Even as the West Bengal Government grudgingly complied with the Election Commission’s directives on Wednesday and transferred senior IPS and IAS officers for alleged dereliction of election duty, Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee vowed revenge against what she called an “insult by the poll commission of our State.”
Apparently, as a step towards fulfilling Mamata’s vows the ruling Trinamool Congress (TMC) supporters carrying party flags burnt an effigy of Deputy Election Commissioner Vinod Zutshi in front of the relocated State secretariat. Surprisingly, the police made no attempt to resist the act.
For the past few days, Mamata has been targeting Zutshi and seeking his removal from election duty. The Election Commission (EC) called for the CDs of the Chief Minister’s rallies at which she had made personal remarks against officers while venting her ire against the poll panel.
The EC had over the past one week whipped the State Election office into action. It caused the Chief Electoral Officer Sunil Gupta to take a host of measures following complaints of bias on the part of district officers. Mamata who held a huge election rally at Mangalkot on Wednesday told the gathering how the EC was “acting with a political motive to serve some political outfits” and demanded revenge.
“I will take revenge. I want this to be avenged. I ask you to take revenge through the ballot box,” she said even as her Government rewarded the officers transferred by the EC with plum postings. While some officers were appointed as OSDs in the Home Ministry others were inducted as special officers in the all-important Crime Investigation Department now handling a host of politically high-voltage cases on orders of the High Court.
“We have been forced to transfer our efficient officers. This is an insult and we will not take this insult silently,” she thundered, appealing to the people not to watch certain “television channels that malign our names.”
In a related development, the Congress, BJP and left immediately raised objections to Mamata addressing a rally with two TMC leaders named in high-profile murder cases by her side. In fact the Calcutta High Court is hearing both the cases pending before it for a CBI enquiry. One of these leaders is a district TMC president and the other is a party MlA.
“We laud the Chief Minister’s courage when being the Home Minister herself she takes two murder accused along with her on election campaigns, particularly at a time when the High Court is hearing the cases” in question, said Congress leader Arunabha Ghosh.
BJP State president Rahul Sinha said: “Such acts will only send the wrong message to the party men and they will indulge in more violence.” The left leadership said they would raise the issue with the EC.