KOLKATA: The Election Commission of India (ECI) is reportedly dissatisfied with Kolkata Police Commissioner Ajay Nand, who is alleged to have failed to effectively handle demonstrations held in front of the West Bengal Chief Electoral Officer’s (CEO) office in the city.
The ruling Trinamool Congress (TMC) and the opposition BJP have been holding repeated demonstrations since Monday outside the newly shifted office of the West Bengal CEO at the Shipping Corporation of India building on Strand Road.
CEO Manoj Agarwal is expected to submit a report to the ECI detailing the events that led to Tuesday afternoon’s clashes between TMC and BJP workers outside his office.
On Tuesday night, a TMC councillor, along with party supporters, gheraoed the CEO’s office to protest the large number of Form 6 submissions in the state. This prompted the CEO’s office to issue a strong statement on social media condemning such “anti-social activities.” Form 6 is used to apply for the inclusion of names in the electoral roll.
Agitated TMC workers alleged that the BJP was attempting to enrol voters from outside West Bengal to influence the polls in its favour. Central forces and local police were deployed to control the situation. Police, armed with batons, resorted to a lathi charge to de-escalate the clashes between party workers.
In a social media post, the CEO’s office said: “A councillor from Beleghata, along with some hooligans, gheraoed the CEO’s office and shouted slogans late at night. Such anti-social activities will not be tolerated, and the law will take its own course. The ECI will leave no stone unturned to ensure free and fair Assembly elections.”
Speaking to reporters on Tuesday, Agarwal said the Kolkata Police Commissioner must take responsibility for the violence outside the CEO’s office. He added that he would report the incident to the ECI.
Agarwal’s remarks and the social media post have triggered speculation about the possible removal of Nand, barely two weeks after he was appointed Kolkata Police Commissioner by the ECI on March 16.
The protests came a day after TMC general secretary Abhishek Banerjee sent a formal complaint to Agarwal, alleging that the ECI is changing the demography of Bengal by including voters from Bihar and Uttar Pradesh in the state's electoral rolls. He claimed that the BJP had submitted at least 30,000 Form 6 applications in bulk.
Sources said that the CEO's office has noted that the Kolkata commissioner is yet to execute the recent directives of the ECI, asking the state and city police to implement all non-bailable arrest warrants against criminals ahead of the assembly elections in the state.
The two-phase elections to 294 assembly seats in the state will be held on April 23 and April 29.
Suvendu Adhikari, Leader of the Opposition and BJP MLA, alleged that Commissioner Nand is being guided by a police officer who is close to Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee.
“I doubt Nand could carry out his duties impartially without showing any favour in the coming elections,” he said.
Nand did not respond to TNIE's phone call or WhatsApp message seeking a reaction to the issue.
On March 16, the ECI transferred West Bengal DGP Peeyush Pandey and Kolkata Police commissioner Supratim Sarkar in the second administrative shuffle since the model code of conduct (MCC) came into effect after the assembly poll dates were announced on 15 March.
Pandey was replaced by Siddh Nath Gupta, a 1992 batch IPS officer, Sarkar was replaced by the 1996-batch officer Nand.
The Commission had also removed Bengal’s chief secretary Nandini Chakravorty, and home secretary Jagdish Prasad Meena. Dushyant Nariala was appointed chief secretary, and Sanghamitra Ghosh as home secretary.
