Kolkata, 11 October (H.S.) - The controversy surrounding West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee’s remarks against the state’s Chief Electoral Officer (CEO) Manoj Agarwal has deepened, with the Election Commission of India (ECI) expressing strong displeasure over the incident. The Chief Minister had accused the CEO of “corruption” and “over-enthusiasm,” comments made in the presence of the state’s Chief Secretary, Manoj Pant.

According to senior officials, the ECI has viewed the Chief Secretary’s presence during the Chief Minister’s controversial remarks as inappropriate. The Commission believes he should have immediately recused himself from the meeting. Sources within the ECI have described the matter as a serious breach of administrative propriety and are considering seeking an official explanation from him.

The issue took a political turn after Leader of the Opposition Suvendu Adhikari lodged a formal complaint with the CEO’s office on Friday. In his letter, Adhikari described the Chief Minister’s comments as “a direct threat to the democratic process” and said that “targeting the CEO in the presence of the Chief Secretary was completely improper.”

Adhikari further warned that if the Chief Minister fails to substantiate her allegations, he would stage a protest outside the CEO’s office after Diwali. He also questioned why, despite the ECI’s directives, no action had been taken against all the accused officials, and only two had been suspended so far.

A senior official from the CEO’s office stated that levelling public allegations of corruption against an officer of this rank without credible evidence is against the law. Under the Lokpal Act, corruption charges against a government official must be supported by written evidence, failing which the complainant could face imprisonment and fines. The official noted that the Chief Secretary should have been aware of this provision and should have left the meeting at that point.

Meanwhile, the CEO’s office has forwarded a copy of Adhikari’s complaint to the Election Commission in Delhi, as per standard procedure. The office clarified that all complaints received are routinely sent to the ECI headquarters for review.

An ECI official, speaking on condition of anonymity, confirmed that the Chief Secretary may soon be asked to submit a written explanation, and further action could follow depending on his response.

Hindusthan Samachar / Satya Prakash Singh