Kolkata, March 3 (IANS) The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), on Tuesday, accused the Trinamool Congress leaders and a West Bengal Minister of floating baseless allegations against the State Chief Electoral Officer (CEO) Manoj Kumar Agarwal.
The BJP had also claimed that Trinamool Congress' decision to nominate former West Bengal Director General of Police (DGP), Rajeev Kumar, for the Rajya Sabha had left many other former bureaucrats close to the ruling party in the state heartbroken.
BJP's IT Cell Chief and the party's central observer for West Bengal, Amit Malviya, had issued a detailed social media statement on this matter on Tuesday afternoon.
In an official statement on social media platform X, Malviya had explained that Trinamool Congress's grudge against Manoj Kumar Agarwal was because as the West Bengal CEO, he decided not to fall in line with the whims and wishes of the ruling party, unlike many other bureaucrats and police officers in the state.
"The Trinamool Congress was long accustomed to pliant and venal officials who never inconvenienced the regime. One such figure, Rajiva Sinha, former State Election Commissioner, is now reportedly upset after Rajeev Kumar secured a Rajya Sabha nomination following his tenure as the state DGP, despite his evident subservience. That ecosystem of comfort suited the ruling establishment perfectly," the BJP leader in a social media message said.
According to Malviya, the reason why the West Bengal CEO became a target of the ruling Trinamool Congress was his determination to ensure that the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) proceeds strictly as per the stipulated legal framework, ignoring the machinations of the Mamata Banerjee-led state administration.
The BJP leader said that the upright attitude of the West Bengal CEO rattled the Trinamool Congress government, and therefore he became the target of the state's ruling party.
"Instead of respecting institutional integrity, the response has been a personal offence. Chandrima Bhattacharya, a junior minister with independent charge and a known Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee's loyalist, launched direct attacks on the West Bengal CEO. She was joined by party minions in an orchestrated mudslinging campaign. The CEO's firm and factual rebuttal have only made these attacks look petulant and desperate," Malviya's social media post said.
According to the BJP leader, such a desperate personal offensive against the West Bengal CEO had raised some questions.
"Why is the Trinamool so threatened by SIR? Why plant dubious stories in the media? Why rush to the Supreme Court and return disappointed? Why threaten dharna and target a constitutional authority? What exactly is at stake?" Malviya added.
The BJP leader concluded his social media statement claiming that West Bengal deserved transparency and integrity in its electoral process and the people will deliver their verdict in the upcoming state Assembly polls.
--IANS
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