Lok Sabha Election 2019: Mamata Banerjee asks Election Commission to be impartial

Kolkata : West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee has written a letter to the Election Commission, asking them to conduct a peaceful and violence free election in the state. She also urged them to be 'impartial'.

The letter comes four days after reports of clashes emerged out from the rally of BJP chief Amit Shah. The Election Commission had responded by taking the unprecendented step of curtailing poll campaigning in the state by a day.

The final and seventh phase of the Lok Sabha Election 2019 will be done of Sunday.

"In the final phase of the election tomorrow, I would request your good office to kindly ensure that election is completed peacefully, impartially and without any undue interference by the ruling party at the centre," the Trinamool Congress chief wrote to Chief Election Commissioner Sunil Arora, asking the election body to "protect democratic institutions and the federal structure of the country and extend due respect to the opposition parties" at a time when its impartiality has come under a cloud.

She also raised questions over decisions taken by the Election Commission since April 11.

"The state has seen a number of illegal, unconstitutional and biased decisions being taken during the election process under the influence of the ruling party at the centre. As a result, everybody from the state administration and its officials to the common people have been harassed and attacked in various ways," she wrote.

She framed violence in the state as a failure of the Election Commission to conduct peaceful elections.

"The road show was a deliberate, intentional and a criminal conspiracy to vandalise the culture and heritage of Bengal," she said, questioning the Election Commission-appointed police commissioner's decision to allow Amit Shah to go ahead with the event.