Samik: Bengal different, CEC should stop lecturing
Times of India | 29 November 2025
Kolkata: In an unprecedented attack, Bengal BJP president Samik Bhattacharya on Friday said chief election commissioner (CEC) Gyanesh Kumar should stop lecturing from Delhi and instead come to Kolkata to monitor SIR. "Bengal is not like other states. If he thinks he will sit in Delhi and monitor SIR in Bengal via satellite, he is wrong," Bhattacharya said while speaking to reporters.
Claiming that BLOs are under pressure from Trinamool, Bhattacharya launched into an uncharacteristic attack naming the CEC in person. "EC has to take responsibility for the situation that the BLOs are facing," Bhattacharya, also a Rajya Sabha member, said.
"He (Kumar) needs to see first-hand how the BLOs are working in Bengal. Merely sending officers will not suffice. Sending an officer from Delhi and then saying we will monitor the situation from Delhi … it does not work that way. The situation in Bengal is different from other states," he said.
"The EC has to ensure security for the BLOs. They have to ensure that state govt officers are not intimidated. We demand that Gyanesh Kumar should come here. He should sit here in Bengal, if necessary go to the field," he said.