West Bengal assembly elections: 24-hr campaign ban on BJP's Sayantan Basu, TMC's Sujata Mondal Khan

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NEW DELHI: Ahead of the sixth phase of the assembly election in West Bengal, the Election Commission on Sunday (April 18) imposed a 24-hour campaigning ban on BJP leader Sayantan Basu and Trinamool Congress leader Sujata Mondal Khan over their recent speeches. According to reports, the campaigning ban on BJP and Trinamool Congress leaders will come into effect from 7 pm on Sunday. 

According to ANI report, the poll panel banned BJP leader Sayantan Basu for 24 hours from campaigning over his 'highly provocative remarks' over the recent Cooch Behar firing in which five people lost their lives. The poll panel had on April 15 issued a notice to Sayantan Basu for his alleged 'inflammatory' remark during a speech and asked him to explain his stand within 24 hours. The notice said the poll panel had received a complaint against Basu over his speech in North 24 Parganas' Baranagar. The Commission said his speech was found to be in violation of the model code and provisions of the Representation of the People Act and the Indian Penal Code.

"(Barely audible) l, Sayantan Basu, am here to tell you that don't try to play too much. We will play the game of Shitalkuchi. They killed 18 years old Ananda Barman...He was the brother of the BJP's Shakti Pramukh. We did not have to wait for long...(Barely audible) Four of them were shown the way to heaven. "There was a dialogue in the film 'Sholay' you know -- if you kill one we will kill four of you. Shitalkuchi witnessed it -- if you kill one we will kill four of you...," the EC notice said, quoting portions of his speech.

On the other hand, Sujata Khan has been banned by the commission over her 'disparaging remarks' agsinst the Scheduled Caste community. Earlier, the EC had asked her to explain why her status as 'star campaigner' should not be withdrawn.

#Breaking| Election Commission of India imposes 24-hour ban on BJP leader Sayantan Basu and TMC's Sujata Mondal from campaigning from 7PM on April 18 to 7PM on April 19 . @Zee24Ghanta pic.twitter.com/ly8QGA7q0w

— Piyali Mitra (@Plchakraborty) April 18, 2021

According to a portion of her remarks reproduced in the notice, the TMC leader had reportedly said that "as there is scarcity of resources in the schedule caste families, no matter how much, Mamata Bandyopadhyay has helped them, the scarcity will not go". 

"As there a is a saying, some are actually beggars and others are beggars by nature. The schedule castes here are beggars by nature, and in spite of Mamata Bandyopadhyay (CM Mamata Banerjee) helping them so much, still they have been sold to BJP at a petty amount and are now torturing us," according to Khan's remarks reproduced in the notice. 

(With PTI inputs)