Malda Protests Grow as Voters' List Irregularities Spark Tensions

Protests are growing across the state over the presence of names on the voters'list. In Malda, people are staging sit-ins and blocking roads in front of the BDO offices of Sujapur and Mothabari assembly constituencies. Roads are being blocked in different parts of Malda district. Meanwhile, CPI (M) candidate from Gazole assembly constituency Kshitish Sarkar has been turned away by the returning officer for not filing his nomination. The Left Front has lodged a strong protest. CPI (M) state secretary Mohammad Salim said people have become desperate to protect democratic rights and voting rights. The two rulers must understand this attitude. He said the Election Commission and the state government are directly and indirectly responsible for the situation. The Chief Justice's bench of the Supreme Court ordered a CBI or NIA probe into the Mothabari incident on Thursday morning. The Election Commission handed over the investigation to the CBI in the evening. There were allegations of protests surrounding the SIR judges in Mothabari on Wednesday night. Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee blamed the Congress and the ISF for the Malda incident at an election public meeting. The arrest of Mothabari ISF candidate Ali Kader and SIR Islam on Wednesday night has deepened the name of the