Kolkata civic polls: BJP stages protest, says state police worked at TMC's behest

The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) staged a protest inside the West Bengal State Election Commissioner's office against alleged irregularities initiated by the Trinamool Congress during the Kolkata Civic Polls on December 19. Leader of Opposition in the West Bengal Assembly Suvendu Adhikari, along with other BJP leaders, were part of the protest, raising slogans against the alleged irregularities. 

"With the utmost of regret and concern, the Bharatiya Janata Party would like to put on record that today's polls for the Kolkata Municipal Corporations have been made a farce. Since the morning, for the entire day widespread violence, booth capturing, CCTV cameras face covered or made to face away from the booth, our agents being driven out of booths goons of TMC accompanying voters to the EVM, etc," the BJP wrote in a letter addressed to the West Bengal Election Commission.  

The party has also highlighted how Meena Devi Purohit, a five-term counsellor was physically attacked and her blouse torn. "Vijay Ojha, Brijesh Jha and many others were attacked. In each and every case the Kolkata police despite being present took no action to prevent the incident or apprehend the culprits," the BJP wrote in its letter. 

'Kolkata Police manhandled BJP leaders' 

The BJP alleged that Kolkata Police, on the direction of the TMC, manhandled their leaders as they were making their way to the Election Commissioner's office. BJP IT Cell convenor Amit Malviya shared a video where the BJP delegation can be seen surrounded by Kolkata police, who are trying to stop them, purportedly on directions from the TMC.

"Mamata Banerjee plummets to new depths, uses police to manhandle LoP Suvendu Adhikari, tries to stop him from visiting the State Election Commission," wrote Malviya. The BJP IT Cell convenor added, "Whatever she may do, nothing will wash the drubbing she received from him in Nandigram."

A few minutes thereafter, Suvendu Adikhari uploaded a Tweet, in which he embedded a picture of a Kolkata Police official, and wrote, "He manhandled me & roughed up my colleagues in front of WB Election Commissioner's office. Kolkata's Commissioner of Police must have directed his subordinates to suppress opposition voices as per his political boss's instruction."