Trinamool killing democracy in Bengal: BJP’s Dilip Ghosh

With over a dozen lives lost in rural body polls on polling day despite court ordered central forces deployment amid overnight rigging, booth capture, traumatised poll agents and voters, BJP national vice president and MP Mednipur Dilip Ghosh lashed out at the ruling Trinamool Congress in an interaction with The Sunday Guardian, saying its rule has to end. Excerpts:
Q: Ballot boxes being destroyed–water poured into them, ballot papers being burnt, rigging, “chhappa vote”, presiding officers absconding with their lives. What is happening?
A: Today you are questioning because it is on TV, but the areas where these reports are coming from are more or less the same throughout the year in terms of violence hooliganism and lawlessness. All the areas where these things are happening on Panchayat polls day are in the minority localities with a large Muslim population. Bombs and guns have been ruling the roost in rural Bengal for quite some time, and we have been raising the matter over and over again. Crude bomb factories were unearthed over the months, sack-full of bombs were retrieved from houses in many areas, arms and ammunition were also recovered.
Trinamool has known for a longtime now that they will never be able to win any election fair and square, so they have resorted to these unholy routes to capture votes and that is exactly what they are doing.
Polling was over within two hours in the morning, booths captured, fake forced voting, targeting the weak, killing, looting, running away with ballot boxes.
It is 3 pm now, there are some places where voting could not take off, so still efforts are underway to carry out the process, but again TMC goons are chasing people away.
Every ‘Sam, dam, danda, bhed’ is being used – polling agents are kidnapped, candidates are picked up — every kind of illegal activity is underway to undermine the democratic exercise of voting.
The ruling party is doing nothing to stop the mayhem. In fact, they are claiming, “even we have lost Trinamool supporters”, whatever is happening it is people of West Bengal who are dying. Why should this happen, be allowed to happen. This is unacceptable.  
The Governor has called out the State Election Commissioner asking him why such a lawless process is underway? Why are so many people losing lives in a panchayat election, why should this be allowed to happen?
Thousands of Central Forces have been sent to Bengal to carry out a peaceful election, but they have not been deployed anywhere. They have been warming the seats waiting to be ordered. I have been throughout Midnapore since morning, I have not seen one officer/jawan of the central forces.
When there are some incidents, they are being summoned. But they arrive after the heinous crimes have already been committed that too in Malda, Murshidabad – but to what good.
I saw a few vehicles of the CAPF on the highway. They were drinking tea, apparently they were told to wait, as there was no need for them yet.
Some are waiting at various police stations but how does that serve the purpose? They were asked to be in Bengal for 10 days following the polls, but what purpose would that serve when the ballots have already been looted. When the people have been killed, maimed and they were stuck at police stations or other allocated waiting spots, how have they served?
The court had ordered CAPFs deployments in each polling booth. But I have not seen them in even one booth in Midnapore. TMC did not want the central forces that is why they approached the SC, ECI. This was all planned. There has been no Poriborton. TMC has taken Bengal down to hell. Forget CAPF, I could not see any West Bengal Police personnel anywhere.
Q: So do you accept that there is no way BJP will win this poll?
A: BJP will do better than before, but if poll violence is orchestrated by the ruling dispensation then what can you expect?
Q: Role of the Governor?
A: He has been actively going round meeting people, kin of the deceased. Reaching out to some far-flung places Cooch behar, Canning even in this monsoon. He can sympathise but nothing more. All states where opposition is in power there is a conflict because they do not want to follow the law, be it Delhi or
Bengal.
Q: Where is the SEC?
A: SEC did not appear on the scene before 10 am. Has done nothing, SEC has played no role, panchayat election was conducted by the ruling party. The SEC is toeing the TMC line. During election the SEC should have been the authority but in Bengal SEC is conspicuously missing in action on poll day.
If this is how elections are to be conducted then where is democracy, what is the use of people having the right to vote. If a ruling democratic party tries to stifle democracy with its own hands then that party should be removed from power.
Q: What option do people have?
A: Article 355, 356, presidential rule something has to be done to save democracy in WB. 35 people have been killed in the state in 30 days over an election in Bengal, that means murder of democracy in the state. Things came to such a turn that court wanted to end elections all together to save lives. To save democracy in Bengal, this undemocratic party in power must go.