TMC considers 'murders' its guarantee to power: BJP on panchayat poll violence in Bengal

New Delhi: The BJP lashed out at the TMC government in West Bengal over the violence in Panchayat polls on Saturday, saying it considers "murders" as its guarantee to power and that the state's "bomb culture" is shaming India and its democracy the world over.

Hitting out at Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee, Union minister Anurag Thakur said she cannot preside over an election in the state "without killings and chaos". "How low will she stoop to establish her party's dominance in the panchayat polls," he asked.

In a statement, Thakur said law and order has crumbled in the state as "over 12 people" have been killed during the polls."Under Mamata Banerjee, the TMC believes that murders are its guarantee to power. Bengal's bomb culture is shaming India and its democracy the world over," the Information and Broadcasting Minister said.

He also slammed the use of ballot boxes instead of EVMs in the polls and noted the sight of goons running away with these boxes. "Rigging is taking place and people being killed to establish dominance," he alleged.

Blaming the TMC for violence, Thakur said she should explain as to why every poll in the state is full of violence and accused the regional party of passing its accountability by apportioning blame on others.

"Democracy is being murdered in West Bengal but everyone is silent," he said, targeting the critics who often attack the BJP on the issue of democracy.

Targeting the TMC over violence during the panchayat elections, BJP spokesperson and Rajya Sabha MP Sudhanshu Trivedi told reporters that the state used to be a centre of art, culture and science. "Now, it is known for crimes, anti-national activities and dangerous appeasement".

He alleged that the Banerjee-led government has been using criminals for violence during the elections by giving them protection.

Members of the BJP and the Left-Congress combine have been killed and such a situation has emerged that different factions of the TMC are attacking each other, Trivedi alleged.

"Violence has been going on in Bengal for years. It is not only continuing but gradually rising," he said.

Taking a swipe at the BJP's critics, Trivedi said they cannot see these murders in their opposition to the party and Prime Minister Narendra Modi.

The situation in Bengal is a lot like in Bihar of the 1990s, Trivedi said, accusing the TMC of tainting the polls with blood. "The state government's actions have been exposed through constitutional means," he said.

The BJP leader also praised the judicial intervention in the polls, saying things could have been worse but for these measures, including the deployment of central forces.

In a swipe at the State Election Commission, he said it had itself demanded security forces for carrying out elections but cannot decide what kind of forces there should be.

While opposition parties in the state such as the BJP have pitched for the extensive use of central forces, accusing the state police of supporting the ruling party, the TMC has often labelled similar allegations against the central forces.

Around 5.67 crore voters are likely to exercise their franchise to choose representatives for nearly 928 seats across 22 zilla parishads, 9,730 panchayat samitis and 63,229 gram panchayats.