Abhishek Manu Singhvi refuted the charges, saying the meeting wass cancelled three days ago.
Angry with Congress Rajya Sabha member Abhishek Manu Singhvi for representing TMC in court, Congress MLAs cancelled the meeting with him on Saturday.
While the official reason stated was that the MLAs had been busy with the forthcoming panchayat election and ill-health of leader of Opposition Abdul Mannan, but sources close to Mannan said that the meeting had been avoided after Singhvi represented TMC at the Supreme Court on Friday.
“The meeting could have led to uncomfortable questions asked to him. That is why it has been called off,” said a senior MLA on condition of anonymity.
As a bench of Justice RK Agarwal and Justice Abhay Manohar Sapre heard BJP’s plea to allow their candidates to file nominations peacefully, to reschedule election and to deploy Central forces, Singhvi, who appeared for the TMC-led West Bengal government said that the BJP was doing it to gain media attention and that the BJP had filed more nominations than the TMC.
Congress MLAs in Bengal thought that Singhvi’s move had watered down their fight against the TMC and that it would lead to more Congress MLAs defect to TMC.
Singhvi, however, in a reply to a text message by DNA, refuted all allegations. ‘Amazingly false and distorted interpretation by vested interests. Meeting cancelled three days ago cos (sic) all MLAs out for panchayat elections. Anti-BJP brief I accepted today morn (sic) and saw first time today. Completely false. Also, I appeared as respondent in a brief where Petr (petitioner is BJP), the text read.
Senior advocate A M Singhvi, appearing for West Bengal, said the BJP's petition was based on a wrong premise as there are several districts in which BJP candidates have filed more nomination papers than the ruling Trinamool Congress.
He said the BJP should have first approached the State Election Commission, which should have approached the Calcutta High Court.
"There is a triple whammy in BJP's petition. First, they cannot directly come to the Supreme Court, they should have first moved the State Election Commission, and thirdly they should have made some specific averments of nomination papers not being allowed in a particular district," Singhvi said.
The bench, after hearing the arguments, said it will pass orders.
The apex court had yesterday agreed to hear the matter today, considering the submission of Aishwarya Bhati, the counsel for BJP state general secretary Pratap Banerjee, that the last day for filing nominations was April 9.
Bhati had also referred to the recent murder of a Dalit leader in the state and accused the Trinamool Congress government in the state of fomenting trouble.
The plea sought issuance of nomination forms to BJP candidates, so they could file their papers.
It alleged that block development officers, appointed assistant panchayat electoral registration officers by the West Bengal State Election Commission, are refusing to give nomination forms to BJP candidates.
The West Bengal State Election Commission is the authority tasked with superintendence, direction and control of the preparation of electoral rolls for, and the conduct of, all elections to panchayats and municipalities.
"... the entire election process is being reduced to a farce. In addition to refusal of nomination forms, the ruling party in state of West Bengal has unleashed violence against the candidates of the petitioner (BJP) and the candidates of the petitioner along with their families are being threatened and dissuaded from contesting the panchayat elections on the symbol of the petitioner," the plea said.
The state poll panel has abrogated its responsibility and is behaving like a mute spectator without taking any action in this regard, it claimed.
With inputs from PTI
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