Rajiva Sinha’s joining letter was returned by West Bengal governor CV Ananda Bose late on Wednesday, raising concerns over the future of the troubled head of the state’s election watchdog
Opposition parties have criticised Sinha for failing to stop the violence that erupted in the state during the nomination filing process and claimed the lives of eight people. The Calcutta High Court drew him up on Wednesday and told him he may resign if he decided not to follow the court’s directives
On June 7, the governor’s office approved the appointment of Sinha, a former state chief secretary. The next day, Sinha released the timetable for the panchayat elections on July 8
People were unhappy with Sinha’s apparent passivity, Bose told reporters.
“I chose him from a panel that the council of ministers gave me. He did what I expected him to do. Everyone may observe what is going on around them. I chose the commissioner with the knowledge that he would oversee a fair and impartial election process. However, I see that the public is dissatisfied with the SEC’s apparent passivity, Bose told reporters.
The electoral commission has a responsibility to safeguard voters during election times. The authority is with the commissioner. In addition to being unbiased, SEC should be seen as impartial. There is violence. Each and every drop of human blood spilled on the pitch is the commission’s responsibility. People want action, not a justification for inaction, he continued.
Mamata Banerjee, the chief minister, retaliated by claiming that it was unprecedented.
“This has never occurred before. This is unheard of. He was required to take an oath when he joined since the commissioner’s position is a constitutional one. The paperwork had been approved by the governor (for Sinha’s appointment). anything’s not like anything was forced upon him. The procedure was adhered to. If it becomes necessary to dismiss the election commissioner, the same procedure used to remove judges must be followed. Before departing for Patna, Banerjee told reporters that it was not that simple
Sinha said, “I haven’t received anything
On Wednesday, the Calcutta High Court ordered the state poll body to request more central troops than were present during the 2013 panchayat elections. According to information provided to the court, 82,000 paramilitary soldiers were deployed in 2013
The Calcutta High Court’s ruling requiring SEC to station central troops in every district had already been affirmed by the Supreme Court.
The Union home ministry received an order from SEC on Thursday for 800 businesses (each company has around 80–100 people) of central force
