Press Trust of India Posted online: Friday, January 06, 2006 at 1628 hours IST
Kolkata, January 6: A day after the Election Commission deputed 19 observers for the state including K J Rao, who oversaw the Bihar polls, veteran CPI(M) Politburo Member Jyoti Basu on Friday said, "West Bengal is not Bihar" and his party was not at all worried about any new measures EC might adopt in the state ahead of the Assembly polls.
"I do not know what election Commission is upto this time. But uptill now, nobody has criticised us. Every election had been held in a free and fair manner," he said.
"I do not know K J Rao. I do not know Bihar. But West Bengal is not Bihar. People will vote for us," Basu, a former West Bengal Chief Minister, retorted when reporters asked for his comment.
Basu recollected the role of former Chief Election Commissioner T N Seshan, whom he had described as a "maniac" during a previous state Assembly election and added, "even he (Seshan) also said after the voting that polling was peaceful".
"Even Mamata Banerjee (Trinamool Congress) had thought that election was so good after the voting in 2001 (Assembly polls) and that she would occupy power in writers building (State Secretariat)," said the Marxist veteran.
Basu was speaking to reporters after attending the meeting of the CPI(M) State secretariat here.
The EC has deputed the observers to oversee the on-going revision of electoral rolls in West Bengal.
