Impose Article 355 in Bengal: Trinamool to Gandhi

“The CPM is using illegal arms to attack our supporters. Over 20 supporters of our party have been killed by CPM goons since the election results were declared and several thousand people have been rendered homeless. Today our student leader in Memari College in Burdwan was beaten up,” added Chatterjee.

Later in the day,Gandhi issued a statement regretting the incident of the post-poll political clashes in the state. The Governor urged both the “victorious and the defeated” to halt the cycle of violence.

“Such violence apart from being purposeless,does not credit its perpetrators. In a mature democracy like ours neither vengeance or vendetta nor bragging and bravado can be allowed either by the victorious or by the defeated,” Gandhi stated.

Meanwhile,at the Writers’ Buildings,state Home Secretary Ardhendu Sen said that the government lacks resources to rein in political clashes. “We do not have the resources to stop this violence. We are sending our force wherever violence has erupted. Police is not sitting idle. They are not inactive,” he added.

In the post-poll situation in Bengal,various districts,including Hooghly,East Midnapore,North and South 24-Parganas,witnessed political clashes. Supporters of CPM and Trinamool at the grassroots level have bore the brunt with both sides claiming lost of lives.

In Khanakul,a Trinamool leader was killed while in Panskura a CPM leader was beaten up,who later succumbed to his injuries. Even in Murshidabad,Congress and CPM supporters clashed. Fresh violence broke out in Khejuri,bordering Nandigram where the CPM party office was torched.

‘End the cycle of violence’
In a statement issued by Raj Bhavan,Governor Gopalkrishna Gandhi said: “Reports of violence between supporters of different political formations in the wake of elections in our state are a matter of regret. They are also a matter of anxiety. Such violence apart from being purposeless,does not credit its perpetrators. In a mature democracy like ours neither vengeance or vendetta nor bragging and bravado can be allowed either by the victorious or by the defeated. I urge all concerned to halt this cycle of violence and spare our people of distress.”

Article 355
This Article of the Indian Constitution deals with an emergency provision by which the Centre can intervene and protect a state against external aggression or internal disturbance. It states that the Union Government is solely responsible for defending the various states from all types of violence and aggressions erupting from outside and disturbances occurring within the nation’s territory.