The Election Commission on Sunday ordered the immediate suspension of two top officers in West Bengal, including the chief of security for Mamata Banerjee and the Purba Medinipur superintendent of police, holding them responsible for the lapse in security which led to the West Bengal chief minister sustaining injuries on 10 March.
The poll panel Sunday also transferred the Purba Medinipur district magistrate to a non-election post. The decisions were taken by the EC after reviewing reports from the poll observers and the state government.
Follow LIVE updates on Assembly elections
Mamata, who was campaigning in Nandigram for the upcoming Assembly polls, had sustained severe injuries in an ankle, shoulder, forearm, and neck on 10 March. Soon after the incident, she had alleged that she was pushed by some unidentified people.
However, the EC on Sunday also stated that there was no pre-meditated 'attack' on Mamata, as was claimed by her and the ruling Trinamool Congress (TMC).
Meanwhile, two days after being discharged from the hospital, Mamata hit the campaign trail on Sunday in a wheelchair.
Leading a roadshow in Kolkata, the West Bengal chief minister was accompanied by senior TMC leaders. Mamata was seen greeting the crowd with folded hands, with security personnel pushing her wheelchair.
Banerjee joined the five-kilometre roadshow from Mayo Road to Hazra More, as part of 'Nandigram Diwas' to commemorate the killing of 14 villagers in police firing during the anti-land acquisition protest in 2007.
West Bengal CM Mamata Banerjee arrives at Gandhi Murti in Kolkata on a wheelchair. She will hold a roadshow to Hazra shortly. pic.twitter.com/JnAwDSdyVE
— ANI (@ANI) March 14, 2021
"We will continue to fight boldly! I'm still in a lot of pain, but I feel the pain of my people even more," Banerjee tweeted minutes before arriving at the venue.
We will continue to fight boldly!
I'm still in a lot of pain, but I feel the pain of my people even more.
In this fight to protect our revered land, we have suffered a lot and will suffer more but we will NEVER bow down to COWARDICE!
— Mamata Banerjee (@MamataOfficial) March 14, 2021
EC orders suspension of top officers, says no pre-meditated attack on CM
The two officers suspended on Sunday included IPS officer Vivek Sahay, director of security for the West Bengal chief minister and Purba Medinipur superintendent of police Praween Prakash.
Noting the "slack" in security arrangements, the EC said, "Charges must be framed against him (Sahay) within a week for grossly failing in the discharge of his primary duty as Director, Security, to protect the Z+ protectee."
It said West Bengal chief secretary Alapan Bandyopadhyay, in consultation with the DGP, is authorised to post a suitable director of security immediately.
The EC also replaced ex-Purba Medinipur district magistrate Vibhu Goel with IAS officer Smita Pandey. Pandey will now be the DM and the district election officer, the poll panel's statement said.
The EC also directed the framing of charges against ex-Purba Medinipur SP Prakash for a "major failure" of bandobast. He has been replaced by Sunil Kumar Yadav. It also said that a committee comprising the chief secretary and the DGP will "identify within the next three days the other proximate security personnel below the Director of Security, who failed in their duties to prevent the incident and protect the Z+ protectee, and take suitable action for their failure..."
Based on the reports of the poll observers, Ajay Nayak and Vivek Dube, the EC concluded that Mamata had sustained the injuries prima facie due to a lapse on the part of her security in-charge, PTI reported, quoted unnamed sources. Firstpost has not been able to independently verify this information.
PTI further reported that in his report to the poll panel, the chief secretary has said, "It is evident that the presence of police force at the said spot to protect the Z+ protectee, specially during the election time, was not adequate and deployment of additional police personnel at the spot could have averted the incident."
Bandyopadhyay's report also mentions that "the local police arrangements at the spot of the incident were not commensurate with and adequate for the stature of the protectee."
"The local police preparedness was not sufficient for dealing with the crowd at the spot. The overall synergy which is required to be established between the Directorate of Security and local or district police was not there," he wrote, according to sources.
Special Observers Nayak and Dube in their joint report have observed that the district administration has the overall responsibility in their jurisdiction for arranging fool-proof security arrangements for a chief minister's visit.
The district police is required to provide a strong route bandobast for the travel of the VVIP.
"In fact, when it was expected that the chief minister might visit a temple situated close to the scene of the incident and a separate contingent of police officers and men were deployed at the temple, it begs the question as to why a strong route-bandobast was not provided to stop the crowd from coming close to the chief minister's vehicle," the observers' report said, according to PTI.
"Obviously, the bandobast arrangements were slack and it led to the unsavoury incident," it pointed out.
Citing the report of the DM and the SP, the observers said there were several and frequent changes in the tour programme of the chief minister, and therefore, they had to take recourse to what they call a "floating security arrangement".
"This we find to be bizarre and is definitely not in consonance with the security protocols prescribed for high dignitaries such as the Chief Minister of West Bengal. The joint report of DM and SP also includes a report from Kishore Kumar Biswas, the Returning Officer (RO) of the Nandigram Assembly seat, where he mentions that there was no scheduled event at Birulia Bazar, Gholpukhuria under Nandigram-I Dev block where the incident happened.
"The flippant attitude towards the security of the chief minister exhibited by Vivek Sahay, Director Security, is evident by the fact that he was sitting in the bulletproof (BP) car meant for the VVIP," the observers noted.
"It is nobody's case," their report said, "that the chief minister is known to prefer using a normal vehicle rather than the BP vehicle which is sine qua non for the protection of the VVIP. If the VVIP choose to flout the prescribed security norms/protocols as they seem to consider these to be a hindrance in connecting with their adoring masses, it is incumbent upon the security detail to prevail in such matters lest it should lead to tragic consequences," Nayak's and Dube's report said.
Based on the inputs and the incident, the Commission has now directed that since the security of star campaigners becomes far more sensitive during the election period, established SoPs, including advance detailed programme, necessary permissions to hold rallies or roadshows, should be followed scrupulously.
"Any deviation from the approved programme should only be permitted after necessary approval," it said in a statement.
TMC disagrees with EC's conclusion on Nandigram incident
The TMC said it disagrees with the Election Commission's observation that there was no pre-meditated attack on Mamata and demanded a high-level probe into the incident, insisting that the inquiry by election observers lacks credibility.
However, party spokesperson Sougata Roy expressed satisfaction that the EC noted that there were security lapses and took action against some officials.
"We disagree with the EC's observation based on the report of special election observers that there was no attack on Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee. The report of the election observers lacks credibility and fails to inspire confidence. We reiterate our demand for a high-level probe into the incident," Roy said.
Reacting to the removal of officials by the EC over security lapses, Roy said, "It is good that at least they have accepted that there were security lapses."
"It is a welcome move that the EC has removed the officials over security lapses. At least they have taken some action. We had raised this question as to how there were lapses in the security of the chief minister," he added.
'Injured tiger more dangerous': Mamata at Kolkata roadshow
True to her street fighter image, Mamata was back on the roads on Sunday, four days after being injured.
She lead a TMC march on a wheelchair and declared that an injured tiger is far more dangerous.
Banerjee is contesting the high-profile Nandigram seat for the first time against former confidante-turned-adversary Suvendu Adhikari, the sitting MLA, who resigned and switched over to the BJP.
Addressing the gathering after the hour-long march, Banerjee said attempts to incapacitate her to stop her from campaigning have failed and asserted she will canvass for TMC candidates across the state on a wheelchair.
"I have faced a lot of attacks in my life, but I have never surrendered before (to) anyone. I will never bow my head. An injured tiger gets more dangerous," she asserted.
"Doctors advised me against going out for campaign today. But I felt that I should participate in today's rally as we have already lost a few days due to my injury. My pain is not greater than the suffering of people as democracy is being trampled through a dictatorship. If I sit at home for such a long time that will serve the agenda of the conspirators. They will be successful," the TMC chief said.
Banerjee said she chose Hazra as the point to end the Kolkata rally as she had been subjected to "many physical attacks at this spot" in her political career.
TMC MP Abhishek Banerjee, her nephew, said at the start of the rally his party will not bow before "outsiders" and asserted she will win the election battle no matter what challenges are thrown before her.
He also urged people to put up a united fight against the CPM and its ally, the Congress, and claimed that the communist regime had perpetrated atrocities on the poor farmers of the state, citing the Nandigram movement of 2007.
"We will not bow before the BJP, we will not bow before the outsiders," he asserted.
Shouting slogans such as 'Modi babu ashe Modi babu Jay, Bangla nijer meyeke chay' (PM Modi may come and go, Bengal wants its daughter to rule the state), the Diamond Harbour MP said, "Despite her serious foot injury, our leader has joined the rally. She will conquer the battle with her broken foot."
Carrying posters and placards hailing Banerjee as the "daughter of Bengal", TMC supporters raised slogans against the BJP and called for "defeating the outsiders" in the Assembly elections.
The TMC activists also chanted the slogan "Bhanga Paye Khela Hobe!" (Will play with a broken leg), a reference to Banerjee's leg injury.
BJP announces candidates for Bengal polls
Meanwhile, the BJP Sunday announced its list of candidates for the third and fourth phases of the West Bengal Assembly election, due on 6 and 10 April, respectively. The saffron party also released names for the Kerala, Tamil Nadu and Assam polls on Sunday.
The party, which is seeking to take control in West Bengal by ousting the incumbent TMC government in the state, has fielded 63 candidates for the third and fourth phase of elections. Of these, 27 names are for the third phase and 36 candidates are for the fourth phase.
In West Bengal, it has fielded former chief economic adviser to the government Ashok Lahiri from the Alipurduar seat, Union minister Babul Supriyo from Tollygunge, and Swapan Dasgupta from the Tarakeshwar Assembly segment.
Actor-turned-politician and sitting MP Locket Chatterjee has been fielded from Chunchura, while another MP Nishit Parmanik from Dinhata.
TMC turncoat Rajib Banerjee will contest the election from the Domjur constituency as a BJP candidate.
With inputs from PTI
from Firstpost India Latest News https://ift.tt/3eKEg9c
No comments:
Post a Comment