Kolkata, March 16 (IANS). West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee on Monday wrote a letter to Election Commission of India (ECI) Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar, expressing concern over the transfer of several IAS and IPS officers in the state.
The Chief Minister alleged that large-scale transfers of administrative officers immediately after the announcement of assembly elections were done without any concrete reason and without any allegations.
In his letter, he wrote that top officials of the administrative system in West Bengal were removed within a few hours of the announcement of Assembly elections 2026, which is extremely surprising and worrying. He said that this decision was taken arbitrarily and a panel of officers was not even sought from the state government, whereas during earlier elections the established conventions between the Election Commission and the state government had been followed.
This development came to light when the Election Commission made a major reshuffle in the state administration. Overnight Chief Secretary Nandini Chakraborty and Home Secretary J.P. Meena was transferred. Additionally, several senior officials of the police department, including the Director General of Police and the Kolkata Police Commissioner, were removed from their posts.
The reshuffle came just hours after the Election Commission issued notification for the upcoming assembly elections in the state.
Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee objected to the move, saying such action weakens the spirit of cooperative federalism and the principles of democratic governance. He wrote in the letter that a constitutional institution like the Election Commission is expected to maintain the basic spirit and values of India’s federal system while exercising its powers.
He urged the Election Commission to avoid taking such unilateral decisions in future and said that this could affect the credibility and institutional dignity of the Election Commission.
–IANS
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