Bengal chief secretary Alapan Bandopadhyay not likely to report to Delhi
Sources said the CS will attend a meeting called by chief minister Mamata Banerjee.
West Bengal chief secretary Alapan Bandopadhyay is unlikely to report to the Central government today as ordered.
The Centre had issued an order on Friday recalling the officer a few hours after a row between Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee over attending a review meeting on Yaas ravaged Bengal districts. Bandyopadhyay was asked to report to the Department of Personnel and Training (DoPT)in Delhi by 10 am, Monday, May 31.
According to sources, Bandopadhyay has not been relieved of his duties by the Bengal government. In fact, the chief minister has called a meeting on Monday with secretaries of various departments to take stock of the situation following Cyclone Yaas, that Bandopadhyay is scheduled to attend.
Mamata Banerjee had reacted sharply at the Centre’s order, appealing for its “withdrawal”. Bandyopadhyay, a 1987-batch IAS officer from the Bengal cadre, was to retire May 31. Mamata Banerjee said that while he was due to retire on May 31 (today), the Bengal government had sought an extension for three months for his service particularly to fight the COVID-19 situation in Bengal and for reconstruction work in the aftermath of Cyclone Yaas.
She asked the Narendra Modi-led Centre to not “disturb” the work of the Bengal government by creating “confusion” and “confrontation on every issue”.
Banerjee’s party, the Trinamool Congress has also criticised the Centre’s move. MP Mahua Moitra and the party spokesperson Kunal Ghosh criticised the Centre’s “anger” on the Bengal government on the PM’s “alleged wait” for half an hour.
Earlier, ahead of the Bengal Assembly polls, three Indian Police Service (IPS) officers were recalled to the Centre. However, the Bengal government has not released them and they continue to work in the state.
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