Kolkata: The Election Commission of India (ECI) ordered the suspension of 7 government officials from 6 Assembly constituencies in West Bengal for serious misconduct that tantamounts to dereliction of duty and misuse of statutory powers during the SIR of electoral rolls.
In separate communications to the state Chief Secretary, the Commission directed that all 7 officers, who were functioning as Assistant Electoral Registration Officers (AEROs) be placed under suspension with immediate effect and disciplinary proceedings be initiated against them.
Those suspended include Sk. Murshid Alam, ADO Suti block acting as AERO for 57-Suti Assembly constituency in Murshidabad district, Dalia Ray Choudhury, women development officer, Moynaguri and
AERO for 16-Maynaguri Assembly constituency in Jalpaiguri district, Sefaur Rahaman, Assistant Director of Agriculture and AERO for 56-Samserganj Assembly constituency in Murshidabad district.
In South 24-Parganas district, Satyajit Das, Joint BDO, and Joydeep Kundu, FEO—both AEROs of 139-Canning Purba Assembly constituency—have been placed under suspension. Nitish Das, Revenue Officer and AERO for 55-Farakka Assembly constituency in Murshidabad district, and Debashis Biswas, Joint BDO and AERO for 229-Debra Assembly constituency in West Midnapore also figure in the suspension list.
The responsibility of completing the process at the earliest has been assigned to the respective cadre-controlling authority. They have been asked to apprise the Commission of the action taken.
The latest action follows the Commission’s earlier decision to suspend four officials in the state and order registration of FIRs against them over alleged irregularities in the SIR exercise.
As FIRs were not lodged, the Commission had summoned West Bengal Chief Secretary Nandini Chakraborty to the Nirvachan Sadan in New Delhi on Friday. The apex poll body has granted the state government time till Tuesday to ensure registration of FIRs against the four previously suspended officials.
Jay Prakash Majumdar, the state vice president of the TMC, alleged that the ECI is taking action based on allegations made by BJP leader Suvendu Adhikari and CEC Gyanesh Kumar was acting at the behest of the BJP.
Meanwhile, Bengal CEO Manoj Agarwal said: “No one has been given unbridled power.
The AEROs have been suspended in accordance with the law. This has been done as per the Supreme Court verdict of 2000. All the states and the Election Commission are bound by this. Whatever has happened has been done in accordance with the law.”
Sources in the CEO office indicated that only the state government can revoke the suspension of these 7 officials after consulting the apex poll body. “West Bengal is the only state where the EC has directly ordered suspension,” an official in the CEO’s office said.