'Don't have as many guns as depicted': War of words erupt over TMC MP Mohua Moitra's post on electoral roll observer Murugan

On February 18 when Moitra, in a post on X, said the official was overstepping his mandate.

A war of words broke out between Electoral Roll Observer C S Murugan and Trinamool Congress MP Mahua Moitra over accusations related to the role of micro-observers in revisions of electoral rolls.

On February 18, Moitra, in a post on X, said the official was overstepping his mandate.

"Please control your Roll Observer C Murugan IAS 2007 Dy Chairperson Tea Board, who is issuing incorrect directions on secret WhatsApp groups to micro observers in violation of Supreme Court orders," she wrote, as she shared an image specifying a film character and wrote the caption 'Quick Gun Murugan'.

On February 26, Murugan posted on X without naming anyone, in what was perceived as a response to the TMC MP.

"I don't have as many guns as depicted in the picture. However, I was trained to handle different types of guns and legally and effectively used them during my four and a half years of training in police service in Tamil Nadu," he stated in a late post.

There was no immediate response by Moitra to Murugan's post on social media.

The exchange follows earlier allegations by Abhishek Banerjee, the TMC national general secretary, that Murugan had been issuing directions via WhatsApp to micro-observers to delete voters' names. Banerjee had also shared purported screenshots of such messages on his social media handle.

Banerjee had charged that Election Commission officials were using micro-observers beyond their prescribed role to facilitate the deletion of names from voter lists, allegedly in violation of directions of the Supreme Court of India.

"Even more disturbing are credible reports of Special Roll Observer, C Murugan, issuing instructions regarding the acceptability of birth certificates directly to micro observers in a WhatsApp group, to inflate deletion numbers," he had said.

"Need I remind the ECI of the Supreme Court's categorical directive that the role of micro-observers must remain strictly assistive? Why, then, is statutory procedure being bypassed, and under whose instructions?" he had said in his earlier post.

Denying the accusations of Banerjee, Murugan had earlier told the media, "No directive has been issued to anybody through WhatsApp messages. Only clarifications were given on some directives of the ECI."