CPI(M) General Secretary Sitaram Yechury has appealed to all “peace and democracy loving people” to raise their voice against violence in West Bengal.

Talking to reporters here on Monday, Yechury termed the incidents as “cold-blooded murder of democracy” and said the ruling Trinamool Congress (TMC) is obstructing the people’s right to vote.

He said the police were mere bystanders while the State Chief Electoral Officer was unavailable to even elected representatives of the Opposition parties.

“The role of the State Election Commission has been obnoxious and the distinction between the TMC, the State government and the SEC has been completely obliterated,” he said, and added that none of the verdicts of the Hight Court and the Supreme Court was implemented by the State government.

Yechury dismissed the TMC’s charge that more people died in political violence when the CPI(M) was in power in the State.

“It is not true. Also, violence earlier does not despise violence now,” he said. Yechury, however, said that the party does not support use of Article 356 of the Constitution to dismiss the TMC government in the State. “We will oppose the attacks in a democratic manner,” he said, and added that had the elections happened in a peaceful manner, the Left Front would have won more than 50 per cent of the seats.

“It is also clear that the nature and spread of the violence betrays the complete isolation of the TMC forcing them to realise that but for such heinous methods there is no other way that their hegemony can be sustained. The silver lining today has been that despite this all encompassing violence, intimidation and terror, there are significant reports of resistance spontaneously by the people,” he added.

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