Classic case of breakdown of constitutional machinery: Jaitley on Kolkata violence

New Delhi [India], May 15 (ANI): Union Finance Minister Arun Jaitley on Wednesday lauded the Election Commission's decision to cut short the poll campaigning in West Bengal and called violence at BJP president Amit Shah's roadshow a "classical case of breakdown of the constitutional machinery."
"A constitutional authority, the Election Commission of India, has effectively held Bengal to be a state in Anarchy. Repeatedly escalating violence, state supported Vandals, a partisan police and home department are the illustrations the ECI has given," Jaitley tweeted.
"A free campaign is not possible and therefore the campaign has to be cut short. This is a classical case of breakdown of the Constitutional Machinery," he added.
The EC had earlier today cut short the campaign period in West Bengal by a day for the final phase of Lok Sabha elections in view of the violence during Shah's roadshow on Tuesday.
"No election campaigning to be held in nine parliamentary constituencies of West Bengal, namely Dum Dum, Barasat, Basirhat, Jaynagar, Mathurapur, Jadavpur, Diamond Harbour, South and North Kolkata, from 10 pm tomorrow till the conclusion of polls," Deputy Election Commissioner Chandra Bhushan Kumar told media.
Campaigning was originally scheduled to end at 5 pm on Friday for the nine constituencies that will go to polls on May 19.
During the violence that erupted on Tuesday, a statue of iconic social reformer Ishwar Chandra Vidyasagar was vandalised in a college named after him.
Condemning the same, West Bengal Governor Keshari Nath Tripathi said in a statement, "As chancellor of Calcutta University, I am greatly pained at the vandalising of Vidyasagar Statue. The real culprit for breaking the statue must be traced out and suitably punished. Efforts should also be made by Calcutta University at the earliest to install a new statue of Ishwarchandra Vidyasagar at the same place."
Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal also took to Twitter and wrote, "Time to wake up, India. This very cult and ideology killed Mahatma and is now behind desecration of the bust of one of the greatest reformers Shri Ishwar Chandra Vidyasagar ji. People of Bengal will give befitting reply to Modi-Shah led perpetrators of violence and hooliganism." (ANI)