The Election Commission has started its West Bengal crackdown.
Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar, in his press conference to announce the election dates on Sunday, has assured that elections in West Bengal would be violence-free and peaceful.
It has already removed Mamata Banerjee’s two blue-eyed top officials hours after election notification.
Now, Dushyant Nariala will be new Chief Secretary and Sanghamitra Ghosh new Home Secretary
Outgoing Chief Secretary Nandini Chakraborty and outgoing state Home Secretary Jagdish Prasad Meena were very close to Mamata, it is said. Nandini Chakraborty, first woman chief secretary, hit headlines during Mamata's 'stall ED works' exercise vis-a-vis I-PAC operations.
In a letter sent to the chief secretary, the EC said that “the officers transferred out” – Nandini Chakraborty and Jagdish Prasad Meena – “shall not be posted in any election-related position” till the polls are over.
“The directions of the Election Commission should be implemented with immediate effect and a compliance report in respect of joining of Dushyant Nariala and Sanghamitra Ghosh be sent by 3 pm on March 16 (Monday).
BJP leader and Union Minister Sukanta Majumdar welcomed the new changes.
"The Election Commission has decided this. These officers are very biased... It is right to remove them. The Election Commission did the right thing.
Would it be right to conduct elections by keeping such officers who go to obstruct ED raids? Whoever Mamata Banerjee appoints as DGP or Chief Secretary, she uses them as members of her party... These are TMC's friends, these are TMC's administrative friends...".
Nandini Chakraborty, the 1994-batch IAS officer was appointed as the first woman chief secretary of West Bengal on December 31 last year. Her presence with Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee, along with other top bureaucrats of the state, during the Enforcement Directorate’s search operation at I-PAC’s Kolkata office had sparked criticism from the Opposition BJP and former bureaucrats, calling it a breach of administrative protocol.
Dushyant Nariala is a 1993-batch IAS officer of the West Bengal cadre. He currently serves as Additional Chief Secretary (ACS) for the North Bengal Development Department.
He held Additional Charge as Principal Secretary of the Gorkhaland Territorial Administration (GTA) as well as Additional Chief Secretary of the Correctional Administration Department.
Sanghamitra Ghosh, the new Home Secretary, is an IAS officer of the 1997 batch belonging to the West Bengal cadre. Ghosh served as the Principal Secretary for the Department of Women & Child Development and Social Welfare.
In her career spanning over 25 years, she has held several key administrative positions across the state. She also served as the Mission Director for the National Health Mission and district magistrate in several districts, including Howrah and South 24 Parganas.
Of course, it goes without stating that the replacement of the top two administrative officials of the West Bengal government by the Election Commission (EC) may add a new chapter to the ongoing confrontation between the EC and the TMC government in the state.
The Election Commission on Monday announced the replacement of key police officers in West Bengal, including the acting Director General of Police (DGP) Peeyush Pandey and Kolkata Police Commissioner Supratim Sarkar.
Siddh Nath Gupta, an Indian Police Service (IPS) officer of the 1992 batch, has been made the new DGP, replacing acting DGP Pandey.
Similarly, Ajay Kumar Nand, a 1996-batch IPS officer, had been made the new Commissioner of Kolkata Police, in place of Sarkar. Both Pandey and Sarkar were appointed on January 30.
Director General, Law & Order, Vineet Kumar Goyal, had also been removed and replaced by Ajay Mukud Ranade, a 1995-batch IPS officer, but as Additional Director General, Law & Order.
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| CEC Gyanesh Kumar |
Goyal is a former Kolkata Police Commissioner, who was removed from the post soon after his name was dragged into controversy after the ghastly rape & murder of a junior doctor of state-run R.G. Kar Medical College & Hospital in Kolkata within the hospital premises in August 2024.
In the same order, the Commission had ordered the posting of Natarajan Ramesh Babu, a 1991-batch IPS officer, as the Director General, Correctional Services.
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