The Trinamool Congress-run Kolkata Municipal Corporation (KMC) has denied permission to the state Congress to hold a workers’ meeting at the Park Circus ground here, citing violation of Model Code of Conduct.
“According to election rules, the government-owned properties cannot be used for poll campaigns. As such, our decision will be communicated to the state Congress,” said KMC Mayor Sobhandeb Chatterjee.
The proposed meeting was to be addressed by Congress vice-president Rahul Gandhi.
West Bengal Congress president and Union Minister of State Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury had on March 18 written to the Mayor, seeking permission to hold meetings at the Park Circus ground, which is under the KMC’s supervision, for three days from March 25. The meeting was to be held from 10 am to 5 pm. State Congress general secretary Maya Ghosh then sent him another letter, saying Rahul would address the proposed meeting and asking the mayor to confirm his approval. The mayor, however, hurriedly held a meeting and decided not to grant the permission.
The move has apparently provoked Chowdhury, who came down heavily on Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee. According to Congress leaders, the ground in Medinipur where the TMC held a meeting with film stars Dev and Sandhya Ray, their Lok Sabha poll nominees, was under the jurisdiction of state sports department. The CM had on Wednesday held a meeting at a sports department ground in Malda district, they pointed out.
Mamata is also all set to hold on Friday a workers’ meeting at a private ground at Madhyamgram in North 24 Parganas district, while the Left Front was denied permission to hold a meeting at the same ground on March 23. Opposition parties are wondering how could election rules be enforced differently for different political parties. Justifying his decision, KMC Mayor said: “The Election Commission guidelines clearly states that poll meetings cannot be held on the government properties. Moreover, state board exams are on.”
Chowdhury, however, countered the mayor’s argument. “There was only one exam in a nearby institution. We would have started the meeting after it was over.”