Kolkata, 14 August (H.S.): The Election Commission of India (ECI) has directed the West Bengal government to take strict action against officials accused of irregularities in voter list management, setting a firm deadline of August 21. Chief Secretary Manoj Pant was summoned to Delhi on Wednesday, where the Commission made it clear that suspension and FIRs against the officials are mandatory.

According to senior state secretariat sources, Pant attended a 45-minute meeting with the ECI’s full bench on Wednesday evening. The Commission categorically instructed that failure to comply would invite constitutional measures against the state government. Pant returned to Kolkata late Wednesday night after the meeting.

The officials under scrutiny include Barui­pur East Electoral Registration Officer (ERO) Devottam Dutta Choudhury, Assistant ERO Tathagata Mondal, Moyna ERO Biplab Sarkar, Assistant ERO Sudipta Das, and data entry operator Surajit Haldar. They are accused of sharing their official IDs with temporary staff to facilitate the inclusion of fake names in the electoral rolls. The ECI had earlier recommended suspension and FIRs against all five.

On Monday, the state government informed the Commission that only Sudipta Das and Surajit Haldar had been relieved of election duties, but no suspensions or FIRs had been initiated. The government argued that heavy workloads often compel officials to share login credentials with support staff.

During Wednesday’s meeting, the ECI questioned why its directives had not been implemented and demanded a detailed report on actions taken. The Commission also addressed doubts raised about its authority in the absence of a Model Code of Conduct, clarifying that it is the sole constitutional authority over all electoral processes year-round. The ECI emphasized that neither the state nor central government can interfere in matters concerning electoral roll management, and any disputes fall directly under the Supreme Court’s jurisdiction.

The Commission also reaffirmed that implementing the State Information Register (SIR) across all states is a priority and warned the Bengal government that defiance of its instructions will not be tolerated.

Hindusthan Samachar / Satya Prakash Singh