New Delhi, Apr 22 (PTI) Trinamool Congress leader Saket Gokhale on Wednesday alleged that the Election Commission issued “unofficial” instructions to arrest over 1,000 party leaders and workers under “preventive detention” ahead of the first phase of polling.
In a post on X, the former Rajya Sabha MP alleged a complete institutional breakdown, calling the elections “rigged”.
He accused CEC Gyanesh Kumar of issuing “unofficial” instructions to arrest over 1,000 Trinamool Congress leaders and workers in West Bengal under “preventive detention” before voting day.
“This list includes sitting MLAs. What’s interesting? Not a single BJP leader or worker on the list,” he claimed.
“In the last two weeks, ED, IT, and NIA have conducted dozens of raids in Bengal. What’s interesting? Not a single BJP leader or worker raided,” he said.
Gokhale added that Mamata Banerjee and TMC will win the election resoundingly.
“The question however is — can a country be called a democracy when the Election Commission becomes a slave of the ruling party at the Centre?” “Such elections happen in tinpot dictatorships. When there’s a complete institutional breakdown and when courts become mute spectators, how long are we going to pretend that all is ok?” he said.
When lakhs of people lose their right to vote and when elections are rigged, he continued, “What sort of a ‘mother of democracy’ are we pretending to be in front of the world?” A PIL was filed on Monday before the Calcutta High Court seeking its intervention over an alleged apprehension that several TMC workers and leaders may be arrested after their names were reportedly identified on directions of the Election Commission.
Polling in West Bengal Assembly elections is scheduled for April 23 and 29. PTI AO PRK
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