The Election Commission (EC) on Monday banned West Bengal chief minister Mamata Banerjee from campaigning for 24-hrs for her statements against central forces and for allegedly appealing to voters in the name of religion.

The EC statement reads - "West Bengal CM Mamata Banerjee has in violation of provisions of Model Code of Conduct... made insinuating and provocative remarks laden with serious potential of breakdown of law and order and thereby adversely affecting the election process."

The ban will be effective from 8 PM Monday till 8 pm on Tuesday – it has come halfway through the election, with four more rounds of voting left in an intense campaign that has pitted Mamata against PM Modi. In its order, the EC noted that Mamata Banerjee made "highly insinuating and provocative remarks laden with serious potential of breakdown of law and order and thereby adversely affecting the election process". Banerjee's TMC blasted the EC, dubbing it "Extremely Compromised" - not for the first time. Mamata seized the adversity, hoping to turn it into political advantage.

‘‘To protest against the undemocratic and unconstitutional decision of the Election Commission of India, I will sit on dharna on Tuesday at Gandhi Murti, Kolkata, from 12 noon,” Mamata said in a tweet. The EC has taken cognizance of a speech delivered in Cooch Behar on April 7, wherein Mamata had said: "If CAPF create disturbances, I tell you ladies, a group of you go and restrain them while another group will go and cast their votes. Don't waste your vote. If you engage yourself only in restraining them they will be happy that you did not cast your vote. This is their plan. It is the plan of the BJP."

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