New Delhi: The Bharatiya Janata Party The All India Trinamool Congress (TMC) on Thursday rejected allegations of tampering with postal ballot boxes. On allegations that there is “active collusion” with the BJP Election Commission BJP leader Tapas Roy said, “Ballot boxes are being opened without the presence of any relevant party stakeholders.” He said ruling party leaders were “spreading rumours” as they were “preparing the ground for their defeat” in the assembly elections.Roy reached Netaji Indoor Stadium when TMC leaders Kunal Ghosh and Shashi Panja protested over the allegations. “We will deploy two people to take care of the strong room… They (TMC) are just spreading rumors because they are preparing the ground for their defeat… There is a three-tier security arrangement here,” he told reporters, as quoted by ANI.“They can’t do that. They can’t gather in front of the strong room.” There should be no protest or sloganeering in front of the strong room. This is wrong. Why did Kolkata Police allow this?…What manipulation are they (TMC) accusing us of? When we heard about it two of us came here. When we were asked to come here, we came.”This came after TMC leader Shashi Panja accused BJP leaders of creating ruckus and said the protest was peaceful before their arrival. He said, “We were sitting on the dharna peacefully…BJP leaders created ruckus here.”TMC leader Kunal Ghosh also accused the BJP and questioned why he and others were not allowed entry during Roy’s tenure. “We were removed, but Tapas da moved in. What do you call this? It is like his own party office. These are agents of the Central Police along with BJP people… It is not in the hands of the Kolkata Police; even all the Kolkata Police personnel are now appointed by the Election Commission. As a result, our...Hey, if he is a candidate then we are also candidates. “Will you remove a candidate?” He said.“We were there peacefully. They came here with the intention of stealing; they were working secretly here, opening the strong room without informing anyone before our people arrived. After Dr. Panza, I and our team arrived, we intervened and pointed this out. Yet, we were not allowed to enter. Later, when we were sitting peacefully and our work and discussion was going on, BJP came and created trouble. Why is BJP so jealous?” He added.The matter escalated further when TMC accused BJP of “killing democracy in broad daylight”.In a post on Twitter, the party also shared a video and described the alleged “opening of ballot boxes” as gross electoral fraud. “Worryingly, this is the murder of democracy in broad daylight. CCTV footage has revealed how @BJP4India, in active collusion with @ECISVEEP, is opening ballot boxes without the presence of any concerned party stakeholders. This is blatant electoral fraud which is being carried out openly with the full knowledge and patronage of the Election Commission,” the party said.The party further accused the BJP of adopting “every dirty trick” to defeat it in the assembly elections and “even tampering with EVMs” in desperation. “They have tried every dirty trick, name-dropping, voter intimidation, central force terror, cash infusion and so on, and have failed miserably. Now, in sheer desperation, they have resorted to tampering with EVMs. But Bengal is not Maharashtra, Delhi or Bihar. We will not sit silent and watch them loot our democracy,” he said.The development comes a day after the second and final phase of voting in West Bengal, which saw 92.67 percent voting. Counting of votes is to take place on May 4.