West Bengal chief minister Mamata Banerjee on Thursday launched a scathing attack on the Election Commission of India (ECI) over a sweeping administrative purge, asserting that the large-scale transfer of top civil servants was a calculated attempt to cripple the administrative machinery.
“The manner in which the ECI 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. This is not administrative action rather this is political interference of the highest order,” she said in a social media post on Thursday.
Hours later, Banerjee also sent a letter to chief election commissioner Gyanesh Kumar accusing the election watchdog of crossing the boundaries of decency and constitutional propriety.
“These actions reflect a deliberate attempt to take cover under Article 324 while creating conditions that could push the state toward administrative instability and disorder. . . Actions of this nature risk creating an atmosphere akin to an Emergency or indirect central rule, which is deeply concerning and unfortunate,” she said in the letter.
On March 15, ECI announced that elections to the West Bengal assembly would be held on April 23 and 29. Counting would be held on May 4. Over the next few days, ECI issued multiple orders transferring government officials; many of them as observers to other states.
On Wednesday evening, ECI transferred 15 Indian Police Service (IPS) officers out of the state, appointing them as observers to other poll-bound states. Among them were the police commissioners of Siliguri and Bidhannagar.
“The appointment of the Commissioners of Police of Siliguri and Bidhannagar as observers, without even putting replacements in place, left two vital urban centres effectively headless. It was only after this glaring lapse came to light that rushed corrections followed. This is not governance. It reflects chaos, confusion and sheer incompetence being passed off as authority,” she added.
Turning to the bureaucrats who bore the brunt of the ECI orders, she said they were being targeted for serving the state. “Bengal will fight, Bengal will resist and Bengal will decisively defeat every attempt to impose a divisive and destructive agenda on its soil,” said Banerjee who is seeking a fourth straight term in the state elections.
The controversy over the transfer of the state’s top civil servants comes amid Banerjee and the Trinamool Congress’s criticism of the poll body over the ongoing special intensive revision (SIR) of electoral rolls in the state.
“The systematic politicisation of institutions, meant to remain impartial, is a direct assault on the Constitution. 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,” she wrote.
“Supplementary electoral rolls are still not published, in clear disregard of the Supreme Court’s directions, leaving citizens anxious and uncertain. Meanwhile, senior officers from critical agencies like IB, STF and CID are being selectively removed and dispatched out of the state, pointing to a calculated attempt to cripple Bengal’s administrative machinery,” she wrote in the social media post.
Hours later, Aam Aadmi Party convenor and former Delhi chief minister Arvind Kejriwal also slammed ECI.
“The BJP has turned the Election Commission into its weapon to win elections through deceit. What is happening today in West Bengal is exactly what happened in the Delhi elections as well. Names were struck off the voter list, the police administration gave free rein to the BJP’s thuggery, and the entire administration was engaged in ensuring the BJP’s victory. The very fabric of democracy was torn apart. Today, Mamata Didi too is fighting to save democracy. In this struggle, we stand with her,” Kejriwal wrote on X.
An EC official in Kolkata said the first supplementary electoral roll list was likely to be published in a day or two.
BJP leader Rahul Sinha came to the ECI’s defence. “The recent administrative changes were aimed at ensuring free and fair elections. While the state government had previously transferred many police officials, it is now opposing similar actions taken by the ECI,” Sinha said.
