Tripura Chief Minister Dr Manik Saha on Friday defended Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar and thanked him for ensuring fair elections in West Bengal. 

“After the electoral rolls in Bengal were revised dead and ineligible voters had been removed which is why the true mandate of the public was reflected in the polls results of Bengal. It was him under whose watch the political change of guard became possible in Bengal,” the Chief Minister said. 

Stating that the hue and cry of the opposition on fairness of elections were selective and only targeted to states where BJP had been winning, Dr Saha said, “The controversy related to Chief Election Commissioner, is acting as a breath of fresh air for the opposition. They have started making it an issue all over the country but mark my words, this country has a strong democratic set up. All these theatrics shall fail to yield any results at the end.” 

According to Dr Saha, the political change of guard took place in Bengal and Kerala almost at the same time. “You will never hear a single word uttered on the opposition’s victory in Kerala. If the allegations raised against the CEC are true, BJP would have easily won Kerala. Whenever the opposition wins an election, complaints related to fairness of elections just stop,” Dr Saha told a party gathering.  

Taking a dig at the opposition, Dr Saha said, “The opposition parties in Tripura have gained huge expertise in spreading lies, mislead and misguiding people. In fact, if an institution can be opened for teaching these qualities, the leaders in opposition parties will qualify for the faculty posts without a doubt. I have noticed that they have prepared a roaster among themselves to keep repeating the lies in regular intervals in order to catch public attention and grab eyeballs.”