Kolkata, Jul 8 (PTI) West Bengal Governor Dr C V Ananda Bose on Saturday condemned the incidents of violence across the state during the panchayat polls and described the situation as “very, very disturbing”.
Bose, who visited different places in North and South 24 Parganas districts during the day, said that ‘Peace Home’ at the Raj Bhavan to address complaints of the common people would continue to function.
“What I have seen in the field is very disturbing. There is violence, murder, and intimidation. One thing I noticed is that it is the poor who are getting killed. Leaders are not there. So, who is driving them? They should kill poverty instead of trying to kill the poor. This is very very disturbing. This is not what Bengal wants or deserves. This is very disturbing that the lack of peace in society will affect the new generation,” Bose told reporters after returning to the Raj Bhavan in the evening.
“We should establish peace at any cost. The initiative, which I have started at the Raj Bhavan, is not meant for election alone. It’s going to be a continuous exercise. We should work together to see that peace and harmony are reestablished in society,” he said.
Violence rocked West Bengal’s rural polls as voting ended on Saturday, leaving 12 people dead, ballot boxes vandalised and bombs hurled at rivals in a number of villages.
The governor said that he would send a report on his experience of the panchayat election to the “concerned authority”.
Asked whether his report would contain any recommendation for action, Bose said, “I will do what the governor does.” Earlier in the day, Bose visited the residence of a person who was injured in a bomb attack in North 24 Parganas’ Barasat-I subdivision.
After interacting with the family members of the injured at Pirgachha, Bose went to the hospital in Barasat where the person is undergoing treatment and talked to doctors, an official said.
“The governor then arranged for the shifting of the person to Kolkata-based RG Kar Medical College and Hospital. He also took stock of the situation and enquired about polling,” the official told PTI.
Bose, who was supposed to travel to Nadia district, was stopped near Basudebpur on Kalyani Expressway by supporters of the BJP and CPI(M), who complained about “vote looting” and urged him to take action.
He tried to contact officials of the state election commission and police but could not succeed because of mobile connectivity issues, the official said.
“The governor later stopped at a rest house at Kamarhati from where he called officials to take stock of the situation,” he said.
After returning to Raj Bhavan, Bose said he is likely to go out again and pay surprise visits to different panchayat areas.
Bose had, on Friday, urged the people of rural Bengal to exercise their franchise in the panchayat elections without fail and said he would be on the streets along with his team during the polling. PTI SCH BDC
This report is auto-generated from PTI news service. ThePrint holds no responsibility for its content.