Shiv Sena slams Indian EC for ‘not noticing West Bengal violence following Modi’s Bangladesh visit’

Maharashtra's ruling party Shiv Sena today alleged that the Election Commission of India was "biased" against West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee after the polls body had barred her from campaigning for 24 hours over her controversial remarks during polls campaign.

"Why is the EC not noticing that after Modi's Bangladesh visit, there has been a rise in violence in West Bengal?" -- Shiv Sena's Marathi language mouthpiece 'Saamana' said in an editorial.

"The Election Commission is biased against Mamata Banerjee. It is our request to the EC with folded hands that it should not listen to the BJP alone, but to everyone. It should not be biased," the Saamana editorial said.

Modi had visited the Matua sect's biggest shrine at Orakandi in Bangladesh on April 27.

The Matua community members, who migrated to West Bengal from erstwhile East Pakistan and later from Bangladesh, form a strong segment of the state's electorate.

Shiv Sena, which is not contesting the ongoing assembly elections in West Bengal, has extended its support to Mamata-led Trinamool Congress against principal rival Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), Shiv Sena's estranged ally.