NEW DELHI: West Bengal Chief Secretary Manoj Pant on Wednesday appeared before the Election Commission of India (ECI) here following a summons served to him by the poll panel to explain the state government’s decision not to suspend all four “tainted” officers over alleged irregularities in electoral roll revision based on its direction.
The Chief Secretary reached the Commission’s office here at around 4.30 pm and left around 6 pm, as sources in the poll panel said he met Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar and the election commissioners – Sukhbir Singh Sandhu and Vivek Joshi.
Later, when he came out of the Nirwachan Sadan, Pant was stormed by waiting media persons, but he refused to comment on what transpired between him and the Commission.
The poll panel had on Tuesday summoned Pant to Delhi to report in person at the ECI headquarters in the national capital by 5 pm on August 13.
The move came in response to Pant’s communication to the Commission on Monday, stating that suspending the identified officers and filing FIRs against them, as directed by the poll panel, would be “disproportionately harsh” and have “demoralising impact” on the officialdom in the state.