Kolkata: The Election Commission of India (ECI) has appointed former state Home Secretary Jagdish Prasad Meena as a poll observer in Tamil Nadu.
Meena, along with Chief Secretary Nandini Chakraborty, was removed by the apex poll body within hours of the announcement of the election schedule.
He has been posted as an observer for the Tiruchirappalli West Assembly Constituency in poll-bound Tamil Nadu.
Meanwhile, in another major development, the state Chief Electoral Officer (CEO) expressed hope that the first supplementary list on the latest status of adjudication will be released by the end of this week. “We hope that by Friday or Saturday, the supplementary list will be published. Within two to three days, the Calcutta High Court will finalise the list of judges who will constitute the tribunal. Accordingly, along with the state government, arrangements will be made for their arrival,” said Special Roll Observer Subrata Gupta. Aggrieved voters, after adjudication, may approach the tribunal.
The committee constituted by the Supreme Court to deal with 60 lakh cases under adjudication held a meeting on Tuesday under the Chief Justice of the Calcutta High Court.
“More than 21 lakh cases have already been disposed of,” said CEO Manoj Agarwal.
Earlier, just days before the announcement of the elections, Meena had been sent to Delhi for observer training by the Commission—a rare step, as there is no known precedent of a serving Home Secretary being deputed for such training.
Trinamool Congress chairperson Mamata Banerjee, reacting to Meena’s transfer, said, “They (the Election Commission) do not want Bengal to exist as a state. This is their plan, and we will foil it. They fear Bengal.”
According to ECI sources, the Commission had sent five reminders to the state government seeking a list of officials for observer duties but received no response. It subsequently decided to appoint senior officials, including the Home Secretary and the Kolkata Police Commissioner, as observers.