Kolkata, March 19 West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee on Thursday expressed alarm over the "arbitrary removal of more than 50 senior officials" in the state, which is heading for elections, calling it a "political interference of the highest order".
Continuing her criticism of the Election Commission, Mamata Banerjee, the leader of the Trinamool Congress (TMC), claimed that such actions amounted to "systematic politicisation of institutions" and a "direct assault on the Constitution".
Following the announcement of the schedule for the assembly elections, the Election Commission has ordered several reshuffles of senior officers, including the transfer of Chief Secretary Nandini Chakravorty, Home Secretary Jagdish Prasad Meena, and the removal of DGP Peeyush Pandey and Kolkata Police Commissioner Supratim Sarkar.
On Wednesday, the election body ordered a fresh reshuffle of senior officers, assigning two secretaries to observe elections in other states, and deploying 13 IAS and five IPS officers in key election management roles.
Banerjee, in a post on X, criticised the election body, claiming that more than 50 senior officials had been "summarily and arbitrarily removed" even before the formal notification of elections.
"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… have been summarily and arbitrarily removed. This is not administrative action; this is political interference of the highest order," she said.
Banerjee alleged that senior officers from agencies such as IB, STF, and CID were being "selectively removed" from the state.
She further alleged "contradictions" in the election panel's actions, claiming that officers removed from their posts were being assigned as election observers.
"This is not governance. It reflects chaos, confusion, and sheer incompetence being passed off as authority," she said.
Describing the situation as "nothing short of an undeclared emergency", Banerjee alleged that there was a "deliberate design to seize control of West Bengal through coercion and institutional manipulation".
"I stand in complete solidarity with every officer of the Government of West Bengal and their families… Bengal has never bowed to intimidation, and it never will," she added.
Along with the post, the chief minister also attached images of the Election Commission's notifications, ordering the removal and transfer of top state officials, to support her claims.
Mamata Banerjee described the special intensive revision of electoral rolls as "deeply flawed" and went on to say that at a time when the 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".
Banerjee also claimed that supplementary electoral rolls were yet to be published "in clear disregard of the Supreme Court's directions".
Questioning the intent of the ruling BJP at the Centre, she said, "Why is the BJP so desperate? Why this relentless targeting of Bengal and its people? What satisfaction do they derive from forcing citizens, even after 78 years of Independence, to stand in queues and prove their own citizenship?"
