Vivek Dubey, the central police observer for West Bengal who has been appointed by the Election Commission, will arrive in the state on Sunday.
Initially, he will look at the deployment of the central paramilitary forces and other security-related issues. Other than Bengal, the officer will also look at the same issues for Jharkhand.
Elections are scheduled in Bengal in seven phases – starting from April 11 to May 19. However, central paramilitary forces have already arrived several days back, and some of them have been conducting route marches in different parts of the state, including in Kolkata.
Dubey – a 1987 Andhra Pradesh cadre former IPS officer – was named the central police observer replacing former BSF director general KK Sharma, who had earlier been appointed by the EC for Bengal and Jharkhand.
However, the Trinamool Congress and the Communist Party of India (Marxist) had both written to the Election Commission objecting about Sharma’s appointment. They said that Sharma could be seen – in a photograph – attending a programme backed by the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) last year. Trinamool Congress MP Derek O’Brien had even tweeted the photograph.
While the Trinamool Congress chief Mamata Banerjee said her party was writing “a strong letter” to the Election Commission on the matter, the CPI(M) wrote to the Commission saying the appointment was “questionable and would raise the question of political partisanship”.
Banerjee added that either the home department was “misleading” or it was a “deliberate attempt to malign Bengal”. She said she had great respect for the Election Commission and was therefore writing a strong letter on this. “It is our humble submission before the EC to take note of this issue,” Banerjee said, a couple of days back.
The Election Commission reacted promptly, replacing KK Sharma with Vivek Dubey.
[Cover image representational]
