Mamata Banerjee attacks EC over officer transfers ahead of Bengal polls

West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee criticised the Election Commission and the BJP after the removal of top state officers ahead of the assembly polls, alleging the move showed an anti-women and anti-Bengal attitude by the saffron camp

Kolkata: Lashing out at the Election Commission for transferring top state bureaucrats and police officers shortly after announcing the assembly polls in West Bengal, Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee branded the poll panel and the ruling BJP as “anti-women and anti-Bengal”.

Speaking at a rally at Dorina Crossing in central Kolkata following a march to protest the LPG crisis in the state, Banerjee said the saffron camp may change as many officers as they want, but they will not be able to change the government.

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“It doesn’t matter who you appoint as replacement officers; they will all work for Bengal,” Banerjee said, apparently hitting out at the EC but without directly naming it.

“They chose the hour of midnight to remove Nandini Chakravorty, the chief secretary and a Bengali woman, without consulting the state government. It goes to show how anti-women they are,” Banerjee said.

The CM also referred to the removal of state home secretary Jagdish Prasad Meena to criticise the poll body.

“Our home secretary is a non-Bengali person. His removal reflects the deep disdain they have for efficient officers of Bengal,” the TMC supremo said.

Speaking on the prevailing LPG cooking gas crisis in the state in the wake of the conflict in West Asia, Banerjee claimed the problem was “artificially created”.

“The LPG crisis is artificially created by disabling oil company servers. I have spoken with their representatives, and there is no real crisis of gas,” she said.