THE PANCHAYAT and Rural Development Department has issued a notification that all gram panchayats, panchayat samitis and zila parishad boards should be formed by August 16. Opposition parties have now claimed that after the announcement on board formation, incidents of violence have been reported in some areas of the state. The notification, issued on July said, “Under the provisions of rule 3(1), 4(1) and 5(1) of the West Bengal Panchayat (Constitution) Rules, 1975, as amended, the first meeting of each of the gram panchayats/panchayat samitis/zilla parishads with newly elected members should be called within 21 days from the date of publication of the notification unless further time is allowed by the district panchayat election officer for reasons to be recorded by him in this behalf. Now, it has been decided by the state government that dates for the first meetings of all the three-tier panchayat bodies, subject to minor modifications to suit the local needs, may be fixed as per the following time schedule…” The time schedule mentioned that the first meeting of the newly formed gram panchayats, panchayat samitis and zilla parishads should be held within August 16. Earlier, a Division Bench of the Calcutta High Court said that the declaration of results “will be subject to” the “ultimate orders” that it may pass in connection with petitions filed on poll-related violence and “electoral malpractices”. The Bench comprising Justice T S Sivagnanam and Justice Hiranmay Bhattacharyya directed the State Election Commission (SEC) to inform the winning candidates that their election “is subject to further orders to be passed by this court”. However, sources in the state government said the notification was issued after seeking legal advice. A senior official with the panchayat department said, “The court did not say that the process cannot be continued.” On Thursday, Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee referred to the date mentioned in the notification during her speech in the Assembly and urged her party, the Trinamool Congress (TMC) to carry out the process in a disciplined way. She said, “Last time, all bodies were formed within August 16. Similarly, this year too, all boards should be formed within the specified time. You should ensure that this should happen in a disciplined way.” During the panchayat election this year, incidents of violence occurred from the very first day of the nomination process. A total of 55 persons died in poll-related violence. Opposition parties, including the BJP, CPI(M) and the Congress, have alleged that their victorious candidates are either being threatened or lured with money to join the ruling party in places where the TMC does not have an absolute majority. The TMC, denied the allegations. CPI(M) leader Kanti Gangopadhyay filed a complaint on Friday alleging that three BJP candidates who won in Mathurapur and one Independent supported by the Left were “abducted at gunpoint” from a guest house under Panchsayar police station limits. However, according to police sources, all the four candidates, when contacted by the police, said they “are in hiding voluntarily.” TMC candidate hacked to death, 3 arrested A local TMC leader who won the panchayat election was murdered on Friday, police said on Saturday. Police identified the deceased as Maimur Gharami alias Maina. Even as the ruling TMC alleged that the CPI (M) was behind the murder, the party denied the allegation. After the incident, police arrested a CPI(M) candidate and three more CPI(M) supporters. However CPI(M) district secretary Samik Lahiri denied any link between his party and the crime. In another incident, a supporter of an Independent candidate was allegedly hacked to death in Nadia on Friday. Police identified the deceased as Kabir Sheikh (48). The relatives of the deceased alleged that TMC supporters were behind the crime. However, the ruling party denied the allegations. Congress leader Soumya Aich Roy said on Saturday, “The TMC does not know anything other than violence.” BJP leader Samik Bhattacharya said, “The TMC agenda is to grab power at any costs. They will now try to force those in the opposition to join their party.” CM Banerjee, however, denied all the allegations. She said, “These are false claims. If we triggered violence, how was the opposition able to file so many nominations and win several seats?”
