Manas Dasgupta
NEW DELHI, Mar 16: Within hours of announcing the state Assembly elections schedule for the four states and one union territory on Sunday evening, the Election Commission of India (ECI) ordered the transfer of several top government officials in West Bengal including the chief secretary and the director general of police stating that these officials could be kept away from the election duty.
As per the ECI order issued past Sunday midnight, the chief secretary in the incumbent Trinamool Congress government Nandini Chakraborty, who commission said would be kept out of poll-related assignments by the commission, has been removed from her post and will be replaced by 1 1993-batch IAS officer Dushyan Nariala.
Besides, the state’s top cop Peeyush Pandey, Kolkata Police Commissioner Supratim Sarkar, and West Bengal’s Home Secretary Jagdish Prasad Meena have also been replaced ahead of the elections. These officials will not be given any election assignment, the poll body clarified.
The ECI move triggered a political slugfest on Monday with the opposition parties accusing the poll panel of acting at the behest of the BJP at the Centre, and the saffron party hitting back with the oft-repeated charge of the opposition attempting to malign the constitutional institutions in the country.
The West Bengal chief minister Mamata Banerjee attacking the BJP and the Election Commission alleged that the decision was taken by the EC at the behest of the BJP, which is the opposition party in her state. “You have removed (my) officers and put those of BJP’s choice on duty,” the chief minister alleged in her public speech after a rally where she took up the LPG concerns across the country.
The chief minister said she came to know about the bureaucratic reshuffle only after midnight. “A Bengali woman, Nandini Chakraborty, was serving as the chief secretary. You are not merely anti-Bengali; you are also hostile toward non-Bengalis, and I will prove it. You ousted Chakraborty with brute force and humiliation, unceremoniously shoving her out past 12:30 am. In your zeal to act as stooges for the BJP, you did not even deem it necessary to consult the state government once,” charged a defiant Banerjee.
Giving examples of home secretary Meena and DGP Pandey that they were not Bengalis, Banerjee said, “This demonstrates that you have removed not only Bengalis but also competent non-Bengali officers. It is evident that you are hand-picking and selecting only those who are willing to do the BJP’s bidding.” “Whichever officers you send here, they will all work for us. They will work for the people, and they will work for Bengal,” she said, referring to the EC.
In Delhi, speaking to reporters inside the Parliament House complex, Samajwadi Party chief Akhilesh Yadav alleged that officers were routinely removed in States where the BJP is not in power. “Whenever elections are held, and if the State Government is not run by the party ruling in Delhi, the first thing they do is remove the DGP and the chief secretary. BJP leaders must have deliberately got these officers removed by coordinating with the Central Government and the Election Commission,” he alleged.
Referring to Uttar Pradesh, where the BJP is in power, Mr Yadav questioned why similar action had not been taken there during elections. “In Uttar Pradesh, the DGP was never removed during elections. Despite several complaints to the Election Commission, no action was taken. Even officers whose family members were contesting elections were not removed,” Mr Yadav said, alleging that the poll body was acting at the BJP’s behest.
Leaders of the ruling Trinamool Congress also criticised the poll panel’s move, with party MP Sougata Roy terming it “wrong” and “a step against West Bengal.” Another Trinamool MP, Kirti Azad, alleged that the poll body functions as an “extended arm of the BJP.” Trinamool Rajya Sabha member Sagarika Ghose claimed the transfers in the early hours showed that the ECI was misusing its powers to damage the elected government in West Bengal.
“The manner in which the Election Commission at 4 a.m. transferred the Bengal home secretary and chief secretary shows it is misusing its powers to damage the elected government in Bengal. We have raised this matter in the House and staged a walkout of Parliament for the whole day,” she said. Ms Ghose also alleged that around 50 lakh people in the State were on the “adjudication list” and could be denied voting rights. “The Election Commission is acting in a blatantly partisan manner. This will not work, and the people of Bengal will give a befitting reply,” she said.
Hitting back at the opposition, Union Minister Giriraj Singh said constitutional institutions are the greatest strength of India’s democracy and accused the opposition parties of trying to weaken them. He also lashed out at the Trinamool, saying, “The TMC has no future in West Bengal. They may shout as much as they want, but people will not allow Bengal to become Bangladesh.”
Former Union Minister and BJP MP Anurag Thakur also criticised the opposition parties, particularly the Congress, for allegedly tarnishing India’s reputation and undermining democratic institutions. “It is not the first time that officials have been transferred during elections. The Election Commission has always changed officers whenever it deemed necessary,” he said.
Accusing the opposition of focusing on disruption rather than constructive participation in Parliament, Thakur claimed that its leaders frequently question constitutional bodies, including the judiciary and the ECI. “The opposition’s job has now become to create confrontation and obstruction in Parliament. Rahul Gandhi tries to launch a new propaganda narrative every day,” he alleged.
The ECI had earlier been in Mamata Banerjee’s target over the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of the voter rolls in Bengal, which saw the deletion of over 60 lakh voters ahead of the elections scheduled in two phases, April 23 and 29.
Speaking at Monday’s rally, Banerjee claimed that the BJP promises welfare schemes before the elections, and once the elections were over, if the BJP comes to power, they send bulldozers to the homes of people. Banerjee also claimed that her government has reduced unemployment by 40% and that it respects every segment of the society and those from other states who work in West Bengal.
