TMC walks out of Rajya Sabha in protest of EC's decision to remove top bureaucrats

The Trinamool Congress (TMC) staged a day-long walkout from the Rajya Sabha on Monday, March 16, 2026, to protest the Election Commission’s sudden removal of West Bengal’s top administrative officials. Raising the matter just before Zero Hour, TMC leader Derek O'Brien condemned the timing of the reshuffle, which took place late Sunday night, shortly after the 2026 Assembly election schedule was announced. The removal included high-ranking officials such as Chief Secretary Nandini Chakravorty and the state's Home Secretary, a move O'Brien described as being done "in the dead of night."

Addressing the Upper House, O'Brien argued that while the Election Commission has the power to transfer officials, the manner in which it was executed undermined the state's administrative stability. He expressed his party's deep dissatisfaction by leading a protest exit, signaling that the TMC intends to make central agency interference a central theme of their campaign. This parliamentary protest follows a series of administrative shake-ups by the ECI, including the appointment of Dushyant Nariala as the new Chief Secretary to ensure "neutrality" during the two-phase polls in April.

The government responded sharply to the TMC’s allegations, with Parliamentary Affairs Minister Kiren Rijiju defending the poll panel's independence. Rijiju stated that the Election Commission is a constitutional authority whose decisions should not be questioned or politicized on the floor of the House. He accused the TMC and the Congress of habitually attacking constitutional bodies when their decisions do not align with party interests, asserting that such discussions are an inappropriate use of parliamentary time.