CHENNAI: Strongly condemning the ECI's order to transfer Chief Secretary N Muruganandam, Tamil Nadu Chief Minister MK Stalin, on Wednesday, described the Commission's move as an "one-sided and arbitrary political action."
The DMK president also said the selective transfer of Chief Secretaries and DGPs only in opposition-ruled states, including Tamil Nadu, exposed the partisan influence of the BJP-led Union government and reflects saffronisation of the Commission.
Charging that this transfer has taken place at the BJP's behest, the CM asserted that despite the transfer of many officials, the National Democratic Alliance will face a decisive defeat in Tamil Nadu.
In a statement here, the CM said: "Shame on the ECI, which is duty-bound to conduct free and fair elections, chose to implement the directives of the BJP."
Stalin said the constitutional safeguards granted to the ECI are not meant for carrying out electoral work on behalf of the BJP. By functioning with a dominant and partisan mindset under a regime that seeks to push the country towards authoritarianism, the Commission has brought its own dignity into disrepute.
Charging that the ECI is functioning with a dominant and biased attitude, Stalin said that since the Commission failed to realise that the BJP government is desperate to lead the country towards authoritarian rule, it has lowered its own dignity and public respect.
The Tamil Nadu CM pointed out that similar transfers were not carried out in BJP-ruled States like Assam or Bihar, and that the transfers of the Tamil Nadu Chief Secretary and DGP were due to the BJP's instigation.
"It is unbecoming of the ECI, which is desperate to facilitate the electoral malpractices to be carried out jointly by the BJP and the AIADMK. Officials may come and go, but the neutrality of the ECI, established by our constitutional forefathers as a pillar of public trust, must not be compromised. Undermining this neutrality poses a grave threat to both the nation and to the conduct of free and fair elections," he added.
The CM also said these transfers represent the height of ECI's arrogance, akin to believing that hiding a comb could stop a wedding.