Inappropriate stance by TMC creating obstacles, Calcutta HC allows to accept nomination through Whatsapp

Kolkata, April 25: Swaying the wave of the upcoming West Bengal Panchayat Election, tension is mounting, creating a pre-poll violence in the state. The filing of fresh nominations for panchayat elections in West Bengal happened on Monday amid allegations of violence leveled by opposition parties against "goons" of the ruling Trinamool Congress. In this regard the Calcutta High Court has asked the State Election Commission to accept candidature of nine candidates through Whatsapp.

 

Union Minister Babul Supriyo was apparently stopped from entering the Barabani block office in Asansol. The Union Minister was accompanying a BJP candidate who was filing his nomination for the upcoming Panchayat polls. Moments after the minister was denied entry, another incident of violence was reported in Asansol.

 

With only a few days left for the West Bengal Panchayat polls, reports of fresh violence have surfaced from another part of the State, as workers of Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and Trinamool Congress (TMC) lashed in the State's Birbhum district.

Sighting the pre election violence commenced in the state the Calcutta HC has directed the State Election Commission to accept nominations from the members who had failed to submit their nomination papers physically. So it had been managed to send them via WhatsApp to the Bhangar-II block development officer.

Justice Subrata Talukdar then ordered that the SEC should treat the nominations sent on WhatsApp “as valid nomination papers”. The matter will be heard again on April 30, two days after the last day of withdrawal.

The dates for the polls, which were earlier scheduled to be held on May 1, 3 and 5, are yet to be announced by the commission. The nominations received today would be scrutinised on April 25. The last date for the withdrawal of candidature is April 28.