Doubtful if Trinamool government can hold peaceful panchayat polls: Union Minister
Kolkata, April 15: Union Minister Arjun Ram Meghwal on Sunday decried the violence centred around submission of nominations for the upcoming West Bengal panchayat elections, saying it was doubtful if the Trinamool Congress government could hold peaceful polls.
"The developments with regard to the Panchayat polls in Bengal cannot be part of the democratic tradition. Violence should not take place in the run-up to the polls," he said on the sidelines of a programme here.
Iterating that in a democracy, every election down to the municipality of panchayat level should be held peacefully, the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leader expressed doubts over whether the state government had the capability to conduct a violence-free poll.
"How can we say the state government had the capability to tackle the situation and conduct peaceful polls, after seeing the images and getting to know whatever is happeing?" he said in reply to a question.
The Calcutta High Court has halted the panchayat poll procedure on a petition filed by the BJP. Other opposition parties - the Left and the Congress - have also approached the judiciary accusing the ruling Trinamool of unleashing massive pre-poll violence on their party workers over the filing of nominations for the rural polls since the process began on April 2.
They also accused the State Election Commission of acting like a puppet of the state ruling party after it withdraw its order of extending the nomination process by a day, within a few hours of issuing it.
The panchayat elections are scheduled for May 1, 3 and 5, while the counting of votes is due on May 8.
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CM invites Obama to attend centenary celebration of Gandhi taking over as President of INC session
Haveri (Karnataka) (PTI): Karnataka Chief Minister Siddaramaiah has written to former US President Barack Obama, extending him an invitation to an event to mark the centenary celebration of Mahatma Gandhi taking over as the President of the Indian National Congress session in Belagavi in the State.
The 39th session of the INC held at the district headquarters town of Belagavi in 1924 was the only Congress session presided over by Mahatma Gandhi.
"I have written a letter (to Obama)....it is hundred years since Mahatma Gandhi became the President of the Belagavi Congress session. So I have invited him (for an event to commemorate it)," Siddaramaiah told reporters here on Tuesday.
According to official sources, it has been decided to hold a joint session of the legislature in Belagavi to mark the occasion and Obama has been invited to it.
"Based on the dates he (Obama) gives, the joint session schedule will be decided," an official added.
On October 2, during a Gandhi Jayanti event, Law and Parliamentary Affairs Minister H K Patil, who is also the head of the committee formed for the centenary celebrations, had said that the Congress government was planning to invite Obama to an such event planned in December.
Siddaramaiah had in his independence day speech on August 15 said the state government will take all necessary measures to commemorate the centenary of the Belagavi session of the INC this year in a memorable and meaningful way.
