CPI(ML) plans elections: CPI(ML) to contest 10 seats in West Bengal; Calls SIR a joke on democracy

Ranchi: CPI(ML) national general secretary Dipankar Bhattacharya on Tuesday said the party would contest in 10 seats in the West Bengal assembly election. The party will contest the election in alliance with other Left parties, he said.Addressing the media at his party’s state office here, Bhattacharya said CPI (ML) is a part of the grand alliance in Assam and will fight in a few seats. Bhattacharya further said the party will contest in 15 seats in Tamil Nadu and would work with the DMK in the others. In Kerala, the party would contest from three seats in Kannur, Thiruvananthapuram and Thrissur districts. Bhattacharya claimed that the special intensive revision (SIR) in West Bengal has created uncertainty over the voting rights of 60 lakh people and said the elections under these circumstances are a joke on democracy. “The BJP has deprived many women and minorities of their voting rights through SIR. The Union govt has taken the control of West Bengal administration by replacing chief secretary, home secretary and the DGP,” he said.Bhattacharya claimed that the Centre has also appointed a controversial governor in Tamil Nadu, adding the step has been criticised by the Supreme Court.He also criticised the Modi-led govt's approach towards the ongoing war in Gulf, saying that it should break its silence. He said that India’s siding with United States and Israel is not only hitting her sovereignty but also its economic interests.