EC orders CCTV cameras' removal - Minister watches rivals, says Left

TT, Malda, March 22: The Election Commission today instructed Englishbazar municipality to remove all CCTV cameras in town after the Left Front had complained that the civic chairman, who was also the Trinamul candidate in Englishbazar Assembly seat, was using video footage to monitor the campaign of rival parties.

Krishnendu Chowdhury, the civic chairman as well as the state horticulture minister, said the allegations by the Left were baseless and the 30 CCTV cameras had been installed for traffic management and maintaining law and order.  

Sharad Dwivedi, the district magistrate of Malda, sent a letter to the civic authorities today, asking them to remove the cameras according to the directive of the Election Commission.

Ambar Mitra, the Malda district CPM secretary, said the Left leaders had filed a complaint with the Election Commission, mentioning that Chowdhury was using the cameras to keep an eye on the activities of his political rivals.

Nihar Ghosh, the Independent backed by the Left Front in Englishbazar,
files his nomination on Tuesday; (above) two cameras covered with plastic sheet.
Pictures by Surajit Roy

“We have information that he is identifying all those people who are participating in election campaigns of other parties through CCTV visuals and apprehend that they might face problems in coming days. So, we have told the Election Commission  that the municipality has no business in keeping a watch on campaigns. Police and other agencies, not the municipality, should keep a watch on the town for security purposes,” said Mitra.

As the complaint reached the Election Commission, the district magistrate was directed to take necessary steps.

“We have asked the municipality to remove all CCTV cameras as per the directive of the Election Commission. The order has come from the chief electoral officer of the state,” Dwivedi said today.

The CCTV cameras were installed by the civic body before the Durga Puja last year to keep an eye on vehicular movement and reduce traffic congestion. The cameras are connected to giant screens in the municipality office.

Chowdhury denied the Left Front’s allegations.

“The basic idea of installing CCTV cameras was to improve traffic management in Malda town and keep an eye on the town for security purposes. The cameras were installed at prominent locations in the town. The decision was taken at a meeting of the civic board where the Left councillors were also present. Now, they are raising a baseless allegation that we are keeping a watch on them. They had raised similar allegations when we had installed CCTV cameras on the municipality office premises as well,” he said.

“We have received the letter from the district administration and will shortly send a reply. The civic body will act according to the directive of the Election Commission but will never accept the Left’s gibberish,” he added.

The municipality covered some of the cameras with plastic sheets today following the directive.

A civic official said the municipal authorities would try to clarify to the Election Commission the reason for installing the cameras and there was no question of keeping a watch on the activities of political parties. “This is why no camera was removed today,” said the source.