Nabanna on Monday withdrew four senior West Bengal Civil Service officers from CEO Manoj Agarwal’s office in response to a prod from it.
These WBCS (Executive) officers have been shifted to various state government departments, while the chief electoral officer’s office has a new joint CEO, Rahul Nath, a 2001-batch officer who was additional secretary in the health department.
The transfers created a flutter in administrative circles, having come a day after the poll panel removed 267 state officials, including 83 block development officers (BDOs) and 170 officers-in-charge and inspectors-in-charge of various police stations.
On Monday, the state government approached Calcutta High Court challenging the “abrupt” transfers of the OCs and ICs, effected without consulting it.
“The message is clear that the Election Commission will do whatever it believes is necessary to hold free and fair polls in the state,” a senior state government official said.
“While there were allegations that the transferred BDOs, OCs and ICs were not discharging their duties impartially, it’s still not clear why the four (WBCS) officers were removed from the CEO’s office.”
Under an order issued by the personnel and administrative reforms department, Narendra Nath Dutta, a 1998-batch officer who was an additional secretary in the CEO’s office, has been transferred to the labour department as additional secretary.
Supriya Das, a 2000-batch officer who too was an additional secretary in the CEO’s office, has been sent to the food processing and horticulture department as additional secretary.
Mithu Sarkar, a 2004-batch officer who was a joint secretary in the CEO’s office, has been transferred to the minority affairs department as joint secretary.
Subrata Pal, a 2005-batch officer who had been posted as deputy CEO, has been shifted to the health department as a senior deputy secretary.
The transfer orders from Nabanna said the changes had been made “in accordance with the proposal by the CEO, West Bengal”.
Sources in the CEO’s office said these four officers had been working there for “the past few years”.
“It’s not clear yet why they have been transferred. Nath, brought in as joint CEO, had worked with the poll panel before, and his experience will be used during the elections,” a source said.
The Election Commission’s large-scale transfers of police and administrative officials after the model code of conduct came into force have become a political issue in Bengal.
Chief minister Mamata Banerjee has been raising the subject at almost all her campaign meetings to accuse the poll panel of bias and high-handedness.
Within hours of the announcement of the election dates, the commission had removed top government officials including the chief secretary, home secretary, director-general of police and the city police commissioner.
Later, 12 district magistrates were transferred along with the superintendents of police of several districts. Some 73 returning officers — who are sub-divisional officers in the administration — too were shunted out, before the 267 transfers on Sunday night.
“The transfers have shaken the entire state administration. A message has been sent to all officials that the commission will not spare anyone who doesn’t discharge their duties properly,” a poll panel source said.
“For now, the action has been limited to transfers, but the errant officials can later face even suspensions or other disciplinaryaction.”
In the high court, senior advocate Kalyan Banerjee moved a plea on the Bengal government’s behalf before a division bench headed by Chief Justice Sujay Paul. He sought approval for filing a writ to challenge the Election Commission’s removal of so many OCs and ICs on a single day.
After Justice Paul granted permission, Kalyan also appealed for an urgent hearing of the case.
High court sources said the hearing might be held in a couple of days.
Kalyan had earlier moved a petition challenging the poll panel’s decision to remove several top officers from their posts in Bengal and depute them to other states as general poll observers.
The hearing has been completed but the division bench headed by Justice Paul is yet to pronounce its verdict.
At a rally in West Burdwan last week, Mamata had spoke out against what she said were arbitrary transfers.
“The BJP-run ‘Vanishing Commission’... the BJP’s ‘Vanishing Washing Machine’ has transferred about 50 to 100 officers from our state to Kerala and Tamil Nadu,” she said.
“These officers, who were familiar with the local terrain, have been deployed elsewhere. This has been done specifically to inflict oppression on the people.
“It was done to facilitate the influx of the BJP’s illicit funds, narcotics and goons into Bengal, to allow bulldozers to enter and to incite riots. The BJP’s ‘Vanishing Washing Machine’ is actively working to target the public.”