Bengal BJP chief Samik Bhattacharya on Saturday called for a fresh Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls in the state, citing alleged violence and disruption during the previous exercise.
The Rajya Sabha MP accused the erstwhile TMC government of allowing the process to be obstructed, claiming that documents were snatched and burnt, election officials assaulted and offices torched during the earlier revision.
He also alleged that Block Development Officers (BDOs), anganwadi workers and the BJP's Booth Level Agents (BLAs) were attacked during the exercise.
"Instead of being accused of 'vote chori', Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar should be considered for an award for conducting the electoral process (transparently). West Bengal needs another SIR because the previous exercise was not conducted smoothly, with documents burnt, officials attacked and offices set on fire," he alleged.
Referring to the ongoing protests by the CJP over the issue, Bhattacharya said people had the right to agitate in a democracy but questioned the political forces behind the movement.
He claimed that the agitation was being driven by politically irrelevant forces rejected by voters and lacked public support.
"Mobocracy can never replace democracy," he said, cautioning against attempts to create disorder and directly challenge the administration and judiciary.
Bhattacharya also claimed the BJP was not responsible for the attack on CPI(M) book stalls near Durga Puja pandals in Kolkata.
"This is not our path. This land has a tradition of pluralism," he said, quoting Ramakrishna Paramahamsa's saying, "Jato mat, tato path" (as many opinions, so many paths).
Bhattacharya claimed that the situation surrounding Durga Puja had changed under the new government.
He alleged that, previously, even the timing of idol immersion in some places was subject to police and administrative permission.
Praising this year's puja pandals, he said several highlighted social issues, citing an installation in Bagbazar that drew attention to the declining condition of commercial theatre.