Kolkata: Trinamool Congress General Secretary and the party’s Diamond Harbour Lok Sabha MP, Abhishek Banerjee, on Thursday wrote a letter to the Election Commission of India (ECI) apprehending theft or ribbing of crucial documents required to be submitted to the Commission for establishing rights over the original party name — All India Trinamool Congress and the electoral symbol of ‘Flowers & Grass’.
Abhishek, also the nephew of former West Bengal Chief Minister, Mamata Banerjee, has addressed the letter, sent through his counsel, to the Chief Election Commissioner (CEC), Gyanesh Kumar, and the two Election Commissioners, Sukhbir Singh Sandhu and Vivek Joshi.
Copies of the same letter have also been forwarded to Mamata Banerjee, Kolkata Police Commissioner, Ajay Nand and the Chief Election Officer (CEO), Neelam Meena.
In the letter, Abhishek’s counsel alleged that a group of miscreants attacked the residence of the Diamond Harbour MP at Kalighat in South Kolkata on the intervening night of November 6 and 7.
As per the letter, this was not an isolated incident, but a well-planned plot to seize affidavits and documents prepared by Mamata All India Trinamool Congress (MAITC) for submission to the Commission, for establishing rights over the original party name — All India Trinamool Congress and electoral symbol of Flowers & Grass.
In the letter, it was further alleged that just before the attack, some unidentified persons using a police car had conducted surveillance or reconnaissance around the premises and taken photographs. The letter also mentioned that similar incidents of surveillance were observed on November 10 and 11.
Abhishek’s counsel also claimed in the letter that West Bengal government officials arrived at the premises of the residence of the Diamond Harbour MP on Thursday morning and broke down the security gate erected by the police in front of the MP’s house.
As per the letter, in the context of previous attacks and constant surveillance, the breaking of the gate raised serious concerns about the safety of the MP and the security of the documents of the pending cases of the commission.
To recall, last month, Ritabrata Banerjee, the leader of the Democratic Trinamool Congress (DTC) and the current Leader of the Opposition in the West Bengal Assembly, had accused MITC of making attempts to rob the crucial affidavits meant to be submitted to the ECI for establishing rights over the original party name — All India Trinamool Congress and electoral symbol of Flowers & Grass.
Now, the entire issue takes a new turn following the letter from Abhishek Banerjee to the ECI apprehending theft of documents.
(IANS)
