The Election Commission (EC) late on Saturday transferred Uttar Pradesh DGP Brij Lal and principal secretary (home) Kunwar Fateh Bahadur after major opposition parties accused the two officials of working as ‘agents’ of ruling BSP.
BSP slammed the EC decision alleging the removal of Lal and Bahadur would ‘shatter the sense of security among Dalits and the downtrodden that they would be able to exercise their franchise in a free and fair manner in the coming assembly elections.’
"Principal Secretary (Home) Kunwar Fateh Bahadur and DGP Brij Lal have been transferred from their respective posts," official sources said here.
Accusing the officials of working as the agents of ruling BSP almost all the major opposition parties, including Congress, BJP and SP, urged the Commission to transfer the two officials.
Welcoming the decision, the opposition parties said it was necessary for free and fair conduct of elections.
"The party had already demanded of the ECI to transfer officials working as the agents of ruling BSP and it welcomes the order," BJP spokesman Vijay Bahadur Pathak said.
Congress spokesman Akhilesh Kumar Singh demanded disciplinary action against the officials charging them with working as BSP workers. "Merely removing them will not suffice. Disciplinary action should also be taken against them. Besides, there are a number of other officers working as BSP agents and they should also be removed," he said.
BSP General Secretary Satish Chandra Misra told mediapersons here that the the presence of Principal Secretary (Home) Fateh Bahadur and DGP Brij Lal ‘in these positions had given a sense of security to Dalits and downtrodden that they would be able to exercise their franchise in a free and fair manner in the coming elections".
"The casteist and imperialist governments had not given the officals of these sections important positions but ever since Mayawati came to power she has given them important postings, which has led to sense of security among these sections", he said.
"The order to transfer these officials would shatter this sense of security among them," he said.
The BSP leader, however, claimed that despite the posting of officials belonging to any section at these places, Dalits would vote in favour of Mayawati in the coming elections as they had done in 2007, ‘giving a befitting reply to imperialist forces when Samajwadi Party was in power’.