Bengal SIR row: EC says Derek O’Brien shouted at CEC; TMC calls it ‘a lie’
Elections in Bengal are due in two phases on April 23 and 29
The Election Commission (EC) sources on Wednesday said that Trinamool Congress (TMC) leader Derek O’Brien “shouted at Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar and asked him not to speak” during a morning meeting the Parth delegation had sought with the CEC.
TMC leaders, which included Brien, Menaka Guruswamy, Sagarika Ghose and Saket Gokhale attended the meeting, after more than 27 lakh names were struck off from the voter list ahead of the two-phase West Bengal elections.
The EC said it did some “straight talk with the TMC” this time.
They added that the CEC requested O'Brien to maintain the decorum of the Commission room, stating that shouting and indecent behaviour were not appropriate.
“This time, elections in West Bengal will be fear-free, violence-free; intimidation-free and inducement-free, and without any chappa, booth jamming and source jamming,” sources are learnt to have told the TMC.
The TMC, however, refuted the EC’s claims, calling them “a lie”.
“This is a lie. I was personally present at the meeting. Nothing like this was said. All that CEC Gyanesh Kumar told us was “get lost”. We challenge the ECI to release a transcript of the meeting, else we will do so,” Gokhale said.
Elections in Bengal are due in two phases on April 23 and 29.
