Multi-point Tussle Brewing Between ECI and Bengal Govt

KOLKATA:
Tensions between the Election Commission of India (ECI) and the West Bengal government are escalating on multiple fronts, with clear signs that the confrontation could intensify in the coming days.

The immediate flashpoint is the ECI’s directive to West Bengal Chief Secretary Manoj Pant earlier this week, ordering the suspension of four election officers and the lodging of FIRs against them. The Commission found the officials guilty of irregularities in the addition of names to electoral rolls in two constituencies. This action is being seen as a strong warning from the Commission to all those involved in the state’s electoral process.

The West Bengal government has now started weighing legal options against the direction of the Commission to the Chief Secretary, Manoj Pant.

According to a senior official at the state secretariat, the move comes after Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee clearly said at a public meeting on Wednesday that her administration will not take any action against the four election officers who were suspended, and questioned the authority of the ECI in directing the state government to take action against them.

The West Bengal Civil Service (Executive) Officers’ Association, a body of state civil services cadre officials, has also stepped in, further intensifying the standoff.

The association had already forwarded a letter to the Chief Secretary urging that the state government ensure that the direction for the ECI is revoked. Of the four election officers who had been suspended by the Election Commission, two are West Bengal Civil Service (WBCS) cadre officials.

The third point of tussle is brewing over the ECI’s rejection of the names of the bureaucrats recommended by the state government for filling up key vacant posts in the office of the Chief Electoral Officer (CEO), West Bengal, Manoj Kumar Agarwal.

Last month, the state government recommended to the Commission the names of three bureaucrats for each of the vacant posts, namely, additional, joint, and deputy CEOs in West Bengal. However, a CEO official confirmed that the Commission had rejected all the names suggested by the state government and had also directed the state administration to forward a new set of names to the Commission.