‘Late-night birthday gift to PM Modi’: KC Venugopal tears into ECI over TMC symbol freeze

New Delhi: Senior Congress leader and All India Congress Committee (AICC) General Secretary KC Venugopal launched a scathing attack on the Election Commission of India (ECI) following its interim decision to freeze the All India Trinamool Congress (AITC) name and symbol. Writing on social media platform X on Thursday, 17 September 2026, Venugopal condemned the poll panel's directive as a "late night birthday gift" from Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar to Prime Minister Narendra Modi. He alleged that the ruling represents an unconstitutional takeover facilitated to weaken opposition resistance in West Bengal.

Allegations of Partisan Bias and Defection

Venugopal accused the ECI of operating as a puppet for the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), claiming the election authority systematically targets opposition forces across the country. In his statement on X, Venugopal asserted that leaders who previously campaigned against the BJP under Mamata Banerjee’s leadership are being provided a "red carpet" by the ECI to rebel and commit unconstitutional acts of defection. Drawing parallels with earlier political disputes involving the Shiv Sena and the Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) in Maharashtra, the Congress leader argued that the poll panel routinely deals fatal operational blows to anti-BJP alliances by stripping away their electoral identities.

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Demand for Immediate Symbol Restoration

Reiterating national support for Mamata Banerjee and the original party leadership, Venugopal demanded that the Election Commission immediately rescind its interim order and restore the "twin-flowers-on-grass" symbol to Banerjee's faction. The sharp condemnation marks another mounting friction between the opposition INDIA bloc and the election watchdog, as rival political groups prepare to contest the West Bengal Assembly by-elections under temporary names and symbols allotted by the poll panel.