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Mamata Demands Gyanesh Kumar’s Resignation, Cites Bengal Poll Violence
Mamata Banerjee held a news conference in Delhi after losing the Bengal election.
She said the Election Commission did not conduct the election fairly.
She demanded that Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar resign.
She also described violence against her party’s workers and supporters after the election.
Mamata said more than 70 people had been killed and more than 45 had been raped.
She questioned a fire that destroyed about 4,000 electronic voting machines.
She said opposition parties in the INDIA alliance should continue working together.
She also said she would campaign for alliance leaders if they invited her.
Mamata Banerjee demanded Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar’s resignation during a Delhi news conference.
She accused the Election Commission of malpractice during the Bengal election and questioned its ECINET software.
Mamata cited alleged post-poll violence, saying more than 70 people had been killed and over 45 raped.
She highlighted a fire that reportedly destroyed about 4,000 stored EVMs at a facility in south Calcutta.
Mamata said the INDIA alliance would campaign together but avoided endorsing an individual prime-ministerial candidate.
- Who
- Mamata Banerjee, accompanied by Trinamool Congress leaders including Abhishek Banerjee, Mahua Moitra and Derek O’Brien.
- What
- She demanded Gyanesh Kumar’s resignation and accused the Election Commission of malpractice and failing to address post-poll violence.
- Where
- At Derek O’Brien’s residence on South Avenue in Delhi; her allegations concerned Bengal.
- When
- At her first Delhi media conference since losing the Bengal election, shortly after the April-May polls.
- Why
- She said election procedures had been manipulated and that her party’s workers and supporters were facing violence, legal cases and restrictions.
Key facts
- Chief election commissioner
- Gyanesh Kumar, whose resignation Mamata Banerjee demanded.
- Reported deaths
- Mamata said more than 70 people had been murdered in post-poll violence.
- Reported rapes
- She said more than 45 people, including children and Adivasis, had been raped.
- EVM fire
- A fire at a south Calcutta facility reportedly destroyed about 4,000 stored EVMs.
- ECINET complaint
- Mahua Moitra filed a police complaint against Election Commission IT director-general Seema Khanna over ECINET.
- INDIA alliance
- Mamata said the alliance remained together and that decisions, including on a prime-ministerial candidate, should be collective.
- Political participation
- Mamata said she would attend INDIA alliance rallies and could campaign for Arvind Kejriwal, Akhilesh Yadav and Tejashwi Yadav if invited.
Quotes
Mamata Banerjee
West Bengal chief minister and Trinamool Congress leader
“We believe that this time BJP will go and we won’t have to wait till 2029.... First Gyanesh Kumar should go.... Secondly, conduct the election system well. Last time, they won by manipulation.... Now, see how long it (the government) lasts — two months, or four months, or six months. I am not an astrologer. But I think within very soon, you will get the good news.”
telegraphindia.com
“Already more than 70 people have been murdered and more than 45 raped — children, Adivasis and others. We went to the high court and they gave an order that those displaced (by poll violence) must be allowed to return. But the police are not taking any cognisance...”
telegraphindia.com
Sources
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