It is only because of the Supreme Court ruling that panchayat elections is going to take place in West Bengal, veteran CPI-M leader and former Chief Minister Buddhadeb Bhattacharjee said today.
The ruling Trinamool Congress government was never serious about holding panchayat election and it had hatched a 'conspiracy' with that end in view, the CPI-M politburo member told an election rally here.
"The state government was adamant on not holding the rural polls by hook or by crook and they had hatched a conspiracy," Bhattacharjee alleged.
Taking a dig at TMC's reservation on holding panchayat polls during holy Ramzan month, Bhattacharjee alleged that the matter was a ploy on the part of the ruling party to avoid holding the poll.
Bhattacharjee appealed to the voters to forgive Marxists for the mistakes committed during their rule.
The Supreme Court had last week fixed poll dates on July 11, 15, 19, 22 and 25 after dismissing a batch of petitions praying for rescheduling of dates which coincide with the Ramzan month.
"We know very well that we had committed mistakes. We with our heads bowed accept those mistakes. We appeal to the masses who have left us to come back. We won't commit such mistakes again and we urge our party workers to apologise to the masses for their misbehaviour," Bhattacharjee told the well-attended rally.
The CPI(M) politburo member also lashed out at the TMC regime for not being able to maintain law and order in the state, saying, "During our tenure too incidents of rape had taken place, but we had taken strong action to punish the guilty."
He said that the government's inability to take proper action in the Kamduni rape-murder incident was encouraging criminals.
