The Trinamool Congress has alleged that the Central Armed Police Force (CAPF) deployed in West Bengal for the upcoming polls has intimidated voters at the behest of the Bharatiya Janata Party and demanded that the Election Commission of India take immediate cognizance of the matter.

The TMC has also sought details of the ratio of CAPF personnel to West Bengal state police personnel deployed for guarding elections, details of duties assigned to them and whether the reported activities of CAPF personnel are in accordance with ECI guidelines .

“…it has come to our notice that only CAPF personnel, without the presence of State Police, are engaging in various illegal activities at the behest of their political masters (BJP). They enter private residences to intimidate voters and influence them to cast their votes in favor of the BJP. Such partisan conduct unlawfully alters the impartiality and sanctity of the ensuing elections,” a delegation of TMC leaders, including Derek O’Brien and Saket Gokhale, submitted in their complaint to the poll body on Saturday.

In the letter, the TMC cited Section 8.5(c) of the ECI’s 2023 election deployment of force manual, which states that “Each CAPF team should be provided with a local police representative from the time of their induction until the process is completed. electoral process so that he can do his duty well because of his knowledge of the terrain and the local language.”

The TMC also asked the ECI to delineate the legal consequences of deviations from the ECI’s prescribed guidelines, particularly “in scenarios where such deviations may compromise the fairness and

the integrity of the elections”.

In another complaint filed with the ECI on Saturday, the TMC accused state BJP president Sukanta Majumdar of making a “false, derogatory and defamatory speech during an election rally in Taldangra organized by pollsters” on November 7. They also accused Majumdar of insulting the state. emblem of India and the state police, as he said in Bengali: “Don’t act as an agent of Trinamool. Remove the Ashoka Stambh from the uniform and replace it with a sandal symbol. Don’t hide behind the uniform.”

The TMC said these remarks defamed the state police and undermined its credibility and insulted Ashoka Stambh.

The TMC asked the ECI to direct Majumdar to tender an unconditional apology to the state police and direct the BJP not to make defamatory, inflammatory and unverified remarks against the state police and the state emblem.

“This constitutes a deliberate attempt to mislead the public, defame a neutral law enforcement agency, and create an atmosphere of mistrust and hostility. Moreover, this kind of politically motivated propaganda by the BJP violates the spirit of free and fair elections. By spreading false and malicious allegations, they are trying to unduly influence the voters, which can be considered a corrupt practice under the existing provisions of the Representation of the People Act, 1951,” the complaint said.