In a letter to the EC, the West Bengal government, while asking to relieve nine officers, including the Home Secretary, from the central observer’s duties, stated that they are engaged in “important duty of the state government”.
The West Bengal government on Thursday sought changes in the list of central observers sent by the Election Commission and proposed alternative names for nine of the 15 IAS officers selected by the poll panel.
This after the Election Commission in a rare move named West Bengal Home Secretary Jagdish Prasad Meena as one of the central observers for the Assembly elections in other states.
Apart from West Bengal, polls are scheduled this year in Assam, Kerala, Tamil Nadu, and Puducherry.
The EC asked Meena and other officials to attend the meeting of central observers scheduled for February 5 and 6, and warned them of disciplinary actions if they failed to attend.
In a letter to the Chief Electoral Officer (CEO) of West Bengal, the EC wrote, “The officer(s) may be informed that unauthorised absence from the Briefing Meeting shall be viewed very seriously by the Commission and may lead to initiation of disciplinary proceedings against the officer(s) concerned.”
“You are requested to ensure the service of this Briefing Meeting notice on the officer(s) within 24 hours, immediately under proper acknowledgement, through any available means/resources. It is further requested that a confirmation report in writing, along with an acknowledgement of the officers) concerned, may be sent through the email of the undersigned for the perusal of the Commission,” it added.
According to a section of state government officials, the EC normally excludes the home secretary and the chief secretary as central observers, an action which they said could lead to another confrontation with the TMC government in West Bengal.
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However, sources in the EC denied such allegations. “Multiple times we asked to give names of IAS and IPS officers from 1996 batches to 2016 batches, but the state government didn’t give. So, we chose names randomly,” a senior EC official said.
The official added that the EC doesn’t name additional chief secretary-rank officers as observers, and that Jagdish Prasad Meena is not an Additional Chief Secretary. He was recently given additional charge of the Home Secretary.
In addition to Meena, the Commission named Asvini Kumar Yadav, Salim P B, Avanindra Singh, Saumitra Mohan, Smaraki Mahapatra, Archana, Sanjay Bansal, P Mohan Gandhi, Shubhanjan Das, P Ulaganathan, Saurav Pahari, Rachna Bhagat, Ritendra Narayan Basu Roy Choudhury, and Rajanvir Singh Kapur.
On the other hand, IPS officers who were called are Bharat Lal Meena, Rajesh Kumar Yadav, Praveen Kumar Tripathi, Rishikesh Meena, Sabya Sachi Raman Mishra, Sunil Kumar Choudhary, Akhilesh Kumar Chaturvedi, Sukesh Kumar Jain, Anoop Jaiswal, and Sudheer Kumar Neelakantam.
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In a letter to the EC, the West Bengal government, while asking to relieve nine officers, including the Home Secretary, from the central observer’s duties, stated that they are engaged in “important duty of the state government”.
Atri Mitra is a highly accomplished Special Correspondent for The Indian Express, bringing over 20 years of experience to his reporting. His work is characterized by deep regional knowledge and a focus on critical administrative and political developments, establishing strong Expertise and Authority in his domain.
Experience
Current Role: Special Correspondent, The Indian Express.
Decades of Experience: Over two decades of extensive reporting experience, primarily covering administration and political news.
Geographical Focus: Holds significant reporting experience from West Bengal, Bihar, and the North-East, providing a comprehensive understanding of the socio-political landscape in these regions.
Key Coverage: Has dedicated more than ten years to covering administration and political news, with a keen focus on political developments in West Bengal.
Electoral Reporting: Demonstrated a commitment to crucial political moments, having covered the 2009 Lok Sabha election and 2010 assembly elections during his time at Anandabazar Patrika, and the 2019 Bihar Lok Sabha election while working with News18-Bangla.
Career Foundation: Began his career at the leading vernacular daily Anandabazar Patrika, where he worked for more than fifteen years, including a three-year stint as the Bihar correspondent.
Education
Advanced Degree: Holds a Master's degree in Economics from Rabindrabharati University, providing an analytical framework for his political and administrative reporting.
Undergraduate Education: Holds a Bachelor's degree from Calcutta University.
Prestigious Alumni: His educational background includes attending esteemed institutions: he is an alumnus of St. Xavier's, Kolkata and Ramakrishna Mission Asrama, Narendrapur.
Atri Mitra's decades of dedicated reporting, substantial focus on political and administrative beats, and solid academic credentials make him a trusted and authoritative source for news and analysis from Eastern and North-Eastern India. ... Read More
