Office of the Election Commission of India.
Credit: PTI File Photo
Kolkata: A Trinamool Congress MLA has courted controversy after allegedly threatening to break the backbone of a top Election Commission official if any eligible voter is removed from the electoral rolls as a result of the ongoing SIR exercise.
In a purported video that has gone viral, Farakka legislator Manirul Islam also asserted that the poll panel should not test the patience of the TMC, stating that if the EC wants to play with fire, so can the TMC.
PTI could not independently verify the authenticity of the video.
The remarks came days after a violent protest during the SIR hearing in Farakka, as a group of peole, allegedly in the presence of Islam, rampaged the BDO office.
Addressing a rally on Tuesday, Islam said, "I will not sit idle if he (EC official) plays with the lives of common people. I will break the backbone if there is a mistake on its part in including names of every genuine voter." Amid cheers by his supporters, he said, "If you think about hiding underground, I will drag you from there." He, however, did not identify any EC official by name.
BJP leader Sajal Ghosh said that Islam represents the “goonda culture” introduced by the TMC in West Bengal, where a ruling party MLA gets away by making violent threats against democratic and constitutional bodies like the EC, and his party top brass looks the other way.
“Scared of the possible electoral outcome, leaders like Islam are getting increasingly desperate," he said.
The TMC is yet to officially react to Islam's diatribe.
The ruling party legislator also said, "If the bamboo canes holding our party flag are not enough, we will use real sticks to break your backbone. Don't test our patience.
“We are giving you time so that not a single mistake creeps up in SIR. If that does not happen, there will be tit for tat. If you play with fire, you must understand we can also play with fire.” Protests have been held across several districts of West Bengal for the past several days over alleged harassment of people during the hearing part of the SIR exercise in the state.