Have faith in integrity of Deputy Election Commissioner in charge of Bengal polls, says Election Commission of India

There were media reports about a TMC MP’s complaint demanding his removal

March 05, 2021 08:10 pm | Updated March 06, 2021 12:19 am IST - NEW DELHI

Deputy Election Commissioner Sudeep Jain. File

Deputy Election Commissioner Sudeep Jain. File

The Election Commission of India (ECI) on Friday expressed full faith in the integrity and fairness of Deputy Election Commissioner (DEC) Sudeep Jain, who is in charge of the West Bengal Assembly polls at its headquarters, in the wake of media reports about a TMC MP’s complaint demanding his removal.

The MP had sent the letter to the West Bengal Chief Electoral Officer, a copy of which was forwarded to the ECI.

In a statement, the ECI said all its DECs and other officials posted at its headquarters and those working in the field were “discharging their duties strictly as per the Constitution of India and the various extant rules regarding the conduct of elections”.

“There could be an odd exception here or there, in which case EC takes corrective action immediately. In the immediate case, the Commission has full faith in the integrity and fairness of Sudeep Jain, DEC. Unfortunately, it is not for the first time that a concerted campaign is mounted against senior officers of the Commission on the eve of/during the process of elections,” it stated.

The ECI said the media reports mentioned the allegations cited by the TMC about two decisions taken by Mr. Jain during the 2019 Lok Sabha election, when also he was in charge of the West Bengal elections at the Commission's headquarters.

“It is clarified that both these decisions were taken by the Commission in the interest of holding free fair and peaceful elections and implemented by the district election machinery under supervision of DEC, Chief Electoral Officer, Police Nodal Officer and other concerned senior officials,” said the ECI.

0 / 0
Sign in to unlock member-only benefits!
  • Access 10 free stories every month
  • Save stories to read later
  • Access to comment on every story
  • Sign-up/manage your newsletter subscriptions with a single click
  • Get notified by email for early access to discounts & offers on our products
Sign in

Comments

Comments have to be in English, and in full sentences. They cannot be abusive or personal. Please abide by our community guidelines for posting your comments.

We have migrated to a new commenting platform. If you are already a registered user of The Hindu and logged in, you may continue to engage with our articles. If you do not have an account please register and login to post comments. Users can access their older comments by logging into their accounts on Vuukle.