state election commission. It is a dangerous trend in democracy."
The CPI[M] also spoke on the same lines.