Kolkata: The Leader of Opposition in the West Bengal Assembly, Suvendu Adhikari, on Friday wrote a letter to the Election Commission of India (ECI) accusing Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee of tarnishing the image of the new Chief Election Commissioner (CEC), Gyanesh Kumar, at a public meeting.
In the letter, a copy of which is available with IANS, Adhikari claimed that the Chief Minister, while addressing a rally of party leaders and workers at Netaji Indoor Stadium in Kolkata on Thursday, questioned Kumar’s appointment as the CEC and alleged that the BJP was “trying to influence” the Commission.
Along with the letter, the Leader of Opposition (LoP) had also annexed the translated version in English of the video clip of the relevant portion of the Chief Minister’s speech where she was heard referring to the CEC’s appointment.
“The Trinamool Congress Chief accused the BJP of trying to influence electoral processes in the country by filling up positions such as the Chief Election Commissioner with ‘BJP people’ and by doing so the BJP is trying to influence the Election Commission of India,” Adhikari’s letter addressed to the CEC read.
The LoP has also alleged that the Chief Minister has singled out Kumar’s erstwhile tenure as the then secretary to the Union Ministry of Corporation, also headed by Union Home Minister Amit Shah, while substantiating her claims in the matter during her public speech on Thursday.
However, Adhikari pointed out in the letter that the Chief Minister conveniently omitted that the Chief Election Commissioner or the Election Commissioners needed to be appointed from among bureaucrats who were holding posts equivalent to secretaries to the Union government.
“The Chief Minister has crossed all the limits by targeting the Election Commission of India, a permanent Constitutional Body which was established by the Constitution. She has no right or authority to question your appointment or integrity,” Adhikari’s letter read.
In the letter, he also pointed out the Chief Minister's public statements on Thursday, where she observed that free and fair elections will never be possible unless the Commission acts impartially.
“She specifically mentioned that ‘in Delhi and Maharashtra, the BJP had won elections by enrolling fake voters from Haryana and Gujarat. She alleged that the BJP party used such tactics to secure victories in the Delhi and Maharashtra Assembly elections with the convenience of the ECI. Smt. Mamata Banerjee warned that if necessary action was not taken to correct the electoral roll in West Bengal, her party would stage a dharna in front of the office of the Election Commission of India for an indefinite period,” Adhikari’s letter read.
According to the LoP, such baseless allegations by the Chief Minister are nothing but attempts to create unnecessary doubts in the minds of common people.
Adhikari has ended the letter requesting the CEC to take cognizance of the Chief Minister’s comments on this count.
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