Kolkata, Feb 9 (IANS) The Election Commission of India (ECI) has sent a fresh communication to the West Bengal government, asking it to complete the process of transfer of police officers at various levels in the state by February 15, amid the crucial Assembly elections scheduled later this year.
The communication has been sent to the office of the Additional Chief Electoral Officer (ACEO), West Bengal, and forwarded to the office of the Additional Chief Secretary of the state Home and Hill Affairs Department, sources in the office of the Chief Electoral Officer (CEO), West Bengal, said.
In the communication, the state government has been advised to complete the police transfer process by February 15 and submit a compliance report to the Commission.
This is the second such communication from the Commission in the matter. Earlier in January, the ECI had sent a similar directive to the state government, asking it to complete the police transfer process at the earliest.
Meanwhile, the Supreme Court on Monday issued a show-cause notice to the West Bengal Director General of Police (DGP) in response to the ECI’s allegations of intimidation and disruption during the ongoing Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls in the poll-bound state.
A Bench headed by Chief Justice of India (CJI) Surya Kant also directed that Electoral Registration Officers (EROs) be granted at least one additional week beyond February 14 to complete scrutiny and take appropriate decisions.
Initially, February 7 had been fixed as the deadline for completing hearings on claims and objections to the draft electoral rolls, while February 14 was scheduled for the publication of the final voters’ list.
“So, following the Supreme Court’s order this morning, the date for publication of the final voters’ list will not be before February 21. However, the final list will definitely be published before the end of this month,” an insider in the CEO’s office said.
After the publication of the final voters’ list, the full Bench of the Commission will visit West Bengal to take stock of the situation. Soon thereafter, the polling dates for the crucial Assembly elections in the state, scheduled later this year, will be announced.
–IANS
src/pgh
