Mamata demands CEC Gyanesh Kumar's arrest, calls for fresh Bengal polls with old voter list
&imwidth=600&imheight=450&format=webp&quality=medium "Mamata demands CEC Gyanesh Kumar's arrest, calls for fresh Bengal polls with old voter list")
Former West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee addresses a press conference at Kalighat, in Kolkata on Friday, Sep 18. Photograph: (ANI)
Mamata Banerjee has demanded CEC Gyanesh Kumar’s arrest and called for fresh West Bengal assembly polls using the old voter list, while alleging that the BJP and Election Commission compromised the electoral process.
Former West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee on Wednesday (Sept 23) launched a sharp attack on the Election Commission of India, saying Chief Election Commissioner (CEC) Gyanesh Kumar has “no moral authority to continue” and should be arrested over what she alleged was institutional manipulation.
Her remarks came after a report by The Indian Express said two of the three Election Commissioners had raised objections to decisions linked to the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) process.
According to the report, Commissioners Sukhbir Singh Sandhu and Vivek Joshi objected at least 14 times over the last 10 months to decisions and orders issued without their knowledge.
Mamata demands CEC’s arrest
Reacting to the report, Banerjee alleged that the poll machinery had been compromised through the deployment of officials aligned with the BJP. She described the developments as an unprecedented scandal in the country’s electoral history.
“This is such a scandalous story. We had never seen this in our lives. This Election Commissioner must be arrested. He has no moral authority to continue, and the BJP must see that they cannot destroy our Constitution. They cannot demolish democracy”, Banerjee said, while addressing a Facebook Live.
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She added that the TMC would hold "pan-India protests till Gyanesh Kumar remains CEC". "It has now been proven that the BJP and the EC looted the West Bengal assembly polls," she alleged.
She further alleged that officials linked to the BJP had been placed across the election system and accused Gyanesh Kumar of misusing the police.
“They cannot depute their own EROs in the name of the BJP IT team. What we had said earlier has now been completely exposed. Gyanesh Kumar has misused the police and, in coordination with the BJP, they have deputed their own BJP-minded people across the system. Such a scandal has never happened before,” she remarked.
Banerjee also demanded that the Chief Election Commissioner step down and face legal accountability.
“If you have any honour left, you yourself would ask to be arrested. You should be arrested,” she said.
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Mamata calls for fresh Bengal polls
The former West Bengal chief minister also demanded fresh elections in the state using the earlier voter list.
“Re-election must be held in West Bengal with the old voter list,” she said.
Banerjee added that partners of the INDIA bloc had discussed the issue and would meet soon.
Meanwhile, responding to The Indian Express report, the Election Commission said in a statement that all orders issued by the poll body carry full legal sanction. It also said that queries raised by members during the drafting of procedures were part of standard practice.
