‘You Can’t Shout’ Vs. ‘Get Lost!’: The War Of Words Between CEC Gyanesh Kumar And TMC’s Derek O’ Brien

Key Points:

After an explosive meeting that took place on April 8, 2026, between a delegation of AITC (All India Trinamool Congress) and the bench of Election Commission of India (EC), an apparent transcript of the meeting has emerged that highlights what happened in the room. The meeting was regarding a large number of deletion of voters in West Bengal electoral rolls, and about some officers appointed having links to the BJP government, according to the TMC’s delegation. The meeting reportedly lasted only 7 minutes, from 10:02 am to 10:09 am.

The delegation consisted of Rajya Sabha MPs Derek O’Brien, Sagarika Ghose, Menaka Guruswamy, and former MP Saket Gokhale. The EC panel consisted of Chief Election Commissioner (CEC) Gyanesh Kumar, Election Commissioners Dr. Sukhbir Singh Sandhu and Dr. Vivek Joshi, along with other members. 

See Also: Election Commission Prohibits Conducting And Disseminating Exit Polls of Assam, Kerala, West Bengal, Tamil Nadu, and Puducherry from April 9, 2026, to April 29, 2026

Swati Chaturvedi, an Indian journalist has mentioned in a post on X (dated April 10, 2026) the transcript (word by word) of the meeting between the two parties. NewsGram has not independently verified the claims, or claims authenticity of the post. 

TMC Raises Concerns Over Electoral Process Neutrality

According to the post, the TMC delegation handed over “the same nine letters Chief Minister of West Bengal,” which the CEC ignored and didn’t reply to. Thereafter, Derek O’Brien gave a list of officers appointed in West Bengal overseeing election duties who allegedly had links with the BJP. According to Derek O’Brien, the delegation provided photographic evidence with the list, and also requested for the officers to be transferred. 

Heated Exchange Between Derek O’Brien and Gyanesh Kumar

The post then reads what O’Brien continued speaking: “We live in the hope that there would be free and fair elections. Our memorandum will now be handed over to you directly. In the memorandum, we have expressed grave concern regarding politically compromised officials and observers undermining electoral neutrality in West Bengal were highlighted.” 

It was at this point when the CEC interrupted, but O’Brien immediately countered, pointing out that in the previous 8-9 meetings that they held before with the EC, Dr. Sandhu and Dr. Joshi didn’t utter a word. 

“But that is your call. We have heard enough of (hollow) words from you but we are not seeing any action on the ground,” said Derek O’Brien, as quoted from Chaturvedi’s post. Then, when CEC asked if he was done speaking so he could begin to talk, O’ Brien said in a normal tone that the delegation thought of congratulating Gyanesh Kumar for being the first CEC in history to have a notice against his removal, submitted in both the houses.

CEC Kumar then said not to speak loudly, to which O’Brien replied in a raised voice that the CEC could not tell him whether to speak loudly or not. It was at this point that the CEC said: “You don't speak loud in this room. Thank you. GET LOST!” The rest of the transcript is a back and forth between Derek O’Brien and CEC Gyanesh Kumar where O’Brien says that the CEC couldn’t tell them to “Get Lost”, while the CEC said that they couldn’t shout. 

While the TMC has claimed that the CEC showed a partisan nature and didn’t respond appropriately, the CEC has remarked that the TMC delegation disrupted the conversation and talked in a negative manner. After the meeting, the Election Commission of India posted on X (dated April 8, 2026), targeting the TMC: “ECI's Straight-talk to Trinamool Congress. This time, the Elections in West Bengal would surely be: Fear-free, Violence-free, Intimidation-free, Inducement-free and without any Chappa, Booth Jamming and Source Jamming.”

To this, the TMC hit back in a post on X, stating: “We are also speaking straight to the Election Commission in a straightforward manner. This time, the elections must be: Free from Delhi's control, Free from political bias, Free from targeted persecution of anyone, And certainly free from double standards.” 

See Also: Assam Assembly Elections 2026: War of Words between Incumbent CM Himanta Biswa Sarma And Debutant Politician Kunki Chowdhury

Over 90 Lakh Voters Deleted From West Bengal Electoral Rolls

Following the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls in West Bengal, around 63.66 lakh voters were struck off the rolls. Thereafter, an additional 27.16 lakh voters were also deleted following the adjudication process. Thus, according to the latest data released by the EC, approximately 90.83 lakh voters have been deleted from the West Bengal electoral rolls.

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