West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee addresses an election rally at Baneswar in Cooch Behar district.
The Election Commission (EC) has issued a notice to West Bengal CM and TMC supremo Mamata Banerjee over her statement in which she appealed to Muslim voters to not let their vote split in the ongoing assembly elections.
The poll body has issued notice to Bengal Chief Minister over her April 3 statement which she made during an election rally and said, "appealing Muslim voters to not let their vote be split among different political parties and demanding votes on the communal ground for TMC".
The election commission has asked Mamata Banerjee to explain her stand within 48 hours.
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On Monday, BJP approached the Election Commission seeking action against West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee alleging that she has violated Representation of the People's Act by asking Muslims to come together and vote for her party TMC in the state assembly polls.
A BJP leaders' delegation, including Union minister Mukhtar Abbas Naqvi, party's national secretary Sunil Deodhar, its leader GVL Narasimha Rao, met top officials of the poll panel and submitted a memorandum demanding action against Banerjee and her party.
Talking to reporters after the meeting, Naqvi said that in an election speech TMC chief Mamata Banerjee appealed to Muslim voters not to let their votes be split among different parties and asked them to cast their votes en-bloc to her party.
"She has not only violated the essentials of the Model Code of Conduct by making such remarks but this is also a criminal violation of the Representation of People Act, 1951. The poll panel should initiate action against Mamata Banerjee and her party for this violation," Naqvi said.
He also demanded a similar action against DMK leader MK Stalin for "lying" and "trying to malign" Prime Minister Narendra Modi's image by making an absurd allegation that he came to Tamil Nadu with money bags. This falsehood violates the poll code, Naqvi said.
Echoing similar sentiments, BJP general secretary Bhupender Yadav claimed that the upcoming phases of Bengal polls are going to be held in areas most prone to violence and electoral malpractices by Banerjee's party. Therefore, the BJP requests the commission to deploy sufficient central forces for free, fair and fearless polling, he said.
The elections are being held in eight phases between March 27 to April 29 in West Bengal.
(With PTI inputs)
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