West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee on Thursday raised questions over what she called the “arbitrary removal of more than 50 senior officials” in the poll-bound state by the Election Commission of India. The Trinamool Congress (TMC) chief termed it a “political interference of the highest order”.
Mamata Banerjee claimed that such action amounted to “systematic politicization of institutions” and a “direct assault on the Constitution”.
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, soon after the announcement of polling dates for West Bengal this Sunday. Bengal is voting in two phases – April 23 and 29.
On Wednesday, the poll body ordered a fresh reshuffle of senior officers, posting two secretaries to other poll-bound states as observers, and deploying 13 IAS and five IPS officers in key poll management roles.
On Thursday, Mamata Banerjee took to X to claim that more than 50 senior officials had been “summarily and arbitrarily removed” even before the formal notification of elections.
“The manner in which the Election Commission has singled out and targeted Bengal is not just unprecedented, it is deeply alarming,” she said.
Even before the formal notification of elections, more than 50 senior officials… have been summarily and arbitrarily removed, the Chief Minister said.
“This is not administrative action; this is political interference of the highest order”
Officials being ‘selectively’ removed, alleges Mamata
The TMC chief 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 poll 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.
The West Bengal chief minister 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.
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This is not administrative action; This is political interference of the highest order.
The TMC supremo 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”.
