EC shakes up West Bengal govt: Chief secretary, home secretary and top police officers replaced overnight

Kolkata (The Uttam Hindu): As soon as the dates for the West Bengal Assembly elections were announced, the Election Commission went into full action mode. Fulfilling its promise of conducting fair and peaceful elections, the Election Commission dealt a major blow to the Mamata Banerjee government. The Commission carried out a major reshuffle overnight, removing the state's Chief Secretary and Home Secretary from their posts. Four senior police officers, including the Kolkata Police Commissioner, were also transferred with immediate effect.

Four IPS officers were stripped of their posts at midnight and given new responsibilities

Following this strict action by the Election Commission, there has been significant upheaval within the Bengal police department. As per the Commission's directive, 1992-batch IPS officer Siddh Nath Gupta has been appointed Director General and Chief of Police (In-Charge) in the West Bengal government. Meanwhile, 1991-batch Natarajan Ramesh Babu has been appointed Director General of Correctional Services. Additionally, IPS officer Ajay Mukund Ranade has been appointed Deputy Director General and Chief of Police (Law and Order) and Ajay Kumar Nanda has been appointed as the new Commissioner of Kolkata Police. The Commission has issued strict instructions that these orders be implemented immediately and a compliance report on the officers' assumption of charge be sent to Delhi by March 16.

Top IAS officers also held accountable, barred from any election-related work

In addition to police officers, the Election Commission has also cracked down on two of the state's most senior administrative positions. The Election Commission has removed Chief Secretary Nandini Chakraborty from her post and appointed 1993-batch IAS officer Dushyant Nariyala as the new Chief Secretary. Similarly, Home Secretary Jagdish Prasad Meena has been relieved and 1997-batch IAS officer Sanghamitra Ghosh has been appointed Principal Secretary for Home and Hill Affairs. These orders, issued on the night of March 15th, clearly state that the removed officers will be completely removed from any election-related work until the election process is complete. Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar had already made it clear that conducting violence-free elections in Bengal is his top priority.

TMC enraged by Election Commission's decision, staged walkout from Parliament

The ruling Trinamool Congress (TMC) is furious over the Election Commission's midnight action and has launched a scathing attack on the central government. TMC MP Sagarika Ghosh strongly opposed the move, saying that transferring top state officials at 4 a.m. is unacceptable. She alleged that Bengal has an elected government led by Mamata Banerjee and that the Election Commission is misusing its powers to harm this elected government. The TMC also raised the issue vehemently in Parliament. Led by party leader Derek O'Brien, the entire All India Trinamool Congress walked out of Parliament for the day in protest.