Kamal Ghorui
NEW DELHI: After a short and stormy meeting with the Election Commission on Wednesday, the Trinamool Congress (TMC) came out swinging, calling Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar “a chor, a criminal” and accusing him of a “partisan attitude.” According to TMC leaders, the “seven-minute” meeting ended abruptly with the CEC telling their delegation to “get lost.”TMC leader Derek O’Brien outlined the details of the encounter, saying the party’s delegation included Rajya Sabha MPs Sagarika Ghose and Menaka Guruswamy, former MP Saket Gokhale, and himself.“All like-minded anti-BJP parties will be addressing a press conference at the Constitution Club today around 4:30–4:45 PM,” O’Brien said.
Nine letters, zero response
Rajya Sabha member O’Brien explained that the delegation presented nine letters written by TMC supremo Mamata Banerjee to the EC, none of which had been acknowledged or answered. “We pointed out that if these letters had come from Narendra Modi or Amit Shah, the CEC would have responded immediately,” he said.The TMC also presented a list of six officers in Bengal with alleged links to the BJP, along with photographic evidence. “We asked for their transfer, including the CEO seen with BJP workers in Nandigram. It took just 2–3 minutes to present this memorandum, and the CEC’s response was simply: ‘Get lost,’” O’Brien said.
A delegation silenced
O’Brien also mentioned that the CEC did not allow any of his fellow officials to speak. “I have been with the TMC for 22 years and in Parliament for 16 years, and I have met many constitutional authorities, but what I witnessed today was a shame,” he said. He challenged the EC to release the audio or video of the meeting to prove otherwise.
Contradictory media statements
Right after the meeting, a media update appeared claiming, “Elections in West Bengal will be fear-free, violence-free, inducement-free, and without any chappa, booth jamming.” O’Brien questioned who had sent this, insisting, “The CEC is a chor, a criminal. He said nothing of this in the meeting. The only thing he said was ‘Get out.’”The TMC delegation accused the CEC of trying to play games with the party, saying, “Gyanesh Kumar, you don’t know who you are dealing with. This is Mamata Banerjee, Abhishek Banerjee, and the TMC.”O’Brien concluded by inviting all anti-BJP parties to the press conference, promising remarks in Hindi, English, and Bengali for inclusivity.
