West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee on Wednesday criticised the appointment of former BSF Director General K.K. Sharma as special police observer for the coming 2019 polls in West Bengal and Jharkhand, accusing him of being "an RSS man" and said her government will write a "strong letter" to the Election Commission about the same.
Showing a photograph, Banerjee said Sharma was present at an RSS function in the city a year ago alongside RSS activist and BJP's candidate for Howrah Lok Sabha seat Rantideb Sengupta.
"A man is being appointed here as a special police observer in Bengal and Jharkhand. See his photograph in an RSS programme, which is a sister organisation of the BJP. Here he is with Rantideb Sengupta, who has got BJP ticket from Howrah for contesting in the 2019 polls," Banerjee told the reporters here.
"He came to the programme wearing the BSF uniform. He has been appointed as a special observer. Why? Is he an impartial observer? Is this democracy?" she asked.
Referring to retired joint secretary of the Home minister R.K. Mitra whose wife Srirupa Mitra Chowdhury is contesting from Malda South Lok Sabha seat in a BJP ticket, Banerjee alleged that the officer is influencing the deployment of the central forces in Bengal to help the saffron outfit.
"Day before yesterday, a woman has been nominated by the BJP in Malda South seat. I do not want to name her. Her husband is also a retired officer. He is monitoring the deployment of all the central forces sitting in the home ministry. He is briefing the force about favouring the BJP and working against the Trinamool Congress," she alleged.
"My humble submission to the EC is, please find out the details. The Home Ministry is deliberately misleading. This is their attempt to malign Bengal," she added.
The Trinamool Congress supremo, who has played a pivotal role in stitching an anti-BJP opposition alliance, said she would go to Visakhapatnam to attend Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister Chandrababu Naidu's opposition party meeting.
She said she would campaign for Bengal and Assam from April 4 to May 17 and will hold around 100 public meetings.
--IANS
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