West Bengal's opposition Left Front Tuesday alleged that leaders and workers of the ruling Trinamool Congress were terrorising its supporters and expressed fears about the collapse of the law and order during the coming Lok Sabha polls.
In a memorandum to the Election Commission in Delhi, a high-level Left Front delegation demanded steps on the part of the EC to put a stop to the "unlawful activities" of the Trinamool and restore the democratic "fabric and polity" in the interest of free and fair elections.
"The unabashed bias of the police raises apprehensions of a collapse of law and order during the April-May elections and the inability of the people to have a free and fair election. Moreover, now, the general law and order situation is far from satisfactory," said the memorandum.
Alleging that there was "very little space for the opposition in the campaign, the delegation demanded the Commission take steps to ensure "equal opportunity for every party".
It charged the leaders and workers of the ruling party with "threatening" the supporters of opposition parties, tearing off posters and other publicity materials, besides "ransacking and torching the offices of Left parties and even the residences of Left supporters".
"The sole purpose of the miscreants is to terrorise people so that they stay away from exercising their voting rights. In every case, the police have been informed. Mostly, they have remained mute spectators and in some cases arrested the victims on false allegations while allowing the Trinamool miscreants to go scot free."
The delegation led by West Bengal Left Front chairman Biman Bose listed violations of the Model Code of Conduct by the Trinamool leaders "including chief minister, ministers and workers", and assaults, molestations of women and murderous attacks on workers of opposition parties.
"This is creating unprecedented tensions prohibiting the holding of free and fair elections in the state," the memorandum said.
They also demanded posting of police observers in all 42 Lok Sabha constituencies and claimed four police superintendents were behaving in a partisan manner.
