KOLKATA: West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee on Saturday shared WhatsApp messages allegedly sent by some poll panel officials to certain police personnel, asking them to detain Trinamool Congress workers who were branded as “trouble makers”. Mamata said she has gathered enough evidence to prove that Election Commission officials are in cahoots with the BJP. “In the WhatsApp messages, these election observers have described Trinamool Congress party workers as trouble mongers. I have seen the message exchanged between them and some police officers,” she said.
“Some of our district magistrates and superintendents of police are crossing their limits. Are they echoing the BJP? I will not say anything now. After the polls, I will take up the issue,’’ Mamata said in Bolpur.
The Trinamool Congress supremo said her next move would be to knock on the door of the Supreme Court ‘’I will move the Supreme Court seeking its intervention. Retired people are being sent as observers. This set of retired persons are issuing orders to serving officers,’’ she alleged.
Accusing the BJP of being ‘’power-hungry’’ and criticising the Commission’s decision not to club the final three phases of the Assembly elections in the state, she said the Centre was aware that the Covid situation would worsen in January but did not take any steps.
“Instead, the Centre went ahead with eight-phase to satisfy their lust for power,’’ she alleged. Alleging that the police is also working at the behest of the BJP, she said many TMC workers were picked up from their houses on the morning of the sixth phase of the elections, and they were detained for the entire day.“This was done to ensure the BJP’s victory. Even after adopting all these methods, BJP will not be able to bag more than 70 seats. The CPI(M)-Congress together can hardly get 20-22 seats. Nobody can stop the TMC,’’ Mamata said.