The Election Commission of India's (ECI) suspension of four West Bengal state government officials and a data entry operator over alleged irregularities in voter list preparation has triggered a strong backlash from Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee, who has accused the ECI of acting as a "bonded laborer" of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP).

The ECI's action follows a report from West Bengal's Chief Electoral Officer (CEO) detailing "wrongful addition of names" in the voter lists of Baruipur Purba and Moyna Assembly constituencies. The poll panel has directed the state's Chief Secretary, Manoj Pant, to immediately suspend Debottam Dutta Choudhury (ERO), and the other concerned officers, and register a First Information Report (FIR) against them.

Banerjee, however, has asserted that she will not allow any state government official to be punished and that her administration will stand by its employees. Addressing a public meeting in Jhargram, she questioned the legality of the ECI's move, asking which law allows the suspension of officials when elections have not even been announced. "The officers were served suspension notices yesterday. Have the elections even been announced yet? Which law allows them to be suspended at this stage? It is our responsibility to protect you all. We will do that. We will not suspend them,” Banerjee stated.

Banerjee accused the ECI of trying to intimidate government officials and alleged that the suspensions were politically motivated. "They (ECI) are the bonded labour of the BJP. They are doing the dalali (tout work) of (Union Home Minister) Amit Shah and the BJP. The home minister thinks whatever he says will happen,” she charged. She further claimed that the BJP is attempting to manipulate electoral outcomes by removing names from the voter list and using the voter list revision to implement the National Register of Citizens (NRC) through the back door.

The West Bengal Civil Services (Executive) Officers' Association has also sought the intervention of Chief Secretary Manoj Pant to get the ECI's suspension order reviewed.

Reacting to Banerjee's remarks, State BJP chief Samik Bhattacharya said that the Chief Minister has scant respect for a constitutional body like the ECI and suggested that she challenge the authority of the ECI before the Supreme Court instead of giving speeches. Suvendu Adhikari, Leader of the Opposition, stated that Banerjee's decision not to take action against the accused officers demonstrates her disrespect towards constitutional bodies. He further claimed that her desperation stems from the fear of removing illegal Rohingya and Bangladeshi voters from West Bengal's voter list.

The ECI's action and Banerjee's strong response have intensified the political atmosphere in West Bengal, with the Trinamool Congress chairperson projecting herself as the protector of state government employees against what she claims is a politically motivated witch-hunt. The controversy also revolves around the integrity of the electoral process, with both sides accusing each other of trying to manipulate voter lists and intimidate officials.