Bengal panchayat polls | BSF trying to scare voters in bordering areas: Mamata Banerjee

West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee accused the BSF of scaring voters in the bordering areas of the State at the behest of BJP.

West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee on June 26 accused the BSF of scaring voters in the bordering areas of the State at the behest of the saffron camp and asked the police administration to keep a close watch on their activities.

"I have information that in the run up to the panchayat election, some BSF officials are visiting the border areas, threatening voters and forcing them not to vote. I will ask people not to be scared of their tactics and fearlessly participate in the elections," she told an election rally in the bordering district.

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While referring to the alleged shooting of villagers by the BSF last year, whom the border force claimed as smugglers, Ms. Banerjee said, "Police will lodge FIRs in such cases and the law will take its own course."

"They don't have the right to shoot and kill anyone. No one is above the law; it seems killing people in Cooch Behar district has become a norm," she said.

She asserted "law and order is a State subject" and the Centre has no role in it.

Asserting that Trinamool will defeat BJP in the three-tier rural polls, Ms. Banerjee said, "We will then oust the BJP from the Centre and bring a development-oriented government in the country."