Mamata Govt Moves SC Challenging HC Order On Central Forces' Deployment

The West Bengal government on Saturday moved Supreme Court challenging the Calcutta High Court order directing the deployment of Central forces in State panchayat elections.

The Calcutta High Court had directed the SEC to requisition and deploy central forces across West Bengal for the Panchayat elections in the state within 48 hours on Thursday.

The court noted that no appreciable steps have been taken ever since an order was passed by it on June 13 to deploy central forces in sensitive areas for the poll process.

A division bench presided by Chief Justice T S Sivagnanam directed the SEC to requisition the deployment of central forces for all the districts in the state which was rocked by violence over filing of nominations for the July 8 panchayat elections.

Opposition politicians, including BJP leader Suvendu Adhikari and Congress MP Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury, had petitioned the court for deployment of central forces for ensuring peaceful elections, claiming that the state had witnessed large-scale violence during municipal elections in 2022 and Kolkata Municipal Corporation elections in 2021.

They had also prayed for an extension of the last date of nomination claiming that the time given was not adequate. The court had left it to the SEC to consider the prayer.

Opposition parties have been alleging that the ruling Trinamool Congress supporters resorted to violence to prevent their candidates from filing nomination papers.