In an impolite sequence of episodes resembling the April 10 forward roll by the State Election Commission — over announcement of a one-day window for filing nomination in a violence-hit rural polls —Bengal SEC Amrendra Kumar Singh on Monday insisted that he was not threatened with murder by Trinamool Congress Ministers.
His statement came barely 24 hours after a senior State Minister Partho Chatterjee called upon him to “tell the people” that he was not threatened by anyone as was claimed by the BJP.
“I did not get any death threat or threat of murder from Trinamool Congress or any party or any person,” Singh who had hardly held a media conference in the past more than a month notwithstanding ongoing pre-poll violence said adding, “whatever has been said about the death threat is a complete lie.”
He iterated, “there is no case of taping my telephone insofar as I know,” refuting further “stories of Trinamool Congress leaders going to my house and pressurizing me.” He added “anyone can go to my house but it is not true that anyone pressurised me.”
The SEC was talking about alleged threats he received from senior Trinamool leaders after he increased the time for filing of nomination in panchayat elections by a day on April 9 --- following complaints of large-scale violence during nomination process—before recalling it within hours after the said Ministers landed up at his residence on April 10.
The matter was promptly taken to Calcutta High Court which reversed the SEC order and allowed an extra day’s window for filing nomination.
The latest controversy erupted when senior Bengal BJP leader Rahul Sinha on Sunday quoted information saying SEC was acting in the interest of the Trinamool Congress as he had been issued death threats by senior Trinamool Ministers and demanded secret statement from him regarding the issue in court.
While Singh refused to comment on the issue on Sunday, Partho Chatterjee demanded a clarification from the Commissioner saying heexpected him to make his position clear before the people.