Bengal poll officials suspended; truth must come out, says Dilip Ghosh

The ECI has suspended seven poll officials in West Bengal over misconduct. Reacting to the move, BJP's Dilip Ghosh demanded the truth come out, while Bihar Minister Mangal Pandey alleged the officials were acting under TMC's influence.

BJP Demands Truth After ECI Suspends Officials

BJP leader Dilip Ghosh said on Tuesday that the truth must come out after the Election Commission of India (ECI) suspended seven officials in West Bengal over the alleged misconduct linked to the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) process.

Reacting to the development, Ghosh said, "The investigation found that some officials were deliberately complicating it, causing delays. The truth about everyone should be brought out, and punishment should be given." He said the action indicates that the poll body found lapses in the functioning of certain officers.

ECI Orders Disciplinary Action

The ECI has directed the West Bengal Chief Secretary to initiate disciplinary proceedings against the suspended officials for "serious misconduct, dereliction of duty, and misuse of statutory powers" in connection with the SIR process. The officials suspended include assistant electoral registration officers and block-level officers across multiple assembly constituencies, including Samserganj, Farakka, Maynaguri, Suti, Canning Purbo and Debra.

Bihar Minister Alleges Political Influence

Earlier, Bihar Health Minister Mangal Pandey also reacted to the ECI's decision, alleging that some state officials were acting under political influence instead of following the Commission's directives. Speaking to the reporters, Pandey said, "Certainly, the officials of the West Bengal government appear to be working more as officials of Mamata Banerjee and the TMC. This is a signal and a message to those officials who, instead of following the Election Commission's directives, follow the orders and instructions of the TMC, Abhishek, and Mamata Banerjee."

He asserted that elections must be conducted in a fair and transparent manner to maintain public confidence. "Elections should be fair and transparent. Work should be done with the trust and confidence of all voters. The West Bengal government and its officials are not cooperating in this task, and I believe the Election Commission has taken action against these officials as a result. In the future, the officials of the West Bengal government should be careful. Because elections should be transparent and should be one in which the public has complete confidence," he said.

List of Suspended Officials

The suspended officials include: i) Dr Sefaur Rahaman, Assistant Director of the Agriculture Department and Assistant Electoral Registration Officer (AERO) for 56-Samserganj Assembly Constituency; ii) Nitish Das, Revenue Officer, Farakka and AERO for 55-Farakka Assembly Constituency; iii) Dalia Ray Choudhury, Women Development Officer, Maynaguri Development Block and AERO for 16-Maynaguri Assembly Constituency; iv) Sk. Murshid Alam, ADA, Suti Block and AERO for 57-Suti Assembly Constituency; v & vi) Satyajit Das, Joint Block Development Officer (BDO) and Joydeep Kundu, FEO, both AEROs of 139-Canning Purbo Assembly Constituency; and vii) Debashis Biswas, Jt BDO and AERO 229-Debra Assembly Constituency. (ANI)

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