Tempers flare at TMC, ECI meet

In a fresh political storm ahead of Assembly polls in West Bengal, a meeting between the Trinamool Congress (TMC) and the Election Commission of India (ECI) on Wednesday morning ended on an acrimonious note.

A TMC delegation of Rajya Sabha leader Derek O’Brien, deputy leader Sagarika Ghose, MPs Saket Gokhale and Menaka Guruswamy, was meeting the full bench of ECI as amid charges of disenfranchisements after the Special Intensive Revision of electoral rolls in West Bengal and allegations of the poll body having a “tacit understanding” with the BJP.

ECI sources accused O’Brien of shouting at the election commissioners and alleged that he asked the CEC not to speak. The situation escalated after the MP said, “We are not here to listen to you,” they allege.

After a short and stormy meeting that lasted seven minutes, the TMC delegation came out accusing the CEC, Gyanesh Kumar, of a “partisan attitude.” According to TMC leaders, the meeting ended abruptly with the CEC telling their delegation to “get lost.”

Talking to reporters after the meeting, O’Brien said they handed over nine letters written by West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee to the CEC, which the MP said have not been acknowledged. “We gave him six examples of officials who are part of the election process and have links with the BJP,” O’Brien said.

Right after the meeting, the ECI published a social media post where it said it gave a “straight-talk” to the TMC delegation. The post further read, “… this time, the elections in West Bengal would surely be: fear-free, violence-free, intimidation-free, inducement-free and without any chappa, booth-jamming and source-jamming’ (electoral malpractices)”.

O’Brien questioned the post, insisting, “The CEC is a chor, a criminal. He said nothing of this in the meeting. The only thing he said was ‘Get out.’” The TMC delegation accused the CEC of trying to play games with the party, saying, “Gyanesh Kumar, you don’t know who you are dealing with. This is Mamata Banerjee, Abhishek Banerjee, and the TMC.”.

The TMC leaders also took to social media, rejecting EC’s claims. Tagging the EC’s post, the TMC wrote on its X handle, “Straight-talk to ECI: Is this how a neutral constitutional body is expected to behave?” In another post, the party said, “We are also speaking straight to the Election Commission in a straightforward manner. This time, the elections must be: free from Delhi’s control, free from political bias, free from targeted persecution of anyone, and certainly free from double standards.”