New Delhi: Just days ahead of the first phase of the West Bengal Assembly polls, a meeting between the Trinamool Congress (TMC) and the Election Commission has sparked a political row in the state.
Rajya Sabha MP Derek O'Brien has claimed that the Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar asked their delegation to "get lost" within seven minutes of the meeting. "The meeting started at 10:02am and ended at 10:07am," he said. The party had raised concerns over official transfers and free and fair elections during this brief interaction.
"Today, we went to the Chief Election Commissioner. He told us 'get lost' within 7 minutes of the meeting. The meeting started at 10:02 AM and ended at 10:07 AM... When we told him that you are transferring officials, and how you would want to conduct a free and fair election? And then he said, leave from here," he said.
He also challenged the poll body to release the video or audio of what happened during the meeting.
Meanwhile, the EC posted on X that it issued an "Ultimatum" to the Trinamool Congress, asking them to ensure, "Fear-free, Violence-free, Intimidation-free, Inducement-free, Raid-free, Booth and Source Jamming-free" polls in the state.
Responding to this, a former TMC MP, who was also part of the delegation, said, "This is a LIE. I was personally present at the meeting. NOTHING like this was said. All that CEC Gyanesh Kumar said to us was “GET LOST”. We challenge the ECI to release a transcript of the meeting. Else we will do it."
EC Version
Notably, the Election Commission (EC) has reportedly claimed that Derek O’Brien “shouted at Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar and asked him not to speak” during the meeting. However, this is according to sources. EC has not issued an official statement regarding the allegations.
Poll Dates In West Bengal
Elections in Bengal are due in two phases on April 23 and 29 and the counting of votes will take place on May 4.
