A Trinamool Congress (TMC) delegation led by Rajya Sabha floor leader Derek O’Brien met Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar and other Election Commissioners in New Delhi to discuss issues related to the upcoming West Bengal Assembly elections.
After the meeting, O’Brien alleged that within minutes of the discussion beginning, the Chief Election Commissioner told the delegation to “get out,” which he described as an insult. He said the team had raised concerns about the special intensive revision of the voter list, the lack of replies to letters sent by Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee, and the continued transfers of IAS and IPS officers.
The Election Commission rejected the allegation. EC sources said O’Brien shouted unnecessarily, repeatedly interrupted the Chief Election Commissioner, and behaved in an uncivil manner, adding that he was asked to maintain the dignity of the meeting room.
Separately, the Election Commission posted on social media that the discussion focused on ensuring a fear-free, violence-free election without intimidation, malpractice or booth capturing. O’Brien disputed this account and challenged the EC to release audio or video evidence of the meeting.
West Bengal, which has 294 Assembly seats, is scheduled to vote in two phases on April 23 and April 29. The dispute comes amid continuing friction over the final voter list, in which 9.1 million names were reportedly removed.
