The removal of top bureaucrats and police officers in West Bengal, shortly after the announcement of the election schedule, has sparked a political storm. The ruling Trinamool Congress (TMC) has strongly condemned the move, with party MPs staging a walkout from the Rajya Sabha in protest on Monday.
Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee, who is set to lead a protest march in Kolkata on Monday afternoon against the escalating LPG crisis, is expected to raise this issue to further target the Election Commission. Banerjee has already been at odds with the poll body over the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of the electoral rolls, which she has claimed is being used as a tool for large-scale voter deletions.
In a late-night order on Sunday, the Election Commission removed Chief Secretary Nandini Chakravorty and Home Secretary Jagdish Prasad Meena from their positions. The Commission appointed Dushyant Nariala, a 1993-batch IAS officer, as the new state Chief Secretary, while Chakravorty was excluded from poll-related assignments. Sanghamitra Ghosh, a 1997-batch IAS officer, was appointed as the new Principal Secretary of Home and Hill Affairs.
In another move on Monday morning, the Commission appointed senior IPS officer Siddh Nath Gupta as the Director General of Police, replacing Peeyush Pandey. Additionally, Kolkata Police Commissioner Supratim Sarkar was removed, with Ajay Kumar Nand appointed in his place.
The EC's move echoed in the Rajya Sabha, where Trinamool Congress members staged a day-long walkout on Monday in protest. Party MP Derek O'Brien condemned the reshuffle, saying, “In the dead of night, the Chief Secretary, the Principal Secretary, and the Home Secretary have been removed by the EC. They have all the power to do it.”
O’Brien’s colleague, MP Shatabdi Roy, accused the BJP of "misusing government resources" to influence the outcome of the elections. “The BJP is using all tactics to win the elections. It is misusing government resources. The Chief Secretary was removed for this reason. The public is with the Trinamool,” Roy said.
Another Trinamool MP Sagarika Ghose claimed the transfers in the early hours showed that the Election Commission was misusing its powers to damage the elected government in West Bengal.
"The manner in which the Election Commission at 4 am 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.
Another Opposition parties, too, join to condemn the EC move. Samajwadi Party chief Akhilesh Yadav alleged that officers are 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.
The BJP, on the other hand, came forward to defend the Election Commission, saying questioning its decisions on the floor of the House was neither appropriate nor productive.
"If every member wants to raise or question the decision of the constitutional authority, like the courts and EC, it is not wise. EC has separate power, and that power has been given to the authority," Rijiju said.
Former Union minister and BJP MP Anurag Thakur, too, criticised the opposition parties 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.