Kolkata, April 8 (IANS) With the Election Commission toughening its stand, West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee Tuesday agreed to its direction to transfer eight officials as a "constitutional obligation" but also demanded a top "tainted" poll panel official quit.
Banerjee's announcement came hours of the poll panel rejecting the state government's plea to reconsider the directive to transfer eight officials, including five district police chiefs and a district magistrate.
Terming the order "political vendetta", she said the officers will be reinstated after the polls.
"We are not accepting it as the EC's order... rather accepting it as a constitutional obligation. For the time being we are accepting the removal of the officers but once the polls are over, they will return to their original places," Banerjee told media persons in Durgapur in Burdwan district.
She again accused Deputy Election Commissioner Vinod Zutshi of involvement in a scam.
"There is a case against this man in Rajasthan involving a land scam. Even a non-bailable warrant was issued against him but he got it stayed by Supreme Court.
"Why this person in charge of election process in Bengal? Why a tainted person like him is allowed to function. We demand his immediate removal," said Banerjee who had attacked Zutshi on Monday too.
The poll panel had remained adamant on its decision on the transfers and mandated the Banerjee government to comply its order by Wednesday.
"The state government had sought clarification and reconsideration on the orders regarding the shuffling. After reconsidering we have iterated that the list that was issued April 7 has to be complied with by 10 a.m. Wednesday," EC director Dhirendra Ojha told IANS over the phone.
Citing administrative concerns, Chief Secretary Sanjay Mitra earlier in the day asked the EC urging it reconsider its decision.
Taking a tough stand against the order, Banerjee Monday had refused to comply and continued her defiance the second day, keeping up with her tirade against the panel during her addresses in Bankura and Purulia districts.
"I cannot be knowingly made to do something which is unjust. If the transfer were genuine, there was no problem but transferring officers to allow Congress to win is not acceptable," she said during one of her rallies Tuesday.
She later relented but said she will write to panel Wednesday expressing her disappointment and that the state government's opinion was not sought before issuing the order.
She also warned that in case of any untoward incident, the responsibility will be on the EC.
"Bengal is very sensitive, it is the gateway to the northeast and Nepal and here Maoists, KLO (Kamtapur Liberation Organisation), ISI are active. Even central agencies recently held a meeting for that. If something untoward happens then the responsibility solely will rest on the EC and those parties who are behind this," she said.
Observing that the integrity of the transferred officers has not been questioned, Banerjee accused the poll panel of working at the Congress' behest.
"If something untoward happens then the Congress, BJP and the CPI-M who are behind this will have to give answers," she asserted.
The Trinamool Congress chief also expressed her anguish over the schedule of the polls in the state and accused the Congress of "using central agencies to needle her government".
Meanwhile the opposition has lambasted Banerjee for her outburst against the poll panel and accused her of defying the constitution.
If state Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) president Rahul Sinha urged the EC to show cause Banerjee, his Congress counterpart Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury demanded the Trinamool supremo's arrest for defying the constitution.
"I feel Mamata Banerjee should be immediately arrested and sent to jail for making fun of constitutional norms. She is reacting in this way because her plans to unleash terror have been foiled by the EC," said Chowdhury.
Left Front chairman Biman Bose said: "This is unprecedented, nothing like this has been heard before. Is it her ego that is preventing her from complying with the law? If her defiance leads to a constitutional crisis in the state, she will be the only person to be blamed."
Corona virus: Kohli and De Villiers will raise funds by auctioning cricket goods
New Delhi: Indian cricket team captain Virat Kohli and former South African batsman AB de Villiers auctioned the bat with which he scored a century for Royal Challengers Bangalore during the 2016 IPL
Grace Walia wins Miss India Indonesia 2015 Title
Jakarta, Feb 3 (IANS) Grace Walia was crowned Miss India Indonesia 2015, a pageant that seeks to build a bridge between the Indian and Indonesian communities. Ambassador of India Gurjit Singh was
Adani Wilmar Listing: Adani Group's seventh company knocked in the stock market, listing at a 4 percent discount from the issue price
Adani Wilmar, a company headed by Adani Group Chairman Gautam Adani, was listed on the stock exchange on Tuesday. This is his seventh company to be listed in the market. However, contrary to
Navy's fourth indigenous LCU launched in Kolkata
Kolkata, March 23 (IANS) The fourth indigenous Landing Craft Utility (LCU) designed and being built by the Garden Reach Shipbuilders and Engineers Ltd. (GRSE) for the Indian Navy was launched here
Earthquake: 6.8 magnitude earthquake in Tajikistan, PM Modi inquired about the situation, and India is coordinating help
Earthquake tremors were felt in Tajikistan and Afghanistan on Thursday morning. The epicenter of the earthquake was in Tajikistan, 265 km from Faizabad in Afghanistan. Here the earth trembled twice
Scene of death captured in CCTV: The speeding car collided with the pole and jumped 10 feet, two people standing on the divider fell 25 feet away
In Punjab's Kharar, a speeding car rammed two people standing on a divider to cross the road. Both the men fell 25 feet away. After this, the speeding car collided with the pole of the street light
LAC: Army is building ponds near China border, 50 thousand soldiers are deployed in East Ladakh
The army is building ponds in the area to provide fresh drinking water to 50,000 soldiers deployed along the Line of Actual Control (LAC) in eastern Ladakh. The army has been stationed there for
Refusal to increase the age of marriage of girls to 21 years: Supreme Court said- it is the work of the Parliament to decide, we alone are not the guardians of the Constitution
The Supreme Court on Monday dismissed advocate Ashwini Upadhyay's plea seeking equal age of marriage for boys and girls. The petition was listed for hearing before a bench of CJI DY Chandrachud,
LIC to invest Rs.150,000 Crore in Indian Railways
New Delhi, March 11 (IANS) In line with the the funding programme outlined in last month's Railway budget, state-run Life Insurance Corp (LIC) on Wednesday committed Rs.150,000 crore to Indian
Like this, I have spent 16 times in jail; SP candidate chief Gurjar openly threatens
Videos of controversial rhetoric of candidates who came out to campaign during the UP assembly elections are becoming very viral. After the BJP, now the video of the SP candidate has also gone viral
