'Black sheep' observers

Statesman News Service

MALDA, May 12: A group of officials from the West Bengal Civil Service Association, who were allegedly humiliated by EC observers in Malda, plan to bring the matter to the central leadership’s notice. The officials said they would also inform their central committee members about how the election observers violated EC norms on duty. A senior official of the Malda district administration alleged that an EC observer was out of station for two days, violating the stipulated norms and that he observer also enjoyed government vehicles for a tour.He said Mr Anil Srivastava, observer for Malda Assembly constituency, on his way back from south Bengal to Malda, toured Bolpur and Massanjor without informing the authorities.He was assigned with the additional task of conducting a phase of elections in South Bengal. “An EC observer cannot stay outside his posted jurisdiction,” the official alleged. The day after the last phase of election, district election officials were shocked by the behaviour of some observers as they used abusive language when some officials found it difficult to arrange some documents, including the presiding diary for taking a decision to conduct re-polling in some booths. The observers reportedly described district administration officials as clerks and asked them about their quality of being an officer. Just after the observers’ departure, some government employees expressed their unhappiness.The Malda SDO, Mr Prasanna Mandal, said: “We will discuss the matter soon and apprise the central leadership of the issue.”