Kolkata. CPI(ML) Liberation General Secretary Dipankar Bhattacharya said on Tuesday that the voting held in two assembly constituencies in the state was marked by unprecedented police terror. Addressing media persons at the city's Harekrishna Konar Bhavan, he said that continuous street agitations are needed to protect democracy and that struggles must be intensified. The press conference was attended by AISA National President Neha Bora, CPI(ML) Liberation State Secretary Abhijit Majumdar, Vasudev Basu, and Politburo member Kartik Pal.
Referring to the by-elections in Nandigram and Rejinagar assembly constituencies, Dipankar Bhattacharya alleged that unprecedented police terror prevailed throughout the voting process. He stated that he had never seen by-elections held amidst such police terror. SIR was used to peacefully assassinate democracy, and elections have become a mockery. Complaints started pouring in from the morning regarding both by-elections. Voters alleged that the police and administration were being used to facilitate electoral malpractices. Regarding the controversy surrounding Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar, party General Secretary Dipankar Bhattacharya demanded his resignation, along with the scrapping of the law under which he was appointed. He also demanded the abolition of the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of the voter list. He alleged that under pressure, booth-level officers are being directed to go door-to-door and re-include names that were deleted from the voter list. He claimed to have seen in Bihar that 17 percent of people were wrongly removed from the voter list. He stated that their demands are clear — Gyanesh Kumar must resign, SIR must be withdrawn, and the law governing the appointment of Election Commissioners must be repealed. Fresh elections should also be held in Bihar and West Bengal.
AISA National President Neha Bora announced that students and youth will gather at Jantar Mantar in Delhi on October 10 to demand the resignation of Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar. She appealed to people from all sections of society to join the movement to save democracy.
