The official handle of the Election Commission of India (ECI) on Wednesday, April 8, published a post specifically targeting the Trinamool Congress (TMC) party. It insinuated that the party was involved in poll violence, disturbance, and other malpractices during the elections.
After meeting TMC delegates, the ECI published a post on X (formerly Twitter) stating that it had issued an ultimatum to the TMC, saying that elections in West Bengal this time would be “fear-free, violence-free, intimidation-free, inducement-free, raid-free, booth- and source-jamming-free.”
The post said this was ECI’s “straight talk” to TMC delegates Derek O’Brien, Sagarika Ghose, Saket Gokhale, and Menaka Guruswamy during their deliberation.
Strongly criticising the language used by the ECI in targeting the TMC, Rajya Sabha MP Saket Gokhale called the Chief Election Commissioner a “dalal” (broker).
“ECI official handle tweets singling out one political party. Does this criminal CEC have the guts to tweet saying ‘straight talk to BJP’? It’s a joke to call ourselves a ‘democracy’ when the election body has become a pimp for Modi-Shah,” Gokhale wrote on X.
He also said that the ECI never engaged with them or issued such an ultimatum. “This is a lie. I was personally present at the meeting. Nothing like this was said. All that CEC Gyanesh Kumar said to us was ‘get lost’.” He challenged the ECI to release a transcript of the meeting. His colleague Sagarika Ghose also concurred, saying that the ultimatum claimed by the ECI was a “false, blatant lie.”
“Two lines were said to us by the Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar. The first line: where is your authorised signatory. And the second, most shameful two words: ‘get lost’,” (sic) she said.
Besides the TMC, the post has been criticised by many, who questioned the ‘partisan’ nature of the ECI. The ECI, which is a constitutional body, faces serious credibility concerns and a trust deficit over its conduct in the Special Intensive Revision of electoral rolls. Recently, the ECI landed in another controversy after it shared an official document bearing a BJP seal, leading to allegations of collusion between the BJP and the ECI.
Meanwhile, the TMC also responded to the post in a similar tone.
“We are also speaking straight to the Election Commission in a straightforward manner. This time, the elections must be: free from Delhi's control, free from political bias, free from targeted persecution of anyone, and certainly free from double standards.”
Responding to the post, former Delhi Chief Minister and Aam Aadmi Party chief Arvind Kejriwal alleged that the ECI has openly displayed its affiliation with the BJP.
“Now there’s no need to even say that the Election Commission is working under BJP and taking direct instructions from BJP. This is now out in the open and extremely unfortunate. At the very least, by tweeting in such language, do not publicly tarnish the reputation of such an important institution.”