According to High Court sources, the Chief Justice had given the State Election Commissioner 24 hours to send the requisition for the central forces to be deployed across the state.
Taking exception to SEC's making a requisition of only 22 companies of Central paramilitary forces, the Division Bench of Chief Justice Sivagnanam and Justice Uday Kumar observed that if it is difficult for the State Election Commissioner to take orders, then he can step down.
The Governor was speaking to media persons during a visit to the ‘Peace Room’ which was set up at the Raj Bhavan to address grievances of the people during the panachayat elections.
Criticising the SEC, senior CPI(M) leader Sujan Chakraborty said the poll panel “cannot take decisions on its own”. “The state poll panel is behaving like an extended arm of the state Secretariat, ‘’ he said.
Earlier in the day, Bose summoned State Election Commissioner Rajiva Sinha to the Raj Bhavan to get an update on the law and order situation. Sinha however, skipped the meeting and said he would meet the Governor some other day as he was busy scrutinising nomination papers.