Didi Protests To CEC On Top 5 WB Officers' Removal

Kolkata: In her first letter to Chief Election Commissioner (CEC) Gyanesh Kumar after the Assembly Election announcement in West Bengal, chief minister Mamata Banerjee on Monday night protested the removal of her government's top five favourite bureaucrats without consulting her.

Calling the EC order ‘unilateral’ Ms Banerjee stated in her letter, “Such sweeping transfers have been affected without any cogent reasons and without any allegation of violation, misconduct or lapse in relation to the conduct of elections” before reminding Mr Kumar that the EC earlier used to seek a panel of officers' names during anyone's transfer.

She claimed, “It is therefore a matter of deep concern and surprise that the heads of the administrative machinery in the State of West Bengal have been removed within hours of the press release announcing the General Election to the West Bengal Legislative Assembly, 2026. This has been done in an arbitrary manner, without seeking a panel of officers from the State Government and without adhering to the established convention that has guided ECI -State institutional functioning during previous elections.”

The Trinamul Congress supremo added, “It also undermines the spirit of cooperative federalism and principles of our democratic polity, that forms a basic feature of our constitutional governance. The Election Commission of Indía, as a constitutional authority of the highest standing, is expected not only to exercise its powers but also to uphold the spirit and values inherent in India's federal structure.”

She then requested the CEC to “refrain from adopting such unilateral measures in the future, as they risk diluting the long-standing legacy, credibility and institutional integrity of the Election Commission of India and also impinges upon the foundational principles of our constitutional framework.”

Her objection however bore no result as the EC made another reshuffle at the IPS level on Tuesday when 13 superintendents of police and six others– four Inspector Generals and two Additional Director Generals– faced transfer. The EC also dispatched senior IAS officer, Jagdish Prasad Meena, as a central poll observer to Tamil Nadu following his removal from the post of state home secretary.

Asked about it, Ms Banerjee sarcastically said, “They can shift out entire Bengal somewhere! BJP are the infiltrators here. They can't tolerate Bengal and have been engineering everything here through the EC. I know their plan behind this sudden rush of transfers. They want to distribute money through officers during the polls.”