EC move makes Karat see red

The criticism came from CPM general secretary Prakash Karat,who put EC on the dock during a media briefing after the party’s two-day Politburo meeting in Alimuddin Street.

Calling the EC decision unprecedented and unusual,Karat said it has not happened in any other assembly elections or any other election. “We do not know the reasons for the unusual step. We will find out,” he said.

The six-member team of EC observers — comprising five senior IPS officers and headed by Bihar chief electoral officer (CEO) Sushir Kumar Rakesh — which arrived today in Kolkata seemed unfazed about Karat’s criticism.

“We do not know who is saying what. We will just go along the guidelines laid down by the EC,” Rakesh said. The team will have a meeting on Sunday evening or Monday morning and fan out in districts to have a first-hand experience of the situation at the ground level. “We will try to visit all the districts,” Rakesh said.

Asked if the people will cooperate with the team,Karat said the team is expected to meet the administration and district officials and they will get their cooperation.

But Rakesh,when told that his team could face hostility from CPM cadre,said they will go ahead with their schedule. “I do not want to comment on such things. We will just stick to our schedule.”

Karat said the party feels the root cause of violence in the state is the collaboration between the Maoists and the Trinamool Congress. Despite mounting evidence proving this,the Union home minister is trying to divert the issue and make allegations against the CPM.

“We have lost 365 of our supporters after the Lok Sabha elections. Why is the Union home minister turning a blind eye to this,” asked Karat.

Asked about the presence of armed CPM camps,Karat said he is aware only about Maoists. “The biggest armed force operating in Bengal are Maoists and it is not in Bengal alone,” he said.

Asked about the prospects of the party in the assembly elections,Karat said in the last three months,the party and the Left Front had organised various programmes and have received favourable response from the people.

Want JPC and Parliament session: CPM gen secy

Insisting on the demand for a Joint Parliamentary Committee to probe into the 2G spectrum scam,CPM general secretary Prakash Karat,however,said his party did not want to stall the forthcoming budget session of Parliament on this issue.

“We stick to our demand of JPC and would also like the budget session to be held,” he said on Sunday. “We have to decide within these two parametres and discuss with other secular parties of the opposition who have been cooperating with us in the Parliament.” Karat said the politburo feels there is a need for JPC for such a magnitude of corruption. The Prime Minister’s offer to appear before the Public Accounts Committee was a mere political gesture and it would be better if he appears before the JPC,he said.

EC team in Kolkata to check law and order

A team comprising observers from the Election Commission of India reached Kolkata on Sunday afternoon to evaluate the law and order situation of the state. The decision to send a team was taken after representations from several political parties,who met the EC officials in Kolkata recently and media reports on political violence in the state.

The team is led by Sudhir Kumar Rakesh,Chief Electoral Officer of Bihar and chief of the high-level Election Commission team. The other members are Zaki Ahmad (Deputy Director,Special Crime Branch,NCRB),P R K Naidu,(DIG,NCRB),D K Pandey (ADG,Law and Order,Jharkhand),B Shivadhar Reddy (DIG,Intelligence Bureau,Andhra Pradesh),and P S Ranpise (DIG,Special Auxilliary Police of Orissa).

On Monday,the team will hold a video conference with district magistrates and superintendents of police of all 19 districts. Thereafter,they will visit the different trouble-torn areas to make a first-hand assessment of the situation in the poll-bound state and submit a report to the Commission on its return.

The team will conduct a knowledge,attitude,behavioral survey among the people of trouble-torn districts like Darjeeling,South 24 Parganas,Burdwan,Birbhum and Naxal-hit areas like Bankura,Purulia and West Midnapore,where it is feared that there might be violent clashes during the elections. “We will try to visit all districts. Maintenance of law and order is crucial to conduct free and fair and peaceful polls,” said Rakesh.