West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee’s decision to assign seven Assistant Electoral Registration Officers (AEROs), suspended by the Election Commission of India (ECI), to non-electoral administrative duties is being scrutinized by the poll panel. The ECI views this move as a partial implementation of the suspension.
According to sources in the office of the Chief Electoral Officer (CEO) of West Bengal, the ECI not only suspended the seven AEROs but also instructed the state government to initiate departmental proceedings against them. However, concerns have been raised regarding the state government’s interpretation of the suspension, which the Commission perceives as merely transferring the officers to different administrative roles rather than conducting a proper inquiry.
The Commission is closely monitoring the situation and plans to request a progress report from the state government within a few days regarding the initiation of the departmental probe against the suspended AEROs.
Legal experts anticipate that a thorough departmental investigation into the conduct of these officers will become necessary, especially with the upcoming Assembly elections and the immediate enforcement of the Model Code of Conduct. The state government’s administrative control will be under the ECI during this period, making the probe against the AEROs unavoidable and potentially embarrassing for the government.
