Today in Politics: Bengal chief secy may appear before EC to ‘explain' Mamata govt's decision not to suspend ‘erring officials'

Indian Express

19 hours ago

A day after the West Bengal government wrote to the Election Commission (EC) that it doesn't intend to suspend just yet its officers accused of committing 'irregularities' in electoral roll revision, the poll panel on Tuesday summoned state Chief Secretary Manoj Pant to Delhi to explain the decision, sources said.
The state's top bureaucrat was directed to report in person to Nirvachan Sadan, the EC headquarters in the national capital, by 5 pm on August 13.
The move came in response to Pant's communication to the ECI on Monday, stating that suspending the identified officers and filing FIRs against them, as directed by the poll panel, would be 'disproportionately harsh' and have 'demoralising impact' on the officers' community in Bengal.
The government, instead, chose to remove two of the five EC-identified officials from active election duty for now and initiate an 'internal inquiry' into the matter.
It is interpreted by observers as a fresh flash point in the ongoing face-off between the Mamata Banerjee government and the EC.
Sources in the state secretariat Nabanna said that the chief secretary was likely to fly to Delhi on Wednesday and meet the Commission, as directed.
Pant on Monday had responded to an EC-set deadline to execute a suspension order against five officials – two Electoral Registration Officers (EROs) and two Assistant Electoral Registration Officers (AEROs) – and a casual data entry operator for allegedly committing irregularities while preparing electoral rolls in Baruipur Purba and Moyna assembly constituencies in South 24 Parganas and Purba Medinipur districts respectively.
The poll panel had also directed the chief secretary to lodge FIRs against all five accused and sought an action taken report from the top bureaucrat at the earliest.
RSS chief Bhagwat in Odisha
RSS chief Mohan Bhagwat is likely to begin a three-day visit to Odisha from Wednesday during which he will meet Puri Shankaracharya Swami Nischalananda Saraswati and attend an event in Cuttack.
Senior RSS functionary Sumanta Kumar Panda said Bhagwat will reach Bhubaneswar in the evening on August 13 and stay at the Utkal Bipanna Sahayata Samiti office in Mancheswar area.
The RSS chief had last visited Odisha in May this year and attended a meeting of select volunteers of the organisation, Panda said.
Trade unions to protest against Trump tariff
Central trade unions and farmers have called for a nationwide protest on Wednesday to oppose US President Donald Trump's tariff threats and the India-UK Comprehensive Economic and Trade Agreement (CETA).
The CTUs-SKM, a group of ten central trade unions and the Samyukt Kisan Morcha, strongly condemned the recent threats by Trump to impose 25 per cent tariffs on India, and an additional penalty for the nation's oil purchase from Russia.
'CTUs-SKM calls upon all farmers, workers, students, and patriotic citizens to join the nationwide day of resistance on August 13, 2025, with various mass actions like tractor and motorcycle rallies, protest demonstrations, public gatherings, and other forms of protest as decided by different platforms and partner organizations.' the CTUs-SKM said in a statement.
Will Jain monk begin hunger strike over pigeon issue?
Jain monk Muni Nileshchandra Vijay has warned of launching an indefinite hunger strike from Wednesday against the decision to shut down Dadar Kabutarkhana to stop people from feeding pigeons and asserted the community would not abide by court orders on the issue if it went against their religious practices.
The Jain community is peaceful, but if needed, it will take up arms for religion, he had said on Sunday.
Speaking to reporters on Sunday, Vijay said, 'We will follow the path of satyagraha and hunger strike. The Jain community is peaceful, but if needed, we will take up arms for our religion. If any decision goes against our faith, we will not accept even the court's order.' He claimed more than 10 lakh Jains from all over the country will take part in the protest.
'The ban targets Jain traditions. The move is politically motivated with elections in mind. ?From ants to elephants, no living being should die (from hunger), that is what our religion teaches. Why is Jainism being targeted? Show how many people die after consuming liquor and chicken,' the monk further said.