Former West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee on Wednesday launched a sharp attack on the Election Commission of India (ECI), alleging institutional manipulation and asserting that Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar has "no moral authority to continue" and should be arrested.
Her remarks came after an Indian Express report claimed that two of the three Election Commissioners had objected to decisions related 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 taken and orders issued without their knowledge."
Reacting to the report, Banerjee alleged that partisan officials aligned with the BJP had been deployed across the election machinery and described the developments as an unprecedented scandal.
"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 press conference.
She further alleged that officials connected to the BJP had been placed in key positions across the electoral system.
"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.
Mounting her criticism of the CEC, Banerjee said Kumar should 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.
ECI Defends SIR Decision-Making Process
Responding to the Indian Express report, the Election Commission said that all orders issued by the body carry full legal sanction and that queries or suggestions raised by members during the drafting stage were part of standard institutional practice.
“The ECI is a constitutional body that functions under the strict mandate of Article 324 of the Constitution, statutory rules and established institutional conventions. The Commission operates as a multi-member constitutional body. Written notes, observations, technical suggestions and internal checks-and-balances are standard, ongoing practices designed to ensure complete transparency, legal compliance and operational rigour. All actions of ECI have been in accordance of laws and instructions of the Commission. All official orders, decisions and administrative directions issued by the Commission carry full legal sanctions and follow established statutory procedures... Any operational queries or inputs raised by Commission members during draft stages are part of standard administrative practice aimed at safeguarding voter rights. The suggestions given by the Commissioners were for further improving the electoral processes," it said.
The Commission also maintained that differing views and observations among members were a normal part of institutional deliberations and the decision-making process.