On the directions of the Election Commission (EC) on Wednesday, Tamil Nadu Chief Secretary (CS) N. Muruganandam was transferred out, and his colleague M. Sai Kumar was named his successor.
Mr. Sai Kumar assumed office at the Secretariat in Chennai on Wednesday evening.
On the Commission’s directions, senior IPS officer Sandeep Mittal was posted as the Director-General of Police (DGP), Armed Police, as well as Director (in-charge), Vigilance and Anti-Corruption.
A few hours after the EC’s direction, DMK president and Tamil Nadu Chief Minister M.K. Stalin objected to transferring out Mr. Muruganandam as the Chief Secretary and said the Commission was “only short of campaigning for the BJP on the field”. The Chief Minister termed the transfer as “arbitrary” and a “political act.”
Taking to social media, Mr. Stalin said it was a “matter of shame” that the EC, which was to remain independent and conduct fair elections, was implementing the “commands” of the BJP-led Union government. The scope provided by the Constitution to the Commission was not to discharge functions favouring the BJP, he said.
