West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee has accused Union Home Minister Amit Shah of orchestrating the hostage-taking of judicial officers in Malda during protests against voter deletion.
She demanded Shah's resignation, claiming the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) wanted to derail the upcoming assembly elections and impose President's rule.
Banerjee blamed the Election Commission of India (ECI) for failing to maintain law and order, saying it had transferred officers but failed to control the situation.
The Supreme Court has taken suo motu cognisance of the hostage-taking, describing it as a 'deplorable' and 'calculated, well-planned' attempt to browbeat the judiciary.
The court has asked the ECI to hand over the probe to a federal agency and issued notices to West Bengal officials to explain why contempt proceedings should not be initiated against them.
