New Delhi, March 16 The Election Commission's (EC) decision to transfer top bureaucrats of West Bengal was echoed in the Parliament complex on Monday, as Trinamool Congress (TMC) leaders condemned the move and staged a walkout from the Rajya Sabha.
While the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) welcomed the move, the TMC found support in INDIA bloc ally Akhilesh Yadav, who accused the EC of working at the behest of the ruling party at the Centre.
Barely hours after announcing the West Bengal Assembly poll schedule, the EC transferred Chief Secretary Nandini Chakravorty, Home Secretary Jagdish Prasad Meena, and other top officials from their posts.
TMC leaders in the Rajya Sabha staged a walkout from the House in protest against the EC's decision, with party leader Derek O'Brien condemning the poll panel's midnight move to reshuffle the state's top administrative hierarchy.
Raising the issue just before the Zero Hour, TMC leader in the House O'Brien condemned the poll panel's move.
"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 said, adding that his party is walking out of the House for the day in protest.
Parliamentary Affairs Minister Kiren Rijiju, however, said the EC is a constitutional authority, and that questioning its decisions on the floor of the House is neither appropriate nor productive.
"If every member wants to question the decisions of constitutional authorities like the courts and the EC, it is not wise. The EC has separate powers, and those powers have been given to it," the BJP leader said.
He also accused the TMC and the Congress of "always attacking constitutional bodies", and said they are "misusing the time of this House".
TMC's deputy leader in the Rajya Sabha Sagarika Ghose also slammed the poll panel's move.
"The manner in which the EC transferred the West Bengal home secretary and chief secretary at 4 am is unacceptable," she said.
"There is an elected government in West Bengal, led by (Chief Minister) Mamata Banerjee. The EC has these powers at the moment, but it is misusing those to damage the elected government in West Bengal. We have raised the matter in the House," Ghose said.
Samajwadi Party (SP) chief and Lok Sabha MP Akhilesh Yadav also hit out at the EC and questioned why officials in Uttar Pradesh are not being changed.
"Whenever there are elections in a state not ruled by the BJP, the first thing the EC does is change officials – the DGP, the chief secretary, and anyone who is against the BJP...," the former Uttar Pradesh chief minister claimed.
He alleged that the EC takes such steps in collusion with the BJP and its government at the Centre.
"Why has the DGP in Uttar Pradesh never been changed? Did they remove the officials whose relatives contested elections?" he asked.
"It is an open secret, the whole country knows that the EC is working at the behest of the BJP," Yadav said.
Sukanta Majumdar of the BJP meanwhile said it is "natural" for the poll panel to transfer officials ahead of polls.
"This was natural. The way these officials were appointed... The chief secretary was appointed after superseding many as compensation because she had accompanied Mamata Banerjee during the ED raid (on I-PAC's office in Kolkata)... Such officials, who are biased, cannot be kept for elections," Majumdar said.
EC officials have said the top-level shake-up was in line with Chief Election Commissioner (CEC) Gyanesh Kumar's assertion that free-and-fair polls will be held in West Bengal.
The EC has transferred the state chief secretary, police chief, Kolkata police commissioner, and others, and brought in new faces as their replacements, drawing sharp criticism from the TMC.
After the announcement of the poll schedule for West Bengal, the EC transferred Chakravorty, Home Secretary Jagdish Prasad Meena, Director General of Police (DGP) Peeyush Pandey, and Kolkata Police Commissioner Supratim Sarkar.
It said these officials would not be given poll-related assignments. The election watchdog added that the decision was taken following a review of the state's poll preparedness.
Polling for the West Bengal Assembly will be held in two phases – on April 23 and April 29 – and the counting of votes will be taken up on May 4.