EC transferred 483 officials in Bengal vs 23 in other poll states

E-PaperSubscribeSubscribeEnjoy unlimited accessSubscribe Now! Get features like New Delhi : The Election Commission of India (ECI) has ordered the transfer of 483 administration and police officials in West Bengal since assembly elections were announced on March 15 — 21 times the 23 officers it has ordered transferred across the three other states going to polls in April, Assam, Kerala, and Tamil Nadu. Even in West Bengal, ECI ordered the transfer of only 15 officers in 2021, and the magnitude of transfers ordered this year has triggered challenges, a parliamentary walkout. (HT Photo)It has ordered no transfers in the Union territory of Puducherry. Even in West Bengal, ECI ordered the transfer of only 15 officers in 2021, and the magnitude of transfers ordered this year has triggered challenges, a parliamentary walkout, and a direct confrontation between the poll body and the state government. The Trinamool Congress has pushed back against the scale of the transfers. “They have reshuffled officers. Those who have been appointed have been tasked to reject nominations. Check your documents (before submitting your nomination),” West Bengal chief minister Mamata Banerjee said while addressing an election rally at Nanoor in Birbhum district on Wednesday. ECI said its transfer orders were based on ground-level intelligence and reports submitted by officers in the state CEO’s office and central observers deployed in Bengal. “We cannot have officials in place who are doubtful in their conduct,” a senior election official said, asking not to be named. Also read: ECI deploys 49 doctors in West Bengal polls; move rolled back after protest The Bharatiya Janata Party said that the transfer orders are within the jurisdiction of the ECI. “ECI can exercise the power in any manner they deem fit,” said West Bengal BJP spokesperson Debjit Sarkar. “For the upcoming elections, we want just one thing — a free and fair election and a pure electoral roll.” ECI’s West Bengal orders have come in phases. On March 15, it ordered the transfer of 79 officials including the chief secretary, home secretary, director general of police, and Kolkata police commissioner. Then, on March 17 and 18, it ordered the transfer of 38 IPS officers and 13 IAS officers . On March 23, it removed 73 returning officers. Then, on March 29, it shifted 83 block development officers and assistant returning officers, and 184 inspector-ranking police officers were reshuffled across districts. ECI has also deputed 13 senior IPS officers out of Bengal entirely to serve as election observers in other states. Also read: Bengali migrants in New Delhi rush home amid voter list fears ahead of West Bengal polls ECI has justified the scale by pointing to the documented post-poll violence of 2021, which saw weeks of targeted killings and displacement after results were declared. “The documented violence that followed the 2021 results — the weeks of targeted killings and displacement — shall not happen again. The election commission has made its decisions on the basis of reports from state intelligence and other authorities,” the ECI official said. Chief minister Mamata Banerjee has called the transfers a “deliberate design to seize control of West Bengal.” The Trinamool Congress staged a walkout in the Rajya Sabha on March 16 to protest these transfers. “The transfers of officers vary from state to state depending on what the ground demands. We have the authority to take necessary decisions to ensure that elections are free, fair, and violence-free — and that is precisely what we are doing,” the same senior ECI official said, adding that the Commission’s position had been presented in full before the court. Also read: Scuffle between TMC, BJP workers outside Kolkata CEO office over Form 6 submission ECI has also maintained in the Calcutta High Court that the transfers were grounded in ground-level requirements to ensure free and fair elections. During a recent hearing on a petition filed against the transfers, ECI said “there no reason to hold that while shifting/transferring officers of the State of West Bengal, ECI did any step-motherly treatment.” The high court dismissed the petition on March 31. The official cited above added: “The transfers of officers vary from state to state depending on the ground situation. We have the authority to take necessary decisions to ensure that elections are free, fair, and violence-free — and that is precisely what we are doing.”