A day after the Election Commission of India demanded a detailed report from the State Home Department regarding announcement of grants to different Durga Puja committees of Bengal at a time when model code of conduct was in force in the State in view of the forthcoming by-election for Bhawanipore Assembly seat the State Government on Thursday told the poll panel that it had committed no breach of model code as it was not applicable to the entire State.
Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee who had lost to Opposition Leader Suvendu Adhikari in Nandigram is contesting a by-election from the Bhawanipore seat as she has to get the elected to the House before November 6 to remain on the top seat.
Instead of the Chief Minister who declares grants to the Puja committees every year, Chief Secretary HK Dwivedi had on Wednesday announced grants of `50,000 to the Puja committees leading the BJP to write a complaint to the ECI alleging violation of MCC.
Replying to the EC query Home Secretary BP Gopalika said that there was no violation of the model code as it was not applicable to the entire State and was limited to only three constituencies of Rezinagar, Jangipur — both in Murshidabad district — and Bhawanipore in Kolkata where elections were being held.
Besides, the Home Secretary also said that government announced the monetary grants from Netaji Indoor Stadium which was not within the Bhawanipore constituency.
Meanwhile in an unrelated development the Trinamool Congress on Thursday stood by arch rival CPI(M) after its workers were attacked in Tripura and its party offices were torched in that State by alleged BJP workers.
“It is highly condemnable … all the parties irrespective of their ideology should condemn the attacks on the CPI(M) offices … this is the kind of attack we have been referring to for the past couple of months … our leaders, our workers and our offices were being attacked by the BJP. Now they are targeting the Left too … This is the culture of the BJP … we condemn this attack,” said senior Trinamool leader and Bengal Minister Partho Chatterjee.