New Delhi: The meeting between a Trinamool Congress (TMC) delegation and the full bench of the Election Commission (EC) on Wednesday, April 8, culminated on an acrimonious note, with the TMC saying the panel’s chief asked them to “get lost” at the end of the seven-minute meeting, while the EC accused them of “shouting”.
After the meeting, TMC’s Rajya Sabha MP Derek O’Brien told mediapersons that they handed over letters from West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee to Chief Election Commissioner (CEC) Gyanesh Kumar, and also apprised him of specific instances of poll officials having links with the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP).
“Then he said, ‘Get lost.’ We have done eight to nine meetings with the Election Commission. Apart from the CEC, none of the other election commissioners spoke,” O’Brien said.
“While we were walking out, one of my colleagues congratulated Gyanesh Kumar for being the only CEC to have notices moved in Lok Sabha and Rajya Sabha for his removal,” O’Brien MP said.
Meanwhile, sources in the Election Commission told news agency PTI that the poll panel chief gave a “straight talk” to TMC leaders. They accused O’Brien of shouting at the election commissioners and alleged that he asked the CEC not to speak.
The EC sources further said the elections in West Bengal would be “fear-free, violence-free, intimidation-free, and inducement-free.”
TMC says EC claim ‘a lie’
TMC leader Sagarika Ghose rejected the EC’s claims, alleging that the poll body’s version was “false.”
In a post on X, Ghose said only two remarks were made to the four-member delegation by the Chief Election Commissioner, claiming they were asked about their authorised signatory and then told to “get lost.”
TMC MP Saket Gokhale also backed O’Brien version, calling the EC’s version “a lie”.
“This is a LIE. I was personally present at the meeting. NOTHING like this was said. All that CEC Gyanesh Kumar said to us was ‘GET LOST’. We challenge the ECI to release a transcript of the meeting. Else we will do it,” Gokhale said in a post on X.
The exchange comes amid escalating tensions between Opposition parties and the poll body ahead of the West Bengal Assembly elections.
Polling for the 294-member West Bengal Assembly will be held in two phases on April 23 and April 29, with counting scheduled for May 4.
In the 2021 Assembly elections, the TMC secured 213 seats, while the BJP won 77. The Congress and the Left Front failed to open their accounts.
(With inputs from PTI)
