(Image source from: Telegraphindia.com)
Orders were issued by the Election Commission today to remove six Home Secretaries, including the top officials from Gujarat, Bihar, and Uttar Pradesh. Additionally, the Director-General of Police in West Bengal, a state known for poll-related violence, was directed to be transferred. The Election Commission has also requested a list of three potential replacements by 5 pm. This reshuffling is a common practice by the Election Commission before major elections and includes the transfer of Home Secretaries from Jharkhand, Himachal Pradesh, and Uttarakhand, as well as senior officials from the offices of the Chief Ministers of Mizoram and Himachal Pradesh. Furthermore, Iqbal Singh Chahal, the Commissioner of the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation, and other officials in Maharashtra's municipalities have also been removed. These actions come just weeks before the 2024 Lok Sabha poll, which will commence on April 19 and span seven phases until June 1. It is worth noting that this is the first administrative reshuffle by the Election Commission since the announcement of the polling dates.
Rajiv Kumar, along with his two colleagues Gyanesh Kumar and Sukhbir Singh Sandhu, have been replaced by the Election Commission. This decision was made to ensure fairness among all political parties in the upcoming elections. The officials who were removed were found to have dual roles in the offices of the respective chief ministers of their states. This could potentially compromise their neutrality, especially in regards to maintaining law and order during the elections. The ruling party in West Bengal, Trinamool, has not yet responded to the removal of DGP Rajiv Malik, who is believed to have close ties to Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee's party. In the past, the state government has criticized the last-minute reshuffling of civil service and police officials before elections, as it hampers their preparation. Bengal has a history of violence during elections, with several deaths occurring during a panchayat election in June of last year.
The failure of central forces to safeguard voters was heavily criticized, with the Congress accusing the state of unleashing criminals on the population.
