People's Democracy

Trinamul Congress's Attempt To Forge Voter ID's Exposed

B Prasant

IN a major instance of electoral fraud, people connected with the Trinamul Congress in Bengal have been caught in the act of forging voter identity cards. The Election Commission has expressed its worry and anxiety at the manner in which a concerted and covert attempt has been made to inflict falsification and forgery to try to upset the election process and schedule as such.

The principal acts of a completely sordid drama were played out at Nabadwip in the district of Nadia. Nadia, in fact, is one of the districts where several assembly seats would have voter ID as bounden to the process of casting of ballots. There are 15 assembly seats in this district.

During the night of December 23, the district police acting on a tip off raided the residence of a district-level Trinamul Congress leader of major proportions and struck gold. They found splayed out in front of them a multitude of reprographic equipment with the help of which voter ID cards, school leaving certificates, birth certificates, and other such testimonials were forged using sophisticated methods.

Five people apart from the leader of the pack were taken into custody. Long sessions of interrogation revealed a series of spots around Nadia district where similar forms of illegal initiatives were being enthusiastically indulged in. A total of dozen-odd arrests were made, and those arrested, all of them, belong to some hierarchy or other of the Trinamul Congress, or are useful as appendages of Trinamul Congress leadership.

Notably, the district CPI(M) had already submitted memoranda before the district administration expressing apprehensions about the kind of forgery that is now unearthed, and that was weeks ago.

The Bengal CPI(M) has written a strongly worded letter to the chief electoral officer protesting the Trinamul Congress move, and calling for the initiation of appropriate measures to prevent such attempts from being essayed.

Throughout the district on December 24 and 25, demonstrations, marches, and rallies slammed the Trinamul Congress for the brash attempt to subvert the polls process.

CPI(M) state secretary Anil Biswas while castigating the ill-gotten attempts at electoral forgery as reprehensible did nevertheless note that little else could be expected from a bunch of desperadoes who increasingly despair of getting a massive drubbing come the 2006 Assembly polls.

Polit Bureau member of the CPI(M) and Bengal Left Front chairman, Biman Basu said that the Trinamul Congress lacked faith in the mass of the people and would not bother about democracy and democratic norms.

A question however remains unanswered. Is there any connection between Mamata Banerjeefs glib assurance of edoing well in the polls,f despite every sign visible in the political scenario in Bengal militating against such wishful thinking, in any way connected with the urge to falsify?

The Trinamul Congress leadership has chosen to maintain a stoic, if sans dignity, silence.