TMC trying to implicate Cong leaders ahead of bypoll: Adhir Ranjan writes to EC
Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury accused the TMC government in West Bengal of trying to falsely implicate the Congress candidate and a local leader ahead of the February 27 Sagardighi assembly bypoll
Congress leader in the Lok Sabha and the party’s West Bengal unit chief Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury on Thursday accused the Trinamool Congress government in the state of trying to falsely implicate the Congress candidate and a local leader ahead of the February 27 Sagardighi assembly bypoll and wrote to the Election Commission of India (ECI) seeking its immediate attention in the matter.
The West Bengal police on February 17 arrested Sagardighi Congress block leader Saidur Rahman in a rape case and the Calcutta high court granted him interim bail on Wednesday with Chowdhury signing the surety bond for him. Saidul’s wife Shahnaz Bibi had moved the high court against his arrest, stating that he was arrested without a preliminary investigation.
Chowdhury, in his letter to Chief Election Commissioner, Rajiv Kumar, alleged that the state police was also trying to lodge a false and “politically driven” case against Congress bypoll candidate Bairan Biswas.
“It is very unfortunate that the entire Police System in Bengal is working as the most powerful instrument in favour of the ruling party with an objective to dismantle and ruin the opposition parties in an undemocratic, unfair and illegal way,” Chowdhury said in the letter.
“Please ensure that a free and fair election is held in the Assembly Constituency and the Congress workers and candidate is prevented from being harassed by the local administration,” he added.
HT has reached out to the TMC for a comment. The story will be updated when the party reacts.
The Congress candidate has been accused of harassing a woman living in Howrah who has filed a complaint at the Sankrail police station in the district.
She said she had been in touch with Biswas for the past few years and alleged that he lured her promising to give employment opportunities and harassed her in various ways and threatened her of ‘dire consequences’ if she disclosed the harassment.
“I told Congress candidate Byron Biswas not to disturb me. But he didn’t listen to that and since February 18 this year he has been bothering me by calling me from different mobile numbers. and threatened me with vulgar language. At the same time, he told me that he would take strict action if I told this matter to anyone” the woman reported to the police.
The bypoll for the Sagardighi seat was necessitated following the death of sitting MLA and TMC leader Subrata Saha who died of cardiac arrest on December 29, 2022. The counting of votes for the Sagardighi seat will take place on March 2.