In face-off with ECI, West Bengal govt withdraws two officials from poll duty

Kolkata: The tussle between the Election Commission of India (ECI) and the West Bengal government escalated on Monday with the state government withdrawing an AERO and a data entry operator from election duty on Monday. The ECI had directed chief secretary Manoj Pant to suspend four officials and the data entry operator, lodge FIRs against them and start departmental proceedings. Neither were the FIRs lodged nor were they suspended from duty. This is line with what chief minister Mamata Banerjee had stated in recent days that no action would be taken against the four officials.

"You will kindly appreciate that district-level officials and field officers have a wide range of functions assigned to them by their appointing authorities, in addition to the electoral roll revision works and other election-related works which are time-bound. Therefore, there are occasions where certain functions are delegated to subordinate staff in good faith," Pant wrote in his letter.

On August 5, the ECI had directed the chief secretary to suspend two EROs and two AEROs for committing "grave lapses" and "failing to perform their duties", violating the policy of data security by sharing their login credentials of the ER database with unauthorised persons. ECI had then directed the chief secretary to suspend the four officials, lodge FIRs against them and start a departmental enquiry against them.


Similar action was to be taken against a casual worker as well. However, the state government has started "an internal inquiry into the issue" and a "comprehensive review of the existing procedures governing the conduct of the said exercise has been undertaken", Pant wrote in a letter to ECI secretary Sujeet Kumar Mishra.

The ECI had also directed Pant to start departmental proceedings against the officials. However, Pant pointed out that starting proceedings against officers who have "demonstrated sincerity and competence may be a disproportionately harsh measure".