A Trinamool Congress MLA has courted controversy after allegedly threatening to break the backbone of a top Election Commission official if any eligible voter is removed from the electoral rolls as a result of the ongoing SIR exercise.In a purported video that has gone viral, Farakka legislator Manirul Islam also asserted that the poll panel should not test the patience of the TMC, stating that if the EC wants to play with fire, so can the TMC.
PTI could not independently verify the authenticity of the video.
The remarks came days after a violent protest during the SIR hearing in Farakka, as a group of peole, allegedly in the presence of Islam, rampaged the BDO office.
Addressing a rally on Tuesday, Islam said, “I will not sit idle if he (EC official) plays with the lives of common people. I will break the backbone if there is a mistake on its part in including names of every genuine voter.”
Amid cheers by his supporters, he said, “If you think about hiding underground, I will drag you from there.” He, however, did not identify any EC official by name.