Trinamool Congress MP targets Mira Pandey again

West Bengal State Election Commissioner Mira Pandey today came under attack again from the Trinamool Congress, this time from the party's Tamluk MP Subhendu Adhikari, who alleged that the SEC was trying to "disrupt and cancel" the coming panchayat poll. Addressing a rally at Dantan in West Midnapore district, Adhikari said, "Ants develop wings before they die. We know what medicines to apply as we have done this before in Nandigram and Jangalmahal."

"The commission is trying to dismantle the polls and we will not allow it to happen," the MP said. Adhikari's comments came close on the heels of similar scathing attack by Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee and state Transport Minister Madan Mitra, both of whom had alleged that the SEC was trying to scuttle the panchayat polls. The coming panchayat polls had become a bone of contention between State Election Commission and TMC-led state government, as both of them moved the court over the holding of the elections. The Supreme Court last week fixed the dates of poll for July 11, 15, 19, 22 and 25 and turned down the plea of the state government and some NGOs seeking to reschedule the dates to keep the election process before or after Ramzan month.