SIR exercise in West Bengal | Prove charge… it’s a bid to intimidate poll officials: Suvendu to Mamata Banerjee

Banerjee had on Thursday, without naming the officer, told reporters she hoped the officer “stayed within his limits” and that she would speak about allegations against him when the time was right. “I hope he stays within his limits. I mean, don’t overreact,” she said.

In a letter to the Election Commission of India and in posts on X, Adhikari described Banerjee’s comments as “blatant and audacious threats” against a constitutional officer. “She hurled baseless allegations against the CEO, accusing him of corruption and issuing covert threats to intimidate him. Her words, ‘I hope he doesn’t overreact or play aggressively’, and references to ‘various allegations’ are nothing short of an attempt to blackmail and undermine an officer tasked with upholding the sanctity of our democratic process,” he wrote.

Adhikari also cited a July 28 incident in Bolpur, when he said Banerjee warned booth-level officers about “consequences” if they removed names from the voter list while performing electoral duties. “This is not an isolated incident,” he said in his X post, urging the ECI to take immediate cognisance and “initiate stringent action” against the chief minister for repeatedly undermining democratic processes.

Adhikari also requested the ECI to deploy central forces’ security cover for the CEO at his office and residence to ensure his safety.

“I urge the Election Commission of India to immediately take cognisance of this matter and initiate strict action against Mamata Banerjee for repeatedly undermining the democratic process and intimidating constitutional officers. I also request that the CEO be given central security at his office and residence, and that central forces be deployed to guarantee his safety after threats from the chief minister and home minister. The ECI must act decisively to protect electoral integrity and make clear that no one, not even a chief minister, is above the law.”

He also warned that if the poll panel does not act against alleged wrongful recruitment of electoral registration officers (EROs) and assistant EROs (AEROs), he will stage a dharna in front of the CEO’s office.

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