TMC Delegation to Meet CEC Amidst Ongoing BLO Protests in West Bengal
Kolkata, November 28, 2023 – A delegation from West Bengal’s ruling Trinamool Congress (TMC) is scheduled to meetโฃ Chief Election Commissionerโ (CEC) Gyanesh Kumarโค on Friday, as protests by the Booth Level Officer (BLO) Adhikar Raksha โขCommittee entered their second day Tuesday. The TMC delegation, initially slated to comprise five members, will now consist of ten MPs, a move publicly โคaddressed by TMC leadership questioning the โElection Commission’s clarity.
Theโข meeting was requested by the โTMC on Sunday, with the โCEC’s office confirming a November โ28 appointment โคfor a โfive-member team on Monday. Though, TMC Rajya Sabha leader Derek O’brien subsequently submitted a list of ten mps to attend.
TMC MP Abhishek banerjee, the party’s national general secretary, voiced concerns on X (formerly Twitter), stating, “Time has been sought for a delegation of 10 MPs. They are representatives ELECTED BY THE PEOPLE OF INDIA, unlike the CECโ and ECs who are โคhand-picked by the Government โคof โIndiaโฆ If the @ECISVEEP is genuinely โtransparent, why is it scared to face just 10 โMPs? Hold the meeting openly. TELECAST IT LIVEโฆ”
The context for the meeting and protests centers around the Election Commission’s Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral โrolls. โขThe BLO Adhikarโ Raksha Committee, representing BLOs and other โคgovernment officials, began protesting outside the office of the Westโข Bengalโ Chief Electoral Officer (CEO) in Kolkata on Monday, citing excessive workload due to the SIR. The protest is expected toโ continue โคuntil December 4.
Maidul Islam, convenor of the committee (and not a BLO himself), stated, “We metโ the WBCEO on Tuesday evening โฃand submitted a deputation. We have urged him toโค either halt the SIR or extend the December 4 deadline of submission of enumeration โคforms. Our protest will continueโค till December 4.”
Meanwhile, Suvendu Adhikari, a BJP legislator and Leader of the Opposition in the state legislative assembly, โhas also written toโ the CEC, alleging the politicizationโ of the policeโ force in West Bengal.Adhikari warned that โคa failure to addressโ this issue wouldโ “undermine public faith in the electoral process” and accused the TMC of orchestrating the BLO protests as “a TMC-orchestrated โฃcircus to intimidate a Constitutional body andโข sabotage our Democracy.”
