Kolkata, Jul 1 (PTI) Pledging to usher in panchayats “purged of thieves” in the coming rural poll in West Bengal in the event of a win by BJP, the party Saturday expressed apprehensions that there will be attempts at largescale rigging and violence by the ruling TMC on the voting day.
BJP state president Sukanta Majumdar releasing the BJP’s manifesto said the role of the State Election Commission (SEC), which conducts the rural polls, is not above suspicion as it was not found to be vigilant enough to curb incidents of violence in the run up to the July 8 election.
BJP, he said, will gift a ‘chor mukto panchayat’ system (panchayats purged of thieves) which will stop “siphoning off” of cut money in the implementation of central projects like Pradhan Mantri Awas Yojana, the PM’s project for farmers and MGNREGS and usher in a transparent administration.
“Wherever BJP is strong, our workers will play the role of central forces,” he said referring to reports that the SEC will not deploy central paramilitary forces in different polling booths where there is possibility of violence during votes.
He claimed that contrary to opinion polls telecast by some TV news channels, BJP will get the majority in higher number of zilla parishads, panchayats in both south and north Bengal if there was free and fair poll.
Asked to comment on BJP entering into a poll understanding with other opposition parties like the Congress and CPI(M), Majumdar said there is no formal alliance at the state level “though all of them are at the receiving end of TMC atrocities and terror”.
“We are ideologically apart from the Congress and CPI-M. No alliance has been formally announced but there can be some local level understandings in some pockets to defeat the TMC,” he said.
Elaborating on the manifesto, Majumdar said BJP will set up skill centers in different zilla parishad areas to train people so that they do not have to migrate to other states in search of jobs and set up krishi kalyan kendras in different blocks for the uplift of farmers.
“By one estimate, there are 45 lakh migrant workers in West Bengal as the state government failed to give them employment. The TMC has done nothing to improve their lot. BJP will impart skill training to them at the macro level if it wins in the panchayat polls,” Majumdar said.
When contacted, TMC deputy chief whip Tapas Roy told PTI that BJP’s manifesto for the rural poll bears little significance as the party stands no chance of winning.
BJP will lose in most of the panchayat and zilla parishad seats as it does not enjoy the people’s support, he claimed. Asked about apprehensions voiced by opposition parties, including BJP about non deployment of central forces during panchayat voting, Roy, who is also the state minister for planning and statistics, said “Why don’t they move the court? “They have also the governor to turn to,” he quipped.
West Bengal Governor CV Ananda Bose on Saturday visited the violence-hit areas of Dinhata in Cooch Behar district and met the family members of a man who was killed on June 27. He also visited a hospital in Cooch Behar where the injured in clashes are undergoing treatment.
Bose, who is on a trip to the northern districts of the state, also met the Union Minister of State for Home Affairs Nisith Pramanik in Cooch Behar and talked to panchayat election candidates and leaders of CPI(M), the Congress and BJP, who voiced their concern over the alleged incidents of violence in the district ahead of the rural poll. PTI SUS KK KK
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