Classic case of breakdown of Constitutional machinery in WB: Jaitley on EC action

The Election Commission cutting down campaign period in West Bengal shows there is a classic case of breakdown of the Constitutional machinery in the state, senior BJP leader Arun Jaitley said Wednesday.

In wake of violence between BJP and TMC workers in Kolkata during a roadshow by BJP President Amit Shah, the Election Commission (EC) cut short campaign for nine Lok Sabha seats in West Bengal by 24 hours.

The Commission banned the campaigning in the nine constituencies from 10 PM, Thursday. Earlier the campaign was to end on Friday.

A constitutional authority, the Election Commission of India, has effectively held West Bengal to be a "state in anarchy", said Jaitley in series of tweets.

Repeatedly escalating violence, state supported vandals, a partisan police and home department are the illustrations the ECI has given, he noted.

"A free campaign is not possible and therefore the campaign has to be cut short. This is a classical case of breakdown of the Constitutional Machinery," the