West Bengal: CEO Manoj Agarwal appointed Chief Secretary

West Bengal's Chief Electoral Officer (CEO) Manoj Agarwal was appointed the chief secretary of the Suvendu Adhikari-led BJP government in the state, according to an official order issued on Monday. Agarwal, a 1990-batch IAS officer of the West Bengal cadre, helmed the EC-mandated SIR exercise in the state in the run-up to the assembly polls in which around 91 lakh voters were removed from the electoral rolls. His appointment as chief secretary comes within 48 hours of the EC’s special roll observer Subrata Gupta being named as the advisor to Suvendu Adhikari, recalibrating the chief minister’s closest administrative circle with former poll body top brass.
The BJP has defended both appointments, saying they were "merit-based" and in line with its "promise to restore the dignity of the laws of the land". In a statement, the West Bengal BJP unit said: "Unlike Mamata Banerjee, who had subverted the bureaucracy by blatantly flouting the rules governing the IAS by superseding dozens of officers, the BJP Government of West Bengal has appointed the senior most IAS officer working in the state, Manoj Agarwal, as the Chief Secretary of West Bengal in keeping with its promise to restore the dignity of the laws of the land."
Trinamool leader Saket Gokhale dubbed the move "beyond shameless" and party MP Derek O'Brien, in a sarcastic vein, called it a "coincidence".The Trinamool had raised complaints against both officials during the election period regarding the SIR process and poll conduct.