Urban Development and Municipal Affairs minister of West Bengal, Firhad Hakim on Tuesday stated that it was unfortunate on the part of the Election Commission to give directives to the state government on seeking transfer of election officials.
"Generally the system which has been seen previously is that the EC asks for names and then the state government gives two- three names to the EC which choses for the posting. But in this case the EC has given a directive and we think it is not appropriate. The state government respects the EC and the same respect should be shown by the EC towards the state government," Hakim said.
"The unfortunate part is that EC did not take any suggestions this time from the state government. Overall the prestige of the state has been hampered. So it was not expected when the people are ready to vote. It is the state government which addresses law and order situation in the state. The difficulty of the state government to make any changes as directed by the EC has been communicated to them," Hakim added.
On Tuesday, the EC had warned the state government that it could cancel Lok Sabha elections if the state government did not comply with its orders. This made the state government to write a letter to the poll panel to reconsider their decision and sought clarification on EC's transfer orders.
Earlier, the EC had ordered of five SPs and one DM from their poll duties following complaints leveled against them by the opposition. This provoked an angry West Bengal chief minister stating that she would defy the EC order and was even ready to be arrested.