Jhargram (WB), Aug 6 (PTI) Vowing to stand by the West Bengal government officials suspended by the Election Commission as their ‘pehredar’ (guard), Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee on Wednesday tore into the poll panel, questioning the legality of its move and accusing it of functioning like “bonded labourers” of the BJP.
Addressing a public meeting in Jhargram, the Trinamool Congress supremo alleged that the “unwarranted action by EC” was an attempt to “terrorise” state employees ahead of the 2026 assembly elections and warned that her government would stand by its officers and will not suspend the officials.
“Yesterday, some state government officers were sent notices and suspended. The election hasn’t even been announced yet. Under which law can you do this?. They are even saying FIRs will be filed. I want to tell the government employees, do not be afraid. This will not happen. I will not allow this,” she said.
Her remarks came a day after the Election Commission suspended four officers – two Electoral Registration Officers (EROs) and two Assistant Electoral Registration Officers (AEROs) – and a data entry operatorand a casual worker in West Bengal for allegedly committing irregularities while preparing electoral rolls in Baruipur Purba and Moyna assembly constituencies in South 24 Parganas and Purba Medinipur districts, respectively. “We will not suspend them… We will protect you. I will continue to be your pehredar,” Banerjee said.
The TMC supremo alleged that the EC was working at the behest of Union Home Minister Amit Shah and was laying the groundwork for voter list tampering to benefit the BJP in the 2026 Assembly elections.
“They (EC) are behaving like bonded labourers of the BJP. They are sitting in their chairs as agents of Amit Shah. Are you working for the Constitution or the BJP? The Home Minister thinks whatever he says will happen, and everyone must follow it blindly. But this is not Gujarat, this is Bengal,” she said.
The EC, in a letter sent to West Bengal Chief Secretary Manoj Pant on Tuesday, suspended with immediate effect four officials-Debottam Dutta Choudhury (ERO) and Tathagata Mondal (AERO) from Baruipur Purba in South 24 Parganas, and Biplab Sarkar (ERO) and Sudipta Das (AERO) from Moyna in Purba Medinipur, along with a data entry operator, citing “wrongful addition of names” in the electoral rolls.
The EC cited a report from the state’s Chief Electoral Officer (CEO) pointing to the “wrongful addition of names” in the voter rolls of the two constituencies..
The panel directed that FIRs be lodged and disciplinary proceedings initiated against all five government functionaries.
But Banerjee was unsparing in her criticism and dismissed the EC’s claims as “a political witch-hunt”.
Calling the action “vindictive” and “illegal”, Banerjee said the suspensions are aimed at creating fear among government employees ahead of the polls.
“You all come here during elections like migratory birds, sit in air-conditioned rooms, and threaten officers who work year-round for the people. And now you want to jail them over voter list issues before even declaring elections? This is BJP’s blueprint,” she alleged.
In a striking remark targeting Shah, Banerjee said, “Are you acting as Amit Shah’s agents while sitting in your EC chairs? Does the Home Minister think whatever he says will happen, and the rest of the country must obey? Banerjee claimed the BJP had “won through deception” in past elections and was now attempting to repeat the formula with the EC’s backing.
“You suddenly saw a 20 per cent vote surge. With whose help? With EC’s! You didn’t even win a majority. Now you want to remove names from the list to conduct NRC through the back door. That will not happen. This is Bengal,” she said.
Accusing the BJP of planning a “backdoor NRC”, Banerjee said the saffron party wanted to target minorities and opposition supporters by tampering with voter rolls.
“They are referring to a 2002 list. How many people have died since then? How many have been born? You want to delete names based on a two-decade-old list? That is not going to happen here,” she said.
Her speech, delivered with characteristic firebrand rhetoric, repeatedly returned to the theme of solidarity with government employees.
“I will continue to be your pehredar. When no one raises their voice for you, I will. Bengal government workers should not worry. You work for the people, and it is our duty to look after you. Do not be afraid. Do not feel hopeless,” she said.
The issue took a political turn with BJP IT cell chief Amit Malviya claiming that the suspended officers had manipulated the voter rolls at the behest of the TMC.
But Banerjee insisted it was the BJP that had misused central institutions, including the EC, to rig voter data and engineer fear in the state bureaucracy. PTI PNT NN
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