Kolkata . Trinamool Congress has filed a complaint with the Election Commission of India alleging that Bharatiya Janata Party leader Subhendu Adhikari has violated the Model Code of Conduct (MCC) by making communal remarks during an election rally regarding the Taldangra Assembly constituency by-election. By-elections will be held in six assembly constituencies in West Bengal on November 13, necessitated by the resignation of sitting MLAs from the six constituencies following their victories in this year’s Lok Sabha elections. In a complaint letter to the Chief Electoral Officer of West Bengal, Trinamool alleged that leader of opposition in the state assembly, Subhendu Adhikari, made “provocative and communal remarks” in violation of the model code of conduct.
Trinamool sought immediate intervention of the Election Commission of India to take appropriate punitive action including strict ban on Subhendu Adhikari and BJP as a party political party for the blatant violation of the Model Code of Conduct. The party said a three-member Trinamool Congress delegation submitted the complaint, along with excerpts of the alleged comments made by the officer, to the West Bengal CEO office on Monday.
The delegation included Trinamool leaders Kunal Ghosh, Shashi Panja and Jai Prakash Majumdar. The ruling party in West Bengal claimed that Adhikari, in his speech on November 9 for the by-election to Taldangra constituency in Bankura district, targeted the All India Trinamool Congress (AITC), the party’s Rajya Sabha member Sameerul Islam and neighboring country Bangladesh.
The letter claimed that the BJP leader said in his speech, “Have you seen the pictures of Bangladesh? They have destroyed 596 temples. What atrocities were committed against Hindus and tribals? They (AITC) want to make West Bengal another Bangladesh.” He said such statements are not only unacceptable in line with India’s democratic norms, but are also baseless and highly communal in nature. Trinamool urged the Election Commission of India to issue “immediate strict instructions to the party” to stop the BJP from committing any violation of the model code of conduct.
