The Mamata All India Trinamool Congress (MAITC) has accused the Bengal government of using police personnel to collect affidavits in support of the faction led by Ritabrata Banerjee and Arup Roy, escalating the dispute over the All India Trinamool Congress (AITC) name and election symbol.
In a letter dated October 14 to the Director General and Inspector General of Police, West Bengal, and the Commissioners of Police, Kolkata, Rajya Sabha MP Dola Sen alleged that officers-in-charge (OCs) and inspectors-in-charge (ICs) of police stations were directed to obtain more than 1,100 affidavits from people who were not AITC members.
The allegations could not be independently verified.
MAITC flags alleged coercion
Sen claimed that police personnel were using force and influence to obtain signatures in favour of the rival faction. The party also attached a draft affidavit to its complaint, alleging that police personnel were attempting to get the document notarised.
“You are all duty-bound to protect the constitutional rights of every political worker,” Sen wrote, urging senior police officials to stop the alleged exercise. She warned of legal consequences if the directions were not followed and sent a copy of the letter to the Election Commission of India (ECI).
In a separate complaint sent on October 15 to the state Chief Secretary and registration and stamp revenue officials, Sen raised concerns over the alleged supply and distribution of stamp papers through police stations.
Row over stamp paper distribution
According to the complaint, district magistrates had allegedly issued unwritten directions to stamp vendors to make around 25,000 stamp papers of Rs 10 denomination available at every sub-registry office and hand them over to the local police station’s OC or IC.
The letter further alleged that Rs 20 stamp papers could be issued without entries in the relevant registers and handed over to police officials or district magistrates’ offices. Sen sought an immediate halt to the alleged practice, claiming it was intended to help the faction led by Banerjee in its claim over the party symbol. The ECI was also sent a copy.
ECI to decide party dispute
The dispute is pending before the ECI, which has frozen the original party symbol and allotted separate symbols to MAITC and Democratic Trinamool Congress. The Supreme Court, on September 28, directed the parties to submit their pleadings within four weeks and asked the ECI to decide the matter within three months thereafter.
Reacting to the allegations, MAITC MP Sagarika Ghose asked: “When did the police and thanas start organising political affidavits?”
AAP leader Saurabh Bharadwaj separately alleged that each of Bengal’s 607 police stations had been asked to collect 1,000 dummy affidavits, potentially taking the total to six lakh documents.