KOLKATA: The face-off between West Bengal Chief Electoral Officer (CEO) Manoj Agarwal and the ruling Trinamool Congress escalated ahead of the upcoming Assembly elections in the state.
Citing a 2013 inquiry into alleged disproportionate assets and multiple bank accounts linked to his wife and father-in-law, the Trinamool Congress launched sharp attacks on Agarwal. The criticism comes in the context of the Election Commission of India (ECI) removing around 64 lakh absentee, shifted, dead, and duplicate (ASDD) voters from the final post–Special Intensive Revision (SIR) electoral rolls, while another 60 lakh electors have been placed “under adjudication,” leaving their voting rights uncertain.
In addition to the 63.66 lakh deleted voters, over 60 lakh electors falling under logical discrepancies and unmapped categories have been placed “under adjudication” in the final electoral list, pending clearance from judicial officers to confirm their voting rights.
Following the Supreme Court’s directive, judicial officers have been tasked with deciding their status. This “under adjudication” group includes prominent figures such as State Chief Secretary Nandini Chakraborty, Minister Tajmul Hossain, and party MLA Rafiqur Rahaman.
Chandrima Bhattacharya, a senior minister in Mamata Banerjee’s Cabinet, wrote on X on Monday night: “Manoj Agarwal @CEOWestBengal warns officers about ‘Lakshman Rekha’ and lectures them on ‘service rules’. But where was this moral sermon when, as per a CBI charge sheet, nearly 30 bank accounts and six plots worth crores — three in Dwarka and others in Gurgaon, Greater Noida, and Kolkata — were allegedly linked to your wife?
“Before preaching ethics, answer the questions on record. Accountability first, lecture later.”
Chandrima, who holds the finance and health portfolios as Minister of State, cited a 2013 news report in connection with the CBI charge sheet.
“Manoj Kumar Agarwal, a 1990-batch West Bengal cadre officer, was charged with amassing assets disproportionate to his known sources of income under the Prevention of Corruption Act, along with his wife Rooma and father-in-law MP Garg,” the report cited by the minister stated.
Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee has on several occasions criticized Agarwal since the SIR exercise was launched in West Bengal on November 4 last year. Several other Trinamool Congress leaders also sharpened their attacks on Agarwal following Chandrima’s remarks.
Responding to Chandrima’s allegations, Agarwal wrote on X: “In brief, the charge sheet ultimately resulted in an honourable acquittal by the learned Special Judge. Mrs. Agarwal has owned property since before her marriage and has been filing her Income Tax Returns consistently since 1983.
“All her assets — whether acquired or disposed of — along with every source of income, have been fully declared and duly assessed by the Income Tax Department over the past 43 years. Her financial affairs have always remained transparent and fully compliant with the law.
“The attempt to ‘give a dog a bad name and hang him’ has been exposed after this long agnipariksha. Truth and the rule of law will undoubtedly prevail,” stated the West Bengal CEO.