KOLKATA: West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee on Thursday asserted that her government is with its employees, questioning the Election Commission's suspension of four officers, including two state civil servants.
The EC had on Tuesday ordered the suspension of four officers and a casual worker of the West Bengal government for allegedly failing to perform their duties and committing lapses while preparing the electoral rolls in two districts.
The poll panel also directed that FIRs be lodged against the five -- two Electoral Registration Officers (EROs), two Assistant Electoral Registration Officers (AEROs) and a data entry operator.
Questioning the EC's directive, Banerjee said, "We all know that the EC can take action only from the date of announcement of elections. There is a lot of time left for elections, do they think that they can browbeat anybody in the name of NRC (National Register of Citizens)?" she asked.
With the assembly elections in West Bengal due in mid-2026, a raging political debate is on as to whether a special intensive revision (SIR) of electoral rolls will be undertaken in the state, on the lines of Bihar, where it has been held and draft rolls announced.
Banerjee said that her government is with all officers and other employees of the state government.
She questioned under which rule the suspensions were ordered, claiming that the Constitution does not provide for any such provision. The chief minister has been alleging that the EC is trying to introduce NRC "through the back door" in the garb of SIR.