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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Amit Shah reviews security along Indo-Pak border, airports with top officials
New Delhi (PTI): Home Minister Amit Shah on Friday reviewed the prevailing situation along India's border with Pakistan and airports in the country amid the military conflict between the two countries, sources said.
The meeting came hours after the Border Security Force said it has foiled an infiltration bid from across the International Border in Jammu, killing at least seven terrorists and destroying a Pakistan Rangers post.
Apart from reviewing the security situation along the India-Pakistan border, Shah also took stock of the steps taken to beef up security at airports across the country, the sources said.
While the BSF guards the India-Pakistan border, the Central Industrial Security Force (CISF) protects the airports in the country, Metro networks and other vital installations.
Those who attended the meeting included Union Home Secretary Govind Mohan, Director of Intelligence Bureau Tapan Deka, Directors General of the BSF, CISF and the Bureau of Civil Aviation Security.
There has been heightened tension between India and Pakistan following India's strike on multiple locations in Pakistan and Pakistan-occupied Kashmir on Wednesday and Pakistan's attempts to hit Indian military sites on Thursday, which were thwarted by the Indian armed forces.
