Kolkata, March 19 -- Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee on Thursday wrote to Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar, expressing her concern over the functioning of the Election Commission of India (ECI). In her letter, she stated that it "has crossed all boundaries of decency and constitutional propriety".
Earlier in the day, in her social media post, Banerjee termed the removal of senior government officials and bureaucrats by the poll body as "an undeclared emergency".
Expressing her concern over "arbitrary" removal of "more than 50" senior administrative officials and police officers by the ECI, Trinamool Congress supremo Mamata Banerjee called the move a "political interference of the highest order".
Describing the situation as "nothing short of an undeclared emergency", Banerjee in her social media post claimed that such action amounted to "systematic politicisation of institutions" and a "direct assault on the Constitution". She also alleged that there was a "deliberate design to seize control of West Bengal through coercion and institutional manipulation".
In her letter, she wrote: "I am deeply shocked by the functioning of the Election Commission of India (ECI), which, in my view, has crossed all boundaries of decency and constitutional propriety. Since the commencement of the so-called Special Intensive Revision, the ECI has acted with apparent bias, showing little regard for ground realities or the well-being of the people."
"It is well established that, by virtue of Article 324 of the Constitution of India, read with Section 13CC of the Representation of the People Act, 1950 and Section 28A of the Representation of the People Act, 1951; officers engaged in election-related duties are deemed to be on deputation to the ECI during the election period. However, over the past four days, the ECI has, most unfortunately and unilaterally, replaced several senior officers." she further wrote.
Earlier in the day, she posted on social media: "What we are witnessing is nothing short of an undeclared emergency and an unpromulgated form of president's rule driven by political vendetta, not democratic principles. Having failed to win the trust of Bengal's people, the BJP is now attempting to capture the state through coercion, intimidation, manipulation and the misuse of institutions."
"The manner in which the Election Commission has singled out and targeted Bengal is not just unprecedented- It is deeply alarming. Even before the formal notification of elections, more than 50 senior officials including the Chief Secretary, Home Secretary, DGP, ADGs, IGs, DIGs, District Magistrates and Superintendents of Police have been summarily and arbitrarily removed," Banerjee said, adding: "This is not administrative action rather this is political interference of the highest order. The systematic politicisation of institutions meant to remain impartial is a direct assault on the Constitution."
Banerjee also asserted that the people of Bengal would fight against such "intimidation".
In her post on X, she wrote: "Bengal has never bowed to intimidation and it never will. Bengal will fight, Bengal will resist and Bengal will decisively defeat every attempt to impose a divisive and destructive agenda on its soil."
After announcing the schedule for the assembly polls, the ECI ordered several reshuffles of senior officials, including the transfer of Chief Secretary Nandini Chakravorty, Home Secretary Jagdish Prasad Meena, and the removal of Director General of Police (DGP) Peeyush Pandey and Kolkata Police Commissioner Supratim Sarkar.
Banerjee held the BJP-led government at the Centre responsible for politicising an institution like ECI. She alleged that 200 people died due to the "hasty" implementation of SIR.
"At a time when a deeply flawed SIR process is underway and over 200 lives have already been lost, the conduct of the Commission reflects a clear bias and an uncomfortable submission to political interests, continuing to put the people of Bengal at risk. Supplementary electoral rolls are still not published, in clear disregard of the Hon'ble Supreme Court's directions, leaving citizens anxious and uncertain," Banerjee wrote on X.
Banerjee alleged that senior officers from agencies such as the Intelligence Bureau (IB), Special Task Force (STF), and Criminal Investigation Department (CID) were being "selectively removed" from the state. She further alleged "contradictions" in the poll panel's actions, claiming that officers removed from their posts were being assigned as election observers.
"This is not governance. It reflects chaos, confusion, and sheer incompetence being passed off as authority," she said.
In the wake of the ongoing SIR process, and supplementary lists have not yet been published, the transfer of numerous DEOs at this juncture appears to be driven by a clear mala fide intent, Banerjee also alleged in the letter. She also pointed out that the ECI has deployed 15 senior police officers from the State as observers in other poll-bound States, without any consultation with the state government and without providing prior training or orientation.
Published by HT Digital Content Services with permission from Millennium Post.