Following the murder of a TMC worker in a fight over the filing of nomination papers for the panchayat elections there, West Bengal Governor CV Ananda Bose visited Canning in South 24 Parganas district on Saturday evening and said that “mobocracy seems to have taken over democracy” in the state.
After visiting Bhangore in the same area, where three people were murdered in fighting between two political groups, Bose travelled to Canning the next day.
The governor said he saw among the general public a lack of confidence to exercise their right to vote due to “intimidation, strongarm tactics, and flexing of muscles” after interacting with villagers, police personnel, and members of opposing political parties.
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Modi 3.0 Will Include a Significant Change to VIP Security; NSG and ITBP Will Be RemovedWith the new ministers in charge and other paramilitary forces taking up the responsibility of protecting over a dozen high-risk individuals from the NSG and ITBP, the Union government’s VIP security setup is anticipated to undergo a significant “shift and overhaul,” official sources said on Tuesday. According to the sources who spoke with PTI, a review of this significant branch of the Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) is anticipated to begin shortly, and the benefits that have been extended to a number of political figures and candidates, former ministers, retired bureaucrats, and other individuals will either be removed, reduced, or upgraded. The sources added that the long-awaited plan to fully remove the NSG’s “black cat” commandos from VIP security responsibilities will now be put into action, and all nine of its Z-plus category protectees will be transferred to the Central Reserve Police Force’s (CRPF) VIP security unit. According to them, the CRPF or the VIP security division of the CISF known as the special security group (SSG) may receive some of the VIPs protected by members of the border guarding force, the Indo-Tibetan Border Police (ITBP). Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath, his predecessor and BSP supremo Mayawati, Union Defence Minister Rajnath Singh, veteran BJP leader and former deputy prime minister L K Advani, Union shipping minister Sarbananda Sonowal, and BJP leader and former Chhattisgarh Chief Minister Raman Singh are among those shielded by the close protection force of the National Security Guard (NSG) commandos. NSG commandos also guard former Jammu and Kashmir chief minister and Democratic Progressive Azad Party (DPAP) president Ghulam Nabi Azad, National Conference (NC) president Farooq Abdullah, and TDP leader N Chandrababu Naidu. Veteran BJP politician Murli Manohar Joshi, NC leader Omar Abdullah, PDP leader Mehbooba Mufti, and a few others are shielded by the ITBP. Since 2012, when NSG commanders predicted that simultaneous terror strikes may be seen at one time on numerous centers in the nation and that the commandos would need to be dispatched in separate directions, a proposal to relieve the NSG of VIP protection responsibilities has been in the works. According to a January 2020 PTI report, an MHA committee agreed to remove the NSG from VIP security duties after the withdrawal of the SPG from the Gandhi family, which includes Sonia Gandhi, Rahul Gandhi, and Priyanka Gandhi Vadra. The Union government has made the decision to “restructure” the NSG and employ its personnel to build up and station “strike teams” of commandos in high-risk locations, such as the vicinity of the Ram temple in Ayodhya and certain vital infrastructure situated in the southern region of the nation. When the NSG withdraws from VIP protection, it will have been doing so for more than 20 years; this was not a role assigned to the “black cat” commandos when the unit was first conceived and organized in 1984. The Union administration holds the opinion that the NSG ought to focus on its initial mandate of managing counterterrorism and counterhijack activities, and that protecting high-risk VIPs is a “burden” on its restricted and specialized skills. The sources said that when NSG is relieved of its VIP protection responsibilities, some 450 “black cat” commandos are anticipated to be released. Currently, around 200 people are protected by the VIP security wings of the CISF and the CRPF. The Gandhi family and the Union home minister are the exclusive targets of the erstwhile paramilitary group; its protectors include NSA Ajit Doval and RSS head Mohan Bhagwat.
June 11, 2024
According to sources in the Raj Bhavan, Bose postponed his planned travel to Chennai to see Canning.
“I had personally seen what occurred here. I have heard the victims’ stories of misery that they related to me. I’m so upset right now. This circumstance is in no way acceptable. The average person has the right to use this franchise without restriction or favouritism. They seem to lack confidence, in my opinion.
“This violates the basic principles of democracy. According to the governor, mobocracy seems to have supplanted democracy. Since last week, conflicts in West Bengal over the submission of nomination papers for the June 8 panchayat elections have resulted in at least five fatalities.
First, Bose visited Canning Hospital More where he interacted with residents and opposition party leaders who lamented their inability to submit nominations. At the headquarters of the irrigation department, he later met with top police and administration officials.
“The governor must protect the rights of the average person because he is the keeper of the Constitution. I’m resolved to stand with the people and make sure that they can exercise their right to a free and fair election, he said.
The Trinamool Congress, which is now in power, was not pleased with Bose’s visit and accused him of acting as a “BJP agent.”
The Governor, according to TMC spokesman Kunal Ghosh, is “maligning” the TMC based on claims made by the CPI(M), Congress, and BJP.
Kalyan Banerjee, a senior TMC lawmaker, questioned, “Is the governor a political agent? Why didn’t he pay a last respect to the victims of the train wreck? He stays away if a Trinamool member passes away.
The June 2 Odisha train tragedy claimed the lives of a number of West Bengal residents.