EC goes public after TMC spat, draws criticism over social media confrontation

The Trinamool Congress on Wednesday managed to get under the skin of the Election Commission at a meeting where the party complained about the alleged deployment of biased officers in Bengal, prompting the poll panel to take the rare step of engaging in a public confrontation that struck at the heart of its neutrality motto.

Coming out of a meeting with chief election commissioner Gyanesh Kumar and his deputies that lasted less than six minutes, Trinamool Rajya Sabha leader Derek O’Brien told reporters near Nirvachan Sadan: “‘Get Lost!’ This is what the CEC told the Trinamool Congress delegation…. Nine letters written by the Trinamool chairperson (chief minister Mamata Banerjee) to the EC. No acknowledgement. No reply. You have ignored all these nine letters.”