A misleading scent

PRASHANT ACHARYA, EOI, SILIGURI, APRIL 25, 2024 : In a most unusual turn of events, a strong police contingent along with a team of Election Commission officials reached the office-cum-residence of BJP candidate for the Darjeeling Lok Sabha constituency Raju Bista on Thursday evening after receiving a complaint from a Trinamool Congress delegation that Bista had called a news conference in violation of the Model Code of Conduct. 

The Election Commission team warned the acting assistant of Raju Bista that under the MCC nothing could be told to the media a day before the elections. 

Raju Bista was not at home at that time. He later said he had not called any news conference. “This is a conspiracy of the opposition party. I will lodge a written complaint on it and demand for strict action against the person for spreading wrong information and circulating in social media,” he said. 

There was no explanation for the presence of a large police force as the only outsiders present in the office of Raju Bista at that time were a few newspersons seated on a sofa.