‘Just spreading rumours’: BJP refutes TMC allegations of ballot box ‘tampering’ amid ongoing protests

New Delhi: bjp Slamming the All India Trinamool Congress (TMC) on Thursday, it dismissed the latter’s allegations of tampering with postal ballot boxes. Allegations of “active collusion” with BJP election committee By opening the ballot boxes “without the presence of any relevant party stakeholders”, the ruling party leaders are “spreading rumors” as they are “preparing for their defeat” in the assembly elections, said BJP leader Tapas Roy.Roy arrived at the Netaji Indoor Stadium where TMC leaders Kunal Ghosh and Shashi Panja protested against the charges. “We will deploy two people to guard the vault… They (TMC) are just spreading rumors and preparing for failure… There is a three-tier security arrangement here,” he told reporters, according to ANI.“They can’t do that. They can’t gather in front of the vault. Sit-ins or sloganeering in front of a solid room are strictly prohibited. This is wrong. Why did Kolkata Police allow this? …What manipulation do they (TMC) accuse us of? When we heard about it, two of us came here. When we were told to visit here, we came,” he added.Meanwhile, TMC leader Shashi Panja accused the BJP leaders of creating ruckus and said the protest was peaceful before their arrival. “We are sitting peacefully on the altar…BJP leaders are creating ruckus here,” she said.TMC leader Kunal Ghosh also leveled accusations against the BJP, questioning why he and others were not allowed entry while Roy was. “We were taken away but Tapastha went in. What do you call this? It was like their own party office. These agents of the Central Police and the people of the BJP… are not in the hands of the Kolkata Police; even the Kolkata Police personnel are now appointed by the Election Commission. As a result, our... Hey, if he’s a candidate, we’re a candidate, too. Would you remove a candidate? ” he said.“We were there in a peaceful manner. They came here to steal; they worked here secretly, opening the vault without informing anyone before our people arrived. After Dr. Panja, myself and our team arrived, we intervened and drew attention to it. Even then, we were not allowed to enter. Later, when we were sitting quietly and the work and discussions were going on, the BJP came and created trouble. Why is the BJP so jealous? ” he added.The incident escalated when the TMC leveled charges against the BJP, calling it “murder of democracy in broad daylight”.In a post on X, the party also shared a video and described the so-called “ballot box opening” as serious electoral fraud. “Shockingly, this was a broad daylight murder of democracy. CCTV footage reveals how @BJP4India actively colluded with @ECISVEEP to open ballot boxes without the presence of any relevant party stakeholders. This was serious electoral fraud committed openly with the full knowledge and protection of the Electoral Commission,” the party said.The party further accused the BJP of trying “all despicable means” to defeat it in the assembly elections and in desperation “sinking to tampering with EVMs”. “They tried every dirty trick, deletion of names, intimidation of voters, terror from the Centre, flooding with cash, but failed miserably. Now, in desperation, they started tampering with EVMs. But Bengal is not Maharashtra, Delhi or Bihar. We will not sit back and watch them loot our democracy.”The development came on the second day of the second and final phase of polling in West Bengal, which recorded a voter turnout of 92.67 per cent. The vote counting date is scheduled for May 4.