State Congress chief in West Bengal and Lok Sabha member Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury has issued an appeal to his party high-command in New Delhi to prevent senior party leader Abhishek Manu Singhvi from representing the State Election Commission and the government in the Supreme Court in the matter on the deployment of central armed forces for the panchayat elections.
The state government has already filed a petition at the apex court challenging the decision of Calcutta High Court’s division bench for the deployment of central forces throughout the state. Both Congress and BJP have filed caveats at the Supreme Court on this count so that the matter is not heard ex-parte.
State Congress sources said that the Chowdhury has brought the matter to the notice of the party’s national president Mallikarjun Kharge and has requested him to ensure that no Congress leader, who is at same time top-notch advocates of the country, like Singhvi, represents the state government or the state election commission at the apex court on this count.
Singhvi has recently faced the ire of the West Bengal unit of Congress for representing for his decision to regularly accept briefs on behalf of Trinamool Congress and arguing at the Supreme Court.
Chowdhury clearly had given a total boycott call to Singhvi, and said that despite repeated objections from the state unit of the party some lawyer-leaders like Singhvi are regularly accepting briefs for the Trinamool Congress leaders.
“He had accepted similar briefs for Trinamool Congress in the matters of Saradha chit fund and Narada video tape scams. At that time too as state Congress president I clearly said that we do not want his presence in any of the party programmes in West Bengal. Now I am saying this again. We are giving a total boycott call to Singhvi,” Chowdhury said.
Last week while addressing a party rally, West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee made it clear that there was no question for the Trinamool Congress to support the Congress in West Bengal since the latter has joined hands with CPI(M) in the state.
“Congress has formed governments in several states. Now they are seeking our support against BJP in Parliament. We are ready to extend support to them to resist BJP. But they should not come for our support in West Bengal where they have joined hands with the CPI(M),” the chief minister.
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