EC–TMC Meet Turns Bitter; CEC Says ‘Get Lost’, MPs Accused Of Shouting
New Delhi: The Trinamool Congress delegation’s meeting with the Election Commission on Wednesday ended on a harsh note, with leaders saying the Chief Election Commissioner had asked them to “get lost” and the commission accusing them of “yelling”.
A TMC delegation comprising Rajya Sabha leader Derek O’Brien, deputy leader Sagarika Ghose, MPs Saket Gokhale and Menaka Guruswamy met the entire delegation of the Election Commission as West Bengal goes to polls amid accusations of disenfranchisement following the Special Intensive Revision of electoral rolls and allegations that the poll body has a “tacit understanding” with the BJP.
Speaking to reporters after the meeting, O’Brien said that they handed over nine letters written by West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee to Chief Election Commissioner (CEC) Gyanesh Kumar, but the MP did not accept it.
They also apprised the Election Commission of certain instances showing the alleged links of some poll officials with the BJP and demanded their handover.
“We gave him six examples of officials who were part of the election process and had links to the BJP,” O’Brien said.
Among the examples cited was that the Chief Election Officer was accompanied by a local BJP leader in Nandigram. He stated that a circular has been presented on this subject.
“We asked the CEC how it could ensure that free and fair elections were held in Bengal when such tainted officers were being appointed. Its response was to Disappear,” O’Brien said.
“We told the CEC that we would not listen to him because he would not allow his colleagues to speak. We attended eight to nine meetings like this where no one but the CEC spoke,” O’Brien said.
O’Brien said that at the end of the seven-minute meeting, a TMC leader congratulated Gyanesh Kumar on becoming the first CEC in history to submit notices to parliament for his removal.
Meanwhile, the Election Commission accused TMC leaders of “shouting” and said this would ensure free and fair elections in the state.
In an X post, the poll panel said it had made a “frank speech” to the TMC delegation.
The EC said it had told the TMC that “this time the elections in West Bengal will be absolutely fearless, violence-free, intimidation-free, and there will be no ‘chappa, booth jamming and resource mixing’ (electoral malpractices).”
EC sources accused O’Brien of shouting at election commissioners and said he asked the CEC not to speak.
“The CEC has requested Derek O’Brien to behave with decorum in the committee room. Shouting and inappropriate behavior are not appropriate,” they said.
According to a source present at the meeting, as soon as the TMC delegation entered the meeting, they noted the absence of CEC authorized representatives and O’Brien asked them if they were “unauthorised” and should leave.
After sending their memorandum, TMC leaders told the CEC that they wanted action on the ground, not just words.
Sources said CEC accused O’Brien of speaking loudly and told them to “get lost.” P.
TMC leaders also rejected EC’s allegations and turned to X.
In a post, Sagarika Ghose called the poll panel’s claim a “blatant lie” and said “none of this was told to the four-member delegation”.
“Chief Election Commissioner ‘Vanish’ Kumar told us two lines. First line: where is your authorized signatory. And second most embarrassing two words: ‘get lost’,” Ghose said.
In his post, Saket Gokhale accused the EC of choosing a single political party.
“ECI official manages tweets and singles out a single political party. Does this criminal CEC have the courage to tweet ‘Talk to BJP directly’?” he asked.
Tagging EC’s post, TMC wrote on handle X: “Talk to ECI directly: Is this how an impartial constitutional body is expected to act?”
In another post, the party said: “We are also speaking loud and clear directly to the Election Commission. This time the elections should be free from Delhi’s control, free from political bias, free from targeted persecution of all and absolutely free from double standards.”
