Injury to Mamata Banerjee was due to accident : report by poll observers
Kolkata: The incident in Nandigram which caused injury to West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee was an accident and not a planned attack, according to the report of two poll observers submitted to the EC on Saturday.
The incident which took place at Birulia bazar in Nandigram in East Midnapore district on March 10 after Banerjee filed her nomination had taken place "suddenly" though a "conspiracy theory" was spoken about, the report prepared by special observer Ajay Nayak and special police observer Vivek Dubey to West Bengal for the state election stated, a source at the CEO office said.
The report also said Banerjee was injured due to the suddenness of the incident.
"The incident was not a planned attack but an accident. It had taken place suddenly", the source said quoting the report.
About the injury to Banerjee, who is also the TMC supremo, in the incident, the report also said that "the suddenness of the incident led to it. "There was no conspiracy behind the incident."
The report took into account the details provided by eye witnesses present during the incident as well as the video grabs collected from them.
It also referred to the failure of the police personnel in-charge of the chief minister's security in controlling the crowd which came "too close" to her.
"The local police and CM's security failed to control the crowd and that led to the untoward situation," the source said referring to the report.
Following the Nandigram incident, state ADG (Law and Order) and nodal officer Jagmohan on Saturday directed all district administrations to arrange for the strictest security measures for the chief minister during her tours for campaigning in the districts for the eight-phase poll beginning on March 27.
"Security measures should be stringent for the CM.
Security for other star campaigners must be tightened. We cannot take any chance after the Nandigram incident," the source at the CEO said quoting Jagmohan.
According to another official at the office of the CEO the two observers may visit South 24 Parganas, Howrah and Hooghly districts starting March 18.
"The two observers will meet senior officials of the district administrations and supervise the poll preparedness," he said.
Meanwhile, state chief secretary Alapan Bandyopadhyay in a reply to the EC for a detailed report stated that the cause of the incident at Nandigram was "not clear from the video grab" collected from the place.
A second report was submitted on Saturday evening after the EC called the one submitted on Friday by the state administration "sketchy" and asked the state administration to furnish a detailed one.
"The CM's vehicle was passing through a crowded area.
It was then that there was a push on the door of her car. But it's not clear whether the push was deliberate or not. The video grabs collected are not very clear," a source at the CEO said quoting Bandopadhyay's second report.
The chief secretary was learnt to have attached one video grab along with the report, he added.
The EC had sought reports from the state government as well as the two observers on the incident. The state administration had submitted its report on Friday.
Election to the 294 assembly seats in West Bengal will be held between March 27 and April 29. Votes will be counted on May 2.
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BJP worker’s 16-year-old son allegedly casts eight votes in Uttar Pradesh’s Farrukhabad; Video viral
Lucknow (Farrukhabad): A viral video has surfaced showing a 16-year-old son of a BJP worker allegedly casting eight votes to the saffron party during the ongoing general elections in Uttar Pradesh. The video has sparked controversy, and the opposition has urged for prompt action from the Election Commission of India, reports scroll.in.
The video shared by the Samajwadi Party President Akhilesh Yadav on micro-blogging site ‘X’, showed the youngster recording himself while casting multiple times in a series of instances. The incident reportedly took place in Khiri Pamaran village, which falls under the Aliganj Assembly constituency within the Farrukhabad parliamentary seat. Mukesh Rajput, the sitting MP, is the BJP candidate in this constituency. Polling in Farrukhabad occurred on May 13 during the fourth phase of the general election.
In the viral video, the youngster is seen casting eight votes in total, all for the BJP, one by one with different clippings.
The youngster in the video has been identified as Rajan Singh Thakur, confirmed his father, Anil Singh Thakur to the Scroll.in. Anil Singh Thakur is the gram pradhan (village head) of Khiri Pamaran and a member of the BJP.
Anil defending his son told the Scroll that the ‘Video misrepresented his son,’ and claimed that the voting was done when the machine was being tested in some instances and other clipping of him voting on behalf of mentally and physically disabled voters was merged and made into a video.
Despite the Anil's caims, the video has drawn significant criticism. Subhash Chandra Prajapati, the additional district magistrate of Farrukhabad, confirmed to the Scroll that the administration will file a case soon. He mentioned that the returning officer is investigating the matter following a directive from the chief electoral officer in Lucknow.
The opposition has been vocal in its criticism, with Akhilesh Yadav demanding action from the Election Commission. In his social media post, Yadav accused the BJP of undermining the electoral process and described the party's booth committee as a "loot committee." The Congress party also called on the Election Commission to take action, in a ‘X’ post the party wrote, “Dear Election Commission…are you watching..a boy is voting 8-8 times ... .at least wake up now.”
Congress leader Rahul Gandhi, took to ‘X’ to express, “Fearing and seeing their defeat, the BJP is attempting to undermine democracy by pressuring government machinery to deny the mandate. The Congress expects all officers performing election duties to remember their constitutional responsibilities despite any pressure from those in power. Otherwise, once the Indian National Developmental Inclusive Alliance (INDIA) bloc government is formed, actions will be taken to ensure that anyone will think ten times before violating their 'Oath to the Constitution'."
Following the video's circulation, Naval Kishor Shakya, the Samajwadi Party candidate in Farrukhabad, filed a complaint with the district election officer. Shakya's complaint alleges that Rajan Singh Thakur cast votes after snatching voter information slips from other voters and that he was assisted by Dinesh Thakur, the local police station's station house officer. Shakya has called for re-polling at the affected polling center.
In a related incident earlier in May, Gujarat Police arrested two BJP workers for allegedly casting bogus votes and live-streaming the act on social media in the Dahod constituency. The Election Commission conducted re-polling at the affected booth following the incident.
The opposition INDIA bloc, including the Congress and the Samajwadi Party, has repeatedly accused the Election Commission of failing to take prompt action against election model code of conduct violations.
अपनी हार सामने देख कर भाजपा जनादेश को झुठलाने के लिए सरकारी तंत्र पर दबाव बना कर लोकतंत्र को लूटना चाहती है।
— Rahul Gandhi (@RahulGandhi) May 19, 2024
कांग्रेस चुनावी ड्यूटी कर रहे सभी अधिकारियों से यह अपेक्षा करती है कि वो सत्ता के दबाव के सामने अपनी संवैधानिक ज़िम्मेदारी न भूलें।
वरना INDIA की सरकार बनते ही ऐसी… https://t.co/fk4wXL8QZy
