Amidst apprehensions of increased violence and political clashes as West Bengal goes for Assembly polls, home secretary G.K. Pillai on Friday said that the political parties should “let the ballot speak and not the gun’’. Mr Pillai said that there will be as many as 700 companies (70,000 personnel) deployed in the Marxist bastion during the Assembly polls. While 10,000 personnel have recently been dispatched to the state, an additional 350 companies (35,000) personnel are expected to reach there by mid-March, he said.
“In consultation with the Election Commission, we will provide adequate Central paramilitary forces in West Bengal to ensure peaceful polls. Even before the announcements are made, we have sent forces to the state to able to reduce the violence between either political parties or otherwise... The forces can prevent and minimise the clashes,” he said while interacting with reporters at the Indian Women’s Press Corps here.
Mr Pillai said the security forces are also in the process of confiscating illegal arms from various parts of the state.
On the Armed Forces (Special Powers) Act in Jammu and Kashmir and certain parts of Northeast, Mr Pillai said that there is scope now for the state government to take a political call on whether some areas should be removed from the disturbed list.
“That political call is overdue and I hope they do it this year,” he said. On whether the Orissa government had taken a “soft’’ approach by acceding to the Maoists’ demand of release of their jailed leaders in exchange for abducted Malkangiri collector R.V. Krishna, Mr Pillai said, “Each situation is assessed on a case to case basis. If you don’t do it you are criticised, if you do it then you are criticised. It is a call which the state government had to take and it has handled it extremely well.”