TMC v/s BJP after poll body chief named Chief Secretary
What's the story
The Trinamool Congress (TMC) has strongly opposed the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP)-led West Bengal government's decision to appoint Manoj Agarwal, the chief of the state's poll body, as the new Chief Secretary. The TMC alleges that this move shows a lack of impartiality in the recent assembly elections. Agarwal had been a key figure during these elections, often seen handling press conferences and managing election-related crises.
Election integrity
New appointments
Agarwal, an IAS officer, was chosen as the new chief secretary just two days after Subrata Gupta, who oversaw the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of the West Bengal electoral roll, was named the chief minister's advisor in the new BJP government. The SIR exercise resulted in the deletion of 91 lakh electors. Adhikari had also appointed Surajit Ray as the senior deputy secretary at his office. Ray was the Returning Officer in Bhabanipur, where Adhikari defeated TMC chief Mamata Banerjee.
TMC
TMC asked EC to replace Ray as RO
Prior to the April 29 polling in Bhabanipur, the TMC had urged that the EC replace Ray with another unbiased returning officer. The EC then directed the state government to submit a proposal for three officers to replace Ray. However, the poll concluded that Ray should continue as the Returning Officer. Mamata and the TMC claimed that the BJP, with the help of Election Commission manipulated and committed irregularities at the counting center, resulting in Adhikari's victory in Bhabanipur.
Accusations made
TMC leaders lash out at BJP, ECI
Reacting to the new appointment, TMC national spokesperson Saket Gokhale accused the BJP and the Election Commission of India (ECI) of stealing the election. He asked, "Are the courts BLIND or COMPLICIT?" TMC MP Sagarika Ghose questioned if the recent elections would be called "fair." "The so-called 'neutral umpire' is rewarded with the post of top bureaucrat of the BJP dispensation in Bengal. Does anyone still seriously believe the Bengal elections were free and fair? Outrageous and brazen," she said.
Defense offered
BJP defends decision, call it 'senior-most IAS appointment'
The BJP government, however, defended the move, saying it had appointed the senior-most IAS officer and followed service rules. "Unlike Mamta Banerjee, who had subverted the bureaucracy by blatantly flouting the rules governing the IAS by superseding dozens of officers, the BJP Government of West Bengal has appointed the senior most IAS officer working in the state...keeping with its promise to restore the dignity of the laws of the land," it wrote on X.