Mamata Banerjee hopes for 'good order' by Calcutta HC on panchayat polls

KOLKATA: With the Calcutta High Court asking the West Bengal government and SEC to come up with their positions tomorrow after calculating phase-wise availability and requirement of security forces, Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee today hoped that it would give a 'good order'.

"We want the panchayat polls to be held smoothly and in a proper manner and it is our hope that the high court will deliver a good order," the chief minister told reporters at the state secretariat.

"The matter is sub-judice and I won't comment further," she said.

Law minister Chandrima Bhattacharya, who was present at a meeting with the chief minister and panchayat minister Subrata Mukherjee, said that the state government had submitted a proposal for a four-phase poll to the State Election Commission and the Calcutta High Court.

"We hope panchayat elections will be held. It concerns people's development," she said.

Earlier, Chief Secretary Sanjay Mitra, Home Secretary Basudev Banerjee and DGP Naparajit Mukherjee held a 10 minute discussion with State Election Commissioner Mira Pandey. What transpired at the meeting, was not known.