Kolkata, March 19 (NationPress) Trinamool Congress MP Kalyan Banerjee expressed strong criticism towards the Election Commission of India (ECI) on Thursday regarding the recent reshuffling of senior police officers in West Bengal. He claimed that the poll body is functioning in a “highly whimsical” manner, something he argues has never been seen before.

Banerjee's remarks followed the ECI's decision to transfer over 15 IPS officers in the state as part of a new administrative restructuring ahead of the upcoming Assembly elections. According to the Commission, this action is intended to guarantee fair and impartial policing throughout the electoral process.

In response to the reshuffle, Banerjee told IANS: “The Election Commission is behaving very whimsically. We have never encountered such a scenario with an Election Commission before. They claim that these 15 officers should not be given election duties, yet they are sending them to oversee elections in other states.”

He further questioned the reasoning behind this rearrangement, stating: “This is utterly whimsical. Not just the police directly involved, but other officers are also essential.”

Alleging political intentions, the Trinamool leader stated: “Their primary goal appears to be bringing in outside IPS and IAS officers as per the BJP's agenda to influence the elections. It is crucial to note that free and fair elections cannot occur until the appointment of Election Commissioners is made transparent and lawful.”

Continuing his critique, Banerjee remarked, “These appointments are determined by the whims of the Prime Ministers and the Central government. If Election Commissioners are chosen arbitrarily, based on the preferences of the Prime Minister, Home Minister, and other officials, they will naturally aim to fulfill the desires of the ruling party.”

“Consequently, free and fair elections cannot be conducted in the country, and the Opposition will not experience a legitimate electoral process as long as Election Commissioners are appointed without transparency,” he added.

Earlier on the same day, West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee also criticized the ECI for its decision to transfer bureaucrats and police officers in the state, as well as for regularly assigning many of them as general and police observers in other election-bound states since the model code of conduct was implemented following the announcement of polling dates.

In a related development, the ECI has partially retracted its decision to reassign a group of IPS officers from West Bengal, choosing to retain two officers in the state for the time being.

As per officials from the Chief Electoral Officer's office in West Bengal, two IPS officers, Murali Dhar and Syed Waquar Raza, will not be sent to other states as observers and will remain in West Bengal until further notice.

However, the remaining 13 officers will be dispatched to poll-bound states, including Tamil Nadu and Kerala, where they are expected to function as observers during the Assembly elections.

This decision follows a late-night order from the poll panel on Wednesday, which canceled the alternative postings of 15 IPS officers in West Bengal. These officers had previously been reassigned by the state government after being removed by the Election Commission from their duties and barred from election-related tasks due to the upcoming Assembly elections.

The Commission's earlier directive aimed to transfer all 15 officers out of West Bengal, appointing them as police observers in other states preparing for elections.

The list included Akash Magharia, Alok Rajoria, Amandeep, Abhijit Banerjee, Bhaskar Mukherjee, C. Sudhakar, Dhritimaan Sarkar, Indira Mukherjee, Murali Dhar, Mukesh, Praveen Kumar Tripathi, Priyabrata Roy, Sandeep Karra, Rashid Munir Khan, and Raza.

Among these, Murali Dhar served as the Police Commissioner of Bidhannagar Police Commissionerate, while Raza held the position of Police Commissioner of Siliguri Metropolitan Police.