Bengal is Collapsing

The high number of deaths in the aftermath of the bloody Panchayat election in Bengal shows that the state is collapsing

Election of any kind is considered to be a festival of democracy which is meant to be celebrated.

But that doesn’t appear to be the case for Bengal.

West Bengal’s recently concluded Panchayat election has been marred by immense amount of political violence.

Booth capturing, poll rigging, abuse, beating and harassment of opposition candidates and voters appeared to be a daily spectacle in the local news channels.

To put cherry on top of the cake is the deaths that accompanied such political violence.

Official and media statistics have shown that the death toll has crossed the grim milestone of 50.

Most of these deaths have occurred in districts like Malda, Murshidabad, West Midnapur, Bankura etc.

So, is this a dance of democracy or a harbinger of ominous events for the residents of West Bengal.

Hall of Shame

Political violence in every form of election in West Bengal is a not a new concept.

The rigging, booth capturing and intimidation of voters have been going on since the Left front regime of the 1970s.

But, there still was a semblance of liberty for voters. The communists despite all their brutal tactics never engaged in such wanton use of violence.

But the TMC government seems to have developed a new definition of celebrating democracy-do not let the ordinary masses vote.

It is truly a hall of shame for not just every single Bengal but also for every single Indian.

Guns, Bombs and Machetes

The evolutionary biologist Jared Diamond had named his best selling book on evolution of human history- Guns, Germs and Steel- A Short History of everybody for the last 13,000 years.

But I call this guns, bombs and machetes. Well the question may appear why?

Well to be blunt, guns, bombs (crude) and machetes are some of the devices that the TMC party goons and leaders have been using since the run up to the election to threaten and intimidate the voters.

They have carried out extreme organized violence against the opposition to deter them from freely exercising their political rights.

Panchayat Result- A Farce

The result of the concluded Panchayat election which shows the ruling TMC regime tightening its grip on power in the local constitutional institutions is a complete farce.

This is because the state election commission has been in cahoots with the TMC government right from day one on the limited time given for filing of nomination papers to handling the violence.

The fact that the TMC spokesperson Kunal Ghosh claimed that the overall election was peaceful and there were one or two stray incidents belies all sense of shame.

Conclusion

It is high time that the central government turns its attention to Bengal and start the process of bringing the state under articles 355 followed by 356.

Every sane Bengali is yearning for a change, a change from this despicable TMC regime of corrupt leaders who are nothing better than hoodlums.

It is, therefore, crystal clear that Bengal is collapsing.