Recovery of 21 enumeration forms from voters of South Dinajpur district near a state highway in East Burdwan’s Kalna on Sunday morning sparked a trading of barbs between the Trinamool Congress and the BJP.
However, the Kalna subdivisional officer said there was no controversy as the forms of South Dinajpur voters had accidentally fallen off a vehicle headed to Calcutta.
A source said a local booth-level agent (BLA) of the BJP had suddenly discovered a bunch of papers beside the Saptagram-Tribeni-Katwa (STKK) state highway.
As soon as local Trinamool Congress workers spotted the BJP worker with those enumeration forms, they informed police.
The cops took the forms and the BJP worker, Kashinath Mondal, to the police station to verify the authenticity of the documents.
“The most important question is how such enumeration forms were found with the BJP worker. We have been saying from Day One that the Election Commission and the BJP have been working hand in glove to harass the people of Bengal. We want a thorough probe into the matter,” said Sandip Basu, the Trinamool district trade union president.
Gour Mondal, a local BJP leader, however, alleged that his party colleague had recovered the forms and was going to deposit them at the local block development office.
“Meanwhile, Trinamool workers caught him and handed him over to the police. Trinamool leaders are intentionally making false accusations against us,” said Mondal.
Ahinsa Jain, the Kalna subdivisional officer, clarified that her office had communicated with the South Dinajpur district administration, which admitted that the forms had accidentally fallen off a vehicle carrying bundles of enumeration forms from Calcutta.
“The district concerned (South Dinajpur) has already reported the matter to their local police station. They confirmed that all 21 enumeration forms belong to them. So, there is no controversy,” said Jain, the SDO.