In BJP-ECI's 'chor bazaar', bigger the theft, bigger the reward: Rahul's on WB Government appointments

Congress person Rahul Gandhi connected Tuesday (May 12, 2026) took a swipe astatine the appointments of erstwhile Chief Election Officer Manoj Agarwal arsenic the caller West Bengal Chief Secretary and Subrata Gupta arsenic the Chief Advisor to Chief Minister Suvendu Adhikari, saying that successful the BJP-ECI "chor bazaar", the bigger the theft, the bigger the reward.

The Congress has claimed that the appointments reflected the "brazen collusion and connivance" betwixt the Election Commission and the BJP.

In a station successful Hindi connected X, Mr. Gandhi said, "In the BJP-EC's 'chor bazaar'' the bigger the theft, the bigger the reward." The Opposition enactment had connected Monday said that determination is not adjacent an effort to support the collusion discrete oregon concealed.

Congress wide caput successful complaint of communications, Jairam Ramesh, had said the BJP-led West Bengal Government has appointed the erstwhile Chief Election Officer, Mr. Agarwal, a 1990-batch IAS serviceman liable for overseeing the caller Assembly elections successful the State, arsenic the caller Chief Secretary.

Similarly, Mr. Gupta, besides a 1990-batch IAS serviceman who oversaw the SIR deletions successful Bengal arsenic the peculiar rotation observer, has been appointed the main advisor to the Chief Minister, Mr. Ramesh pointed out.

"These appointments bespeak the brazen collusion and connivance betwixt the ECI and the BJP. There is nary longer adjacent an effort to support the collusion discrete oregon concealed," Mr. Ramesh said.

The appointments are a grounds that the ECI was not impartial and acted exclusively to payment the BJP, helium alleged.

An full authorities went to the predetermination with 27 lakh radical being debarred from voting. This was tactfully executed by the ECI to make an electoral vantage for the BJP, Mr. Ramesh said.

Mr. Agarwal, a West Bengal cadre officer, helmed the ECI-mandated Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls successful Bengal successful the run-up to the Assembly polls, successful which astir 91 lakh voters were removed from the elector list.

The West Bengal authorities connected Sunday (May 10) carried retired a bureaucratic reshuffle, appointing 2 IAS officers and 7 WBCS (executive) officers successful the Chief Minister's bureau (CMO), according to authoritative notifications.

Mr. Gupta was appointed advisor to the Chief Minister, hours aft helium was sworn in, portion Shantanu Bala was named his backstage secretary.