Lalgarh (WB):
Claiming she had not wanted panchayat election to take place during Ramzan and monsoon, Mamata Banerjee on Monday targeted the State Election Commission again, saying her government had been compelled to accept the SEC's "game plan" because the term of the panchayats was coming to an end.
Reminding her audience at a panchayat election rally that she had wanted election during winter or else either in February or March or April, she argued, "We were compelled to accept the State Election Commission's game plan since the tenure of the panchayats was expiring and because development work would suffer.
Without naming State Election Commissioner Mira Pandey, Banerjee said the CPI-M-led government had extended her (Pandey's) tenure when defeat in the 2011 Assembly polls was staring the party in the face.
"We did not appoint her. Her term was extended from three to six years during the previous Left Front regime," she argued adding that the Left Front government went to the extent of amending the relevant law for the purpose.
"We did not want an election in peak monsoon and during Ramzan. I have been striving for the polls since last year, but the Congress, CPI-M and BJP did not allow me to hold polls, fearing they would lose. They had gone to the court. I would have objected had the polls been ordered during Durga Puja as well."
"We wanted election. They did not want it. They wanted to deny the people to exercise their democratic rights," she said.
Taking the name of former chief minister Buddhadeb Bhattacharjee, Banerjee said that he was issuing threats again.
"I heard that at a party rally yesterday Buddhababu said "we will see and settle. What will they see and settle? They will not get the opportunity for that as people will never bring them to power," she said.
"One crore unemployed persons have been left by him when the Left Front was voted out of power," she pointed out.
"His party is getting patronage from the Congress and the Maoists are colluding with the CPI(M). But I am telling you that these forces would not be able to come back to power again..People will reject them."
