Kolkata, March 19 – West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee on Thursday strongly criticised the Election Commission of India (ECI) over its decision to transfer bureaucrats and police officers in the state and also to send many of them on deputation as general and police observers in other states, almost daily, since the model code of conduct came into force after the announcement of polling dates for four states and one union territory.
The Chief Minister also accused the ECI of unfairly targeting West Bengal, and said this trend, even before issuing the formal notification of elections, is highly alarming.
"The way the Election Commission has singled out and targeted Bengal is 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 an administrative action; it is political interference of the highest order," the Chief Minister said in a statement on her official social media handle, X, in the afternoon.
According to her, what is happening currently is "nothing but a systematic politicisation of institutions meant to remain impartial, which is a direct assault on the Indian 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," the Chief Minister said.
According to her, such large-scale transfers and deputation of bureaucrats and police officers were not incidental but pointed towards a deliberate design to seize control of West Bengal through coercion and institutional manipulation.
"What we are witnessing is nothing short of an undeclared emergency and a promulgated form of president's rule driven by political vendetta, not democratic principles. Having failed to win the trust of Bengal’s people, the BJP is now attempting to capture the state through coercion, intimidation, manipulation, and the misuse of institutions," the Chief Minister added.
In her statement, the Chief Minister has also expressed full solidarity towards all the bureaucrats and police officers who have been transferred or sent on deputation to other states, and said these officers were being "targeted" as they served the state with honesty and commitment.
"Bengal has never bowed to intimidation, and it never will. Bengal will fight, Bengal will resist, and Bengal will decisively defeat every attempt to impose a divisive and destructive agenda on its soil," the Chief Minister added.
