Mamata Banerjee responds to EC showcause notice

In a strongly-worded letter to the Trinamool supremo on Tuesday, the poll panel had made it clear that the notice was issued to her in her capacity as Trinamool Congress head and not as the chief minister of West Bengal.

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Rejecting the response sent by the Chief Secretary, the Commission, in a separate communication, pulled him up, saying it was not “appropriate” for the state government to respond to a showcause notice related to violation of the model code of conduct (MCC).

In its letter to Mamata, EC said no response was received from her and that “the Commission, hereby, makes it clear that the aforesaid notice was issued to you for MCC violation related to you as Chairperson of the All India Trinamool Congress and not to the state government of West Bengal”.

She was served with the notice last week for announcing at an election rally creation of a new district. A defiant Mamata had responded to the EC missive at another election rally, saying that “on the first day of the Bengali new year, the EC has sent me a showcause notice over things I had said. I will say it again, I will say it a thousand times.”