480 Central Forces Companies In WB From March
The ruling Trinamul Congress however questioned the decision of Amit Shah's ministry much before the announcement of the polls while BJP defended it
Kolkata: In an unprecedented move, the union home ministry has decided to send 480 companies (coys) of central forces “initially” for deployment from next month even before the announcement of the Assembly Election in West Bengal.
It also conveyed the troops' dispatch and deployment plan, which will be in two phases each comprising 240 companies, in a letter to state chief secretary Nandini Chakravorty on Friday amid the Election Commission’s special intensive revision (SIR) of the voters’ list here.
The ruling Trinamul Congress however questioned the decision of Amit Shah's ministry much before the announcement of the polls while BJP defended it.
The ministry of home affairs (MHA) letter stated, “In pursuance of the Election Commission of India (ECI)'s communication dated 20.02.2024, it has been decided to initially deploy 480 Coys of CAPPs, for area domination, confidence building measures, poll day related duties, guarding of EVM/Strong room centers and counting centre arrangements etc. during the election process in the State of West Bengal…”
It added that 240 companies of central forces would be inducted from March 1 in the first phase. These include 110 Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF) companies, 55 Border Security Force (BSF) companies, 21 Central Industrial Security Force (CISF) companies and 27 companies each from Indo-Tibetan Border Police (ITBP) and Sashastra Seema Bal (SSB).
The second phase of deployment will start on March 10. It will include another 120 CRPF companies, 65 BSF companies, 16 CISF companies, 20 ITBP companies and 19 SSB companies.
The MHA also asked
the state government in the letter to work out the detailed deployment plan in consultation with the respective central armed police force (CAPFs) and Chief Force Coordinator.
“The movement and deployment of CAPFs shall be coordinated by CRPF. Out of 09 Sections of a Coy of CAPFs, 08 Sections shall be utilized for deployment at polling stations and for other duties, while the remaining 01 Section shall be deployed in QRT duties, under Coy Commander.”
Reacting to the development, TMC state vice president Joyprakash Majumdar said, “EC can deploy the central forces in the state after the announcement of the polls but not a day or hour before that because an elected government exists then and there is a federal structure which allows the state government to supervise the law and order situation.”
He added, “It is not clear why such a step has been taken in the name of area domination. If that is the case, it will set a trend to deploy central troops long before the polls.” Countering him, BJP spokesperson Debjit Sarkar pointed out, “The central force deployment is aimed at maintaining peace and removing fears among the voters ahead and during the polls.”
