New Delhi: Members of the Trinamool Congress in the Rajya Sabha staged a walkout on Monday (March 16) in protest against the Election Commission of India’s move late on March 15 to reshuffle West Bengal’s top bureaucracy ahead of the assembly elections in the state.Just before Zero Hour began, TMC parliamentary party leader in the Rajya Sabha rose to condemn the Election Commission’s decision and condemned the move on behalf of his party.“In the dead of night, the Chief Secretary, Principal Secretary, Home Secretary of Bengal have been removed by the Election Commission. They (Election Commission) have all the power to do it. They can also say I am wearing a blue shirt and not a white shirt. In protest against what the Chief Election Commissioner is doing, we, my party, is walking out for the day,” said O’Brien.As TMC MPs walked out, union parliamentary affairs minister Kiren Rijiju rose to say that the TMC and the Congress have “always attacked constitutional bodies” and decisions of the Election Commission have nothing to do with the government or Parliament.“The honourable member has suddenly stood up without his issue being listed. He is raising the matter about a constitutional authority which the House or the government has nothing to do with,” said Rijiju. “If every member wants to raise a question about constitutional authorities like the court or Election Commission, it is not wise. The Election Commission’s powers are separate according to the Constitution. There is no point raising this in the House. Constitutional institutions should be respected. Trinamool Congress and Congress have always attacked constitutional bodies and made it a habit. They have also misused the time of the House.”A notice for a motion for removal of the Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar, piloted by the TMC and supported by members of the INDIA alliance, was submitted in both Houses last week.The TMC’s move in the Rajya Sabha on Monday comes hours after the Election Commission on Sunday announced a slew of changes in West Bengal’s top bureaucracy just hours after the poll schedule was announced. The Election Commission replaced Chief Secretary Nandini Chakraborty with Dushyant Nariala, while home secretary Jagdish Prasad Meena was replaced with Sanghamitra Ghosh. On Monday, the poll panel further directed the appointment of Siddh Nath Gupta as Director General and Inspector General of Police (in-charge), Natarajan Ramesh Babu as Director General of Correctional Services, Ajay Mukund Ranade as Additional Director General and IGP (Law and Order) and Ajay Kumar Nand as Commissioner of Kolkata Police.On Sunday afternoon the Election Commission had announced the poll schedule for the upcoming state assembly elections in West Bengal, Kerala, Tamil Nadu, Assam and Puducherry. For the first time in decades, West Bengal will be polling in two phases on April 23 and April 29.