Gyanesh Kumar deserves Padma Bhushan: BJP leader

West Bengal BJP chief Samik Bhattacharya defended Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar, arguing that he deserved the country's third-highest civilian honor, the Padma Bhushan. Bhattacharya praised Kumar for ensuring a violence-free assembly election, removing illegal Bangladeshi voters, and successfully conducting the electoral roll revision process.

These actions took place in a border state where cross-border infiltration was a concern. The BJP leader dismissed Congress leader Rahul Gandhi's criticisms that Modi, Home Minister Amit Shah, and Kumar were traitors for allegedly rigging elections. Bhattacharya emphasized the public's gratitude for the peaceful election and attributed the success to Kumar's leadership in cleansing the voter list through the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) process.