The joint forum of state government employees — spearheading a movement demanding enhanced dearness allowance and arrears accrued by the West Bengal government –, will approach the Calcutta High Court seeking deployment of central armed forces during the upcoming three-tier panchayat polls.

According to the joint forum convener Bhaskar Ghosh, their apprehension of safety of state government employees linked to poll-related duties turned true on Saturday as a government employee at the block development office at Bhangar in South 24 Parganas district was severely beaten up for allowing All India Secular Front candidates to collect nomination papers.

“Citing that example we will be approaching the Calcutta High Court for deployment of central forces in the polls,” said Ghosh.

The joint forum has already announced that they will be boycotting the poll-related duties unless the central armed forces are deployed. Last week, they also submitted a memorandum to the office of the West Bengal State Election Commission.

Supporting the demand of the joint forum, BJP’s national vice-president and party Lok Sabha member Dilip Ghosh said that the demands are justified since all except the state government are asking for central forces deployment in the panchayat polls.

“As it is, the state government employees have been denied their legitimate right for enhanced dearness allowance. In such a situation, they cannot surely risk their lives by attending poll duties without central forces security cover considering the past history of violence and bloodbath,” he said.

Trinamool Congress’s Rajya Sabha member Dr Santanu Sen, however, described the demand of the state government employees as highly justified. “When the state government and state election commission are assuring of free, fair and

violence-free panchayat polls, then the state government employees should have faith on their assurances. They are unnecessarily trying to create an issue in the matter,” Sen said.

(The story has been published via a syndicated feed with a modified headline.)