Statement war erupts in Bengal after ECI's 'straight-talk to Trinamool Congress'

Kolkata, April 8 A political slugfest erupted in West Bengal on Wednesday following a statement released by the Election Commission of India (ECI) that seemingly confronts the Trinamool Congress regarding their responsibility to ensure that the upcoming two-phase Assembly elections in the state will occur without fear, violence, intimidation, and inducement.

On Wednesday, a delegation of the Trinamool Congress went to the ECI’s headquarters in New Delhi and interacted with the Chief Election Commissioner (CEC), Gyanesh Kumar, to express the party’s grievances over a large number of voters’ names being deleted in the just-concluded judicial adjudication process.

Soon after that meeting, the ECI issued a statement in both Hindi and English, headlined -- “ECI's Straight-talk to Trinamool Congress”, on the Commission’s social media handle.

"ECI's Straight-talk to Trinamool Congress. This time, the Elections in West Bengal would surely be: Fear-free, Violence-free, Intimidation-free, Inducement-free, and without any Chappa, Booth Jamming and Source Jamming,” the ECI’s statement read.

Trinamool Congress instantly reacted to the ECI statement by posting a counter-statement in Bengali and English on the party’s social media handle, which was headlined as -- “Our straight-talk to @ECISVEEP”.

“Our straight talk to @ECISVEEP. This time, the Elections must be: Free from Delhi’s control. Free from political bias, Free from selective targeting, and free from double standards,” the counter-statement by Trinamool Congress read.

In another statement, the Trinamool Congress has also raised questions about whether a Constitutional body like the ECI could issue such a statement with words uttered in a challenging manner. “Is this how a neutral constitutional body is expected to behave? To put it bluntly: Take off your mask now!” the second counter-statement by Trinamool Congress read.

On Wednesday, Trinamool Congress delegation member and the party’s leader in the Rajya Sabha, Derek O'Brien, accused CEC of 'non-cooperation' during the meeting. O'Brien also accused the CEC of misbehaving with them and showing them the door after uttering the word, “Get Lost”.

“We could not say anything at the meeting. Nothing was discussed there. It seemed that the CEC was talking to himself,” O'Brien told media persons after coming out of the ECI office.

However, ECI insiders said the CEC repeatedly requested the Trinamool Congress delegates not to raise their voices during the interaction and to be careful of using unparliamentary language.

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