West Bengal: People who try to capture booths should be shot, says BJP candidate Sayantan Basu
The Trinamool Congress said it will approach the Election Commission seeking action against him.
Bharatiya Janata Party candidate in West Bengal’s Basirhat parliamentary seat, Sayantan Basu, on Tuesday said people who attempt to capture booths on election day should be shot to death. Basu is also the party’s general secretary in the state.
West Bengal will poll in seven phases from April 11, while the election in Basirhat is scheduled for the last phase, on May 19.
“If goons try to capture booths on polling day, I will tell the CRPF that their bullets must go through the heart and not at the feet,” Basu can be heard saying in a video shot at an event in Basirhat. “This is a fight to save democracy.”
Citing past incidents in West Bengal where Trinamool Congress workers allegedly tried to capture booths, he said troublemakers must be shot. “I am telling BJP workers, don’t cry if you are thrashed,” he added. “Simply hit back. Don’t beat up innocent people and the poor, but don’t leave the troublemakers. You will die only once. Kill those who come to kill you before you die.”
The Trinamool Congress said it will approach the Election Commission seeking action against him, PTI reported. “The BJP is trying to vitiate the poll atmosphere by making such provocative statements. The Election Commission should take action against him,” Trinamool leader Jyotipriyo Mullick said.
