Murshidabad, May 2 (IANS) Congress candidate from Berhampore Assembly constituency, Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury, hit out at the Trinamool Congress on Saturday, calling the party as “thieves” who are preaching about “electoral religion”. He accused the ruling party in West Bengal of being involved in rigging and threating voters.

Trinamool Congress leaders on Friday had alleged irregularities involving access to a sealed strongroom in Kolkata.

Chief Minister and Trinamool Congress supremo Mamata Banerjee had also visited a strongroom on Thursday night over EVM tampering fears.

Referring to the Supreme Court dismissing Trinamool’s plea on Bengal counting staff, Chowdhury said: “Everyone has the right to file a complaint, and Mamata Banerjee also has that right.”

However, the veteran Congress leader accused the party of paying advocates from the state’s fund.

“We know how elections are conducted in Bengal. Whether it is panchayat elections, municipal elections, or other local polls, the Trinamool Congress wins overwhelmingly everywhere. It happens through large-scale rigging carried out in collusion with the police and local goons,” Chowdhury told IANS.

He also alleged, saying: “We have seen that when ballot boxes are taken to the Block Development Officer’s office for counting, they are changed and new ballot papers are inserted by officials themselves.”

“If the thieves themselves are speaking about ‘electoral religion’, then how are we supposed to trust them?” Chowdhury said.

Sharpening his attack on the Trinamool Congress, the veteran Congress leader alleged that nominations were not allowed to be filed in West Bengal during panchayat and municipal elections in the state.

“Even if somebody (from the Opposition) wins the election, they are not even provided certificates,” he said.

Chowdhury lauded the CRPF’s deployment during the polling process in two-phased West Bengal Assembly polls.

He noted: “This time due to the deployment of central forces, people have participated in the voting process without being afraid.”

He highlighted that the public participation without fear is what made the state Assembly election different this time.

“In Bengal, rigging, loot, threatening people and creating an atmosphere of fear has been common during elections. The common people of the state are used to all this, they know what the Trinamool does,” Chowdhury asserted.

He, however, cautioned that having said all this, “I am not supporting the BJP.”

“I just want to say that due to the deployment of central forces, only on the election day, people could cast votes without any fear,” Chowdhury reiterated.

–IANS

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