West Bengal BJP chief Samik Bhattacharya said Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar deserved a Padma Bhushan "at the very least", and credited him with ensuring a violence-free assembly election in the state and "cleansing" the voter list by removing illegal Bangladeshis.
Bhattacharya's defence of the CEC came amid a major controversy over the poll panel's functioning after reports surfaced that two election commissioners had objected to decisions allegedly taken in their names during the SIR exercise.
The Padma Bhushan is India's third-highest civilian award.
Bhattacharya praises CEC's role in Bengal polls
Speaking to reporters at Panihati in North 24 Parganas district on Friday, Bhattacharya also dismissed Congress leader Rahul Gandhi's statements where he branded Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Union Home Minister Amit Shah and CEC Kumar as "traitors" and said they would be investigated for "destroying" the foundation of India's democracy—the vote of the common man—by rigging polls.
"Gyanesh Kumar deserves to be awarded, at the very least, with the Padma Bhushan. The people of West Bengal are delighted that, after so long, intimidation was kept at bay, that there were no incidents of murder during the elections and people were actually allowed to cast their votes," the BJP leader said.
He claimed that the CEC was instrumental in "cleansing the electoral roll".
"In a border state like West Bengal, Gyanesh Kumar took the initiative to remove the names of Bangladeshi infiltrators from the voter list," Bhattacharya said.
"The people of West Bengal have rarely witnessed an election like this. Therefore, the general public of West Bengal is grateful to Gyanesh Kumar and has blessed him with all their hearts," he added.
CJP sets deadline for CEC's resignation
Bhattacharya's comment came a day after the youth-led group, Cockroach Janta Party (CJP), set a 48-hour deadline for Kumar to resign as chief election commissioner and threatened to launch a nationwide agitation if the CEC continued to remain in his chair.
Responding dismissively to a question on Leader of Opposition in Lok Sabha Rahul Gandhi's statement, Bhattacharya said, "The Congress itself doesn't pay heed to him. His own party doesn't take him seriously, and you are talking of Rahul Gandhi."
BJP and Opposition clash over EC functioning
Bhattacharya's statements came in the backdrop of BJP's national spokesperson Sambit Patra maintaining that reports about three election commissioners sharing differing views during official deliberations show the EC is functioning in a democratic manner and CJP founder Abhijit Dipke asking why the BJP was rushing to defend Kumar.
While the Congress held nationwide protests on Friday demanding the CEC's removal and arrest, a plea was filed before the Supreme Court challenging the EC's poll-related orders and software changes allegedly made by Kumar without the concurrence of the two election commissioners.