West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee fired off a scathing letter to Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar Thursday, blasting the Election Commission for orchestrating massive bureaucratic and police reshuffles right after the Model Code kicked in Sunday. These moves, she charged, are systematically eroding her government’s constitutional powers.
In her missive, Banerjee warned that meddling with a sitting elected regime as polls approach smacks of overreach, fostering a dangerous precedent akin to undeclared Emergency rule. This not only violates cooperative federalism but strikes at democracy’s core.
She vehemently opposed the random deputations of Bengal officials to other states, terming them utterly impractical amid the looming cyclone season. Nor’westers and storms in March-April demand seasoned local administrators who know the terrain inside out for swift disaster management.
Displacing them now spells disaster for relief operations, the CM asserted. Importing external officials for poll duties is equally flawed; unfamiliar with Bengal’s unique landscape, dialects, and cultural nuances, they can’t effectively manage elections or maintain order. Any resultant failures will squarely land on the ECI’s doorstep.
These hasty, one-sided decisions under the guise of Article 324 are a blatant ploy to destabilize state administration, Banerjee alleged. Calling them partisan and anti-public interest, she implored the CEC to halt such undemocratic practices that threaten the republic’s democratic health.