Mukherjee gets into the car fitted with beacons in Islampur on Friday. Picture by Nityananda Sarkar

Raiganj, April 25: Bengal tourism minister Manab Mukherjee’s decision to tour North Dinajpur in a car fitted with two red beacons just before the panchayat elections has kicked up a row.

The Congress and the Trinamul Congress today lodged a complaint with the North Dinajpur district magistrate, accusing Mukherjee of campaigning for the CPM in a white Chevrolet Tavera with the lights flashing.

“This is a blatant violation of the election commission’s model code of conduct,” said Mohit Sengupta, the district committee president of the Congress.

District magistrate Sukumar Bhattacharya said the matter had been forwarded to the state election commission and an inquiry ordered.

Mukherjee has been in charge of the CPM’s organisational network in the district for the past five years. The Congress and Trinamul have claimed that on April 23, Mukherjee went to Kaliaganj with police escort and the two red lights on his car, one on the roof and the other in front, flashing.

“Mukherjee, along with Kaliaganj zonal committee secretary Bharatendu Chowdhury and district secretary Bireswar Lahiri, could be seen getting into the car and driving away,” said Sengupta.

The president of the Trinamul working committee, Tilak Chowdhury, alleged that Mukherjee was misusing his power. “He is putting in place the blueprint the CPM has prepared for rigging the elections. We have told our supporters to stop him from entering their areas in that car,” Chowdhury added.

When contacted at the CPM office at Islampur, Mukherjee initially said the vehicle was “hired”.

Later, however, Mukherjee said: “It is my personal car. I have come to North Dinajpur on official work, not for election purposes. As to why the administration has given me police escort, the question would be best answered by them, since I did not require it. I am also not letting the driver put on the lights.”