Mamata Banerjee said the “administration is not in my hand” and alleged a plan to impose President’s Rule after the Supreme Court of India criticised the state over the Malda judicial officers hostage incident. She urged people not to resort to violence and not to obstruct judges during the electoral roll revision process.
West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee on Thursday reacted strongly to the shocking incident in Malda district where seven judicial officers were held hostage by locals during the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls. The incident has triggered a major political and constitutional controversy, with the Supreme Court also expressing serious concern over the safety of judicial officers.
Addressing a public meeting, Mamata Banerjee said she was not informed about the incident and came to know about it from the media. She suggested that the state administration was no longer functioning under her control and blamed the Election Commission of India for the situation.
“I don’t know who is responsible… no one informed me,”
she said, expressing shock over the incident. She further stated,
“The administration is not in my hand. The Election Commission is controlling law-and-order (in the state) … they listen to Home Minister Amit Shah. Everyone has been changed… my powers have been transferred to the EC. It is ‘super President’s rule’.”
The Chief Minister claimed that the Election Commission had taken over the administration during the electoral process and alleged that there was a political plan behind the ongoing developments in the state. She said that large-scale deletion of voter names had created anger among people, which may have contributed to the unrest on the ground.
“The ECI has deleted 1.20 crore names. The game plan of BJP is to impose President’s rule in the State. Do not fall into the trap, do not obstruct judges,”
she said while appealing to the public to maintain peace and not to engage in any violent activity.
She also urged people to remain calm and not to get influenced by communal elements or political provocation. She warned that violence would only harm the state and help political opponents.
“I have no powers left today. This is the fault of ECI, they could not protect judges,”
she said.
The incident took place on April 1 at a BDO office in Mothabari area of Malda district, where seven judicial officers were surrounded and held overnight by locals who were angry over deletion of their names from the voter list during the Special Intensive Revision process. The officers were later rescued late at night after police and security forces reached the spot in large numbers.
Meanwhile, the Supreme Court of India took serious note of the incident and criticized the West Bengal government for failing to provide adequate security to judicial officers who were performing official duties related to the electoral process. The Court emphasized that judicial officers are part of the justice delivery system and must be protected at all costs.
Reports suggest that a large number of cases are currently pending before judicial officers in the state, and many people are already frustrated due to case rejections and delays. It is reported that about 60 lakh cases are under adjudication and nearly 40% of cases under adjudication are being rejected, which has led to anger and frustration among sections of the public.
The incident has now raised serious concerns about law and order, judicial safety, and the constitutional balance between the State government and the Election Commission during the election period. The situation is likely to remain politically and legally significant in the coming days as both the Supreme Court and the Election Commission continue to monitor the developments in West Bengal.
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