Gyanesh Kumar should get Padma Bhushan, says Bengal BJP chief Samik Bhattacharya

Samik Bhattacharya, the West Bengal BJP chief, has defended Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar, stating that he deserves the Padma Bhushan award for his handling of the state's recent Assembly polls. The BJP leader made the comments amid opposition demands for Kumar's removal from his position. They plan to move a motion in Parliament to remove the CEC after The Indian Express reported that two election commissioners raised objections to certain decisions made without their knowledge regarding SIR-related issues.

Bhattacharya praised Kumar for ensuring that intimidation was kept at bay during the polls, noting that there were no incidents of murder and that people were allowed to cast their votes. He also highlighted Kumar's initiative in removing the names of Bangladeshi infiltrators from the voter lists, which played a crucial role in ensuring a fair and transparent election process in a border state like West Bengal.

The BJP chief emphasized the success of the SIR (Systematic Voter Education and Electoral Participation) in purging deceased, fictitious, and illegal Bangladeshi voters from the electoral rolls. He concluded by expressing his belief that the people of Bengal have seldom witnessed an election as smooth and well-executed as the recent one.