The Chief Minister of West Bengal, Mamata Banerjee, on Thursday, questioned the Election Commission’s suspension of four officers, including two state civil servants and one worker of state government. She then affirmed her government’s support for the officers and other state employees.
"We all know that the EC can take action only from the date of announcement of elections. There is a lot of time left for elections, do they think that they can browbeat anybody in the name of NRC?" the CM asked.
EC ordered the suspension of four officers and a casual worker of the West Bengal government on Tuesday, for allegedly failing to perform their duties and committing lapses while preparing the electoral rolls in two districts. Not only this, but EC further gave directions to file FIRs against the five. Among the suspended ones, there are two Electoral Registration Officers (EROs), two Assistant Electoral Registration Officers (AEROs), and a data entry operator.
With the assembly elections in West Bengal due in mid-2026, the question of whether the state will follow Bihar's example of holding a special intensive revision (SIR) of the electoral rolls and announcing draft rolls is the subject of intense political debate.
Besides this, CM Mamata Banerjee has made claims of EC trying to introduce NRC "through the back door" in the garb of SIR.
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