Unable to discharge duties as MP, WB ruling party goons restricting my movement: Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury writes to Om Birla
Feb 28, 2022
New Delhi [India], February 28 : Leader of Congress party in Lok Sabha, Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury on Monday wrote a letter to Speaker Om Birla over alleged incidents of violence during municipal elections in West Bengal and said that he is "not able to discharge his responsibilities as a Member of Parliament."
Chowdhury is currently a Member of Parliament of the Congress in Lok Sabha from Berhampore in West Bengal.
Leveling allegations of creating hurdles in the "effective discharge" of his duties as a public representative, the Congress MP in his letter said, "The ruling party has unleashed a reign of terror and violence in the entire municipal election. The ruling party goons are threatening candidates of other political parties with violence."
Chowdhury further alleged that wherever he goes for campaigning or to attend to the problems of his constituents, he is "mobbed/ gheraoed and heckled by the TMC goons."
"My movement is completely restricted in West Bengal. The ruling party goons are doing all the violence and nuisance and are restricting my movement in collusion with the local authorities," the letter read.
"As a custodian of the rights and responsibilities of Members of Parliament of Lok Sabha," the Congress MP appealed to the Speaker of the Lower House to "take up the matter with the concerned authorities."
Earlier in the day, State Election Commissioner (SEC) Saurab Das briefed Governor Jagdeep Dhankhar at Raj Bhawan for over an hour regarding issues connected to the municipal poll process.
"SEC has been indicated to take all steps to ensure poll fairness and not holding elections to Howrah Municipality is the failure of constitutional duty," the Governor said.
Voting for 108 municipalities across West Bengal was held on Sunday, during which a clash between Trinamool Congress (TMC) and Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) workers broke out.
The BJP West Bengal vice-president Arjun Singh alleged that two Electronic Voting Machines (EVMs) were vandalized in ward 9 and there was a similar situation across the state.
The party has called a 12-hour statewide bandh for today against alleged rigging and violence in the state's civic polls.
