Kolkata: The Election Commission of India (ECI) on Wednesday rejected a request from Nabanna, the West Bengal state secretariat, and directed all 25 IAS and IPS officers—including the state Home Secretary—to attend the compulsory two-day orientation programme for central observers in New Delhi on Thursday and Friday (February 5 and 6).
In a communication to West Bengal Chief Electoral Officer Manoj Agarwal, the ECI made it clear that the request seeking exemption for the officers had been turned down. The Commission had conveyed its decision to appoint these officers as central poll observers last month. Apart from Home Secretary Jagdish Prasad Meena, the list of IAS officers includes Asvini Kumar Yadav, P.B. Salim, Avanindra Singh, Saumitra Mohan, Smaraki Mahapatra, Archana, Sanjay Bansal, P. Mohangandhi, Shubhanjan Das, P. Ulaganathan, Saurav Pahari, Rachna Bhagat, Ritendra Narayan Basu Roy Chowdhury and Rajanvir Singh Kapur. The announcement had drawn strong objections from the state government, particularly over Meena’s inclusion. On January 29, the Bengal government wrote to the ECI seeking exemption for nine IAS officers, including Meena, from being deployed as central observers in poll-bound states and Union Territories—West Bengal, Assam, Kerala, Tamil Nadu and Puducherry. Nabanna cited difficulties in maintaining law and order and ensuring smooth administrative functioning if these senior officers were spared for central election duties.
Apart from Meena, the state sought exemption for Sanjay Bansal, P. Mohangandhi, Avanindra Singh, Saumitra Mohan, Shubhanjan Das, P.B. Salim, Rachna Bhagat and P Ulaganathan. An alternative list of officers—Rajiv Kumar, Abhinav Chandra, Niranjan Kumar, Dr Viswanath, Apala Seth, Tapas Kumar Bagchi, Sasim Kumar Barai, Sonam Bhutia and R. Arjun—was also sent to the apex poll body.
The ECI, however, reiterated that all officers for whom exemption was sought must attend the briefing programme on the scheduled dates and directed that the decision be communicated immediately to all concerned to avoid confusion at different administrative levels. Officers selected for the assignment are expected to arrive in New Delhi by Wednesday night.
The TMC criticised the Commission’s decision, calling it unilateral and alleging a political motive behind the move. “Ground-level officers were not properly trained, which led to several discrepancies during the SIR exercise. Now, the Commission is summoning the Home Secretary and other senior officers for training. This move is politically motivated,” TMC leader Chandrima Bhattacharjee said.
ECI sources, however, said the Commission was compelled to take a final decision independently after repeated requests to the state government for recommendations of eligible officers for central observer roles failed to receive any response.