Mamata Banerjee demands withdrawal of central forces who may be infected with COVID-19

West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee on Monday demanded withdrawal of central forces in the next phase of polling in a bid to contain Covid spread in the state while welcoming Madras High Courts observations that the Election Commission could not avoid blame for the spread of pandemicShe also accused the prime minister of insensitivity alleging while mass pyres were lit at crematoriums Prime Minister Narendra Modi was busy delivering speechesI welcome the Madras High Court order which clearly said the EC cannot escape its responsibility Both Prime Minister Modi and EC are responsible for the current situation of Covid spreading in the state Banerjee alleged at a workers meeting in North Kolkata where party candidates and workers were presentWhile mass pyres were lit at crematoriums Modi was busy delivering Mann ki baat speeches the chief minister claimed Earlier on Monday Madras High Court had lashed out at the Election Commission over the conduct of assembly polls amid the ongoing COVID19 pandemicA bench comprising Chief Justice Sanjib Banerjee and Justice S Ramamoorthy termed the EC as most irresponsible while hearing a public interest writ seeking directions to ensure fair counting of votes on May 2 in Karur by taking steps to ensure adherence to Covid19 protocolsI am requesting please withdraw the around 2 lakh strong central forces drawn from covidhit states who are camping in schools and colleges and safe homes hampering covid management operations 75 per cent of them may be infected by the virus Please withdraw them in the last phase she saidBanerjee said the Trinamool Congress will move the Supreme Court after the elections against the EC on the manner in which the body was conducting polls in West Bengal We will tell Supreme Court The EC did not club the poll phases despite the spike in Covid19 cases she saidThe number of confirmed Covid cases in West Bengal has risen from 81466 on April 1 to over 352 lakh on April 25The chief minister claimed BJP influenced the eight phase vote schedule drawn up by EC and that the schedule was based on the mondals organisational zones earmarked by the saffron party and not on any rationale Different areas in Kolkata alone went for polls on different dates she pointed outI had to visit North Bengal nine times as adjacent areas went to polls on different days this was done to ensure maximum coverage for BJP leaders and to prevent me from campaigning Kolkata was split into three parts for holding polls in three phases she alleged adding However I still managed to campaign for 50 days with my injured legFlagging an alleged WhatsApp conversation among EC Special Observers and District Magistrates and Superintendents of Police she said they are describing TMC as trouble makers and our men as TMC goons They do not use such epithets about the BJP in the chatsBy nominating some Superintendents of Police close to BJP the EC might help the BJP to win sixseven more seats than the projected 70 but the Trinamool is set to cross 200 seat mark she assertedBanerjee alleged EC has prepared a list as directed by BJP which instructed police to arrest key party members from Entally and Belgachhia areas ahead of the April 29 polls in north Kolkata constituencies and instructed her party functionaries just refuse to goAt Raninagar in Murshidabad district the central force went on a rampage at the residence of our local leader We are lodging an FIR she claimedRepeating her charge that the Centre mismanaged the Covid situation she said PM and Home Minister literally camped in Bengal for three months and put the looming Covid19 crisis on the backburnerThey did not firm up a plan to bolster oxygen supply network in those months but spent money from PM Cares fund to bribe people I was told that some were offered even Rs 25 crore to campaign for BJP she allegedI wonder if the institution EC is capable of protecting democracy with retired government servants looking for plum postings as Governors There has to be people still in service at the helm of EC she saidThis story has been sourced from a third party syndicated feed agencies Midday accepts no responsibility or liability for its dependability trustworthiness reliability and data of the text Midday managementmiddaycom reserves the sole right to alter delete or remove without notice the content in its absolute discretion for any reason whatsoever