The cat is out of bag: Mamata over BJP rubber stamp on ECI letter row

West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee on Tuesday (March 24, 2026) alleged that the purported BJP rubber stamp on a communication of the Election Commission proved beyond doubt which party was controlling the poll watchdog from the backseat.

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A political row erupted on Monday (March 23) after a letter from the ECI was found carrying the seal of the BJP Kerala unit.

“It is now clear from this BJP rubber stamp on EC notification who is running the commission from behind. The cat is out of the bag,” Ms. Banerjee told reporters at the Kolkata airport before boarding a flight to Bagdogra in north Bengal, where she is scheduled to kick start her election campaigns.

She held up a newspaper report on the row to back her claims.

“This is not a clerical mistake, it’s a political conspiracy,” Ms. Banerjee added, refuting the ECI’s reported response that it was a human error.

Alleging that the development put a serious question mark on the poll panel’s impartiality in conducting the elections, Ms. Banerjee urged all parties to unite and fight the “EC-backed attempt to impose one-party rule in India”.

“It doesn’t matter if opposition parties belong to the Right or Left ideologies. I request them to come together and protest the EC-backed one-party rule, save democracy in the country and ensure free and fair polls,” she said.