Bengal CM appoints state security adviser

The West Bengal government has created a post on the lines of the national security adviser (NSA) and has named outgoing director general of police, Surajit Kar Purkayastha, to fill the post.

Purkayashta retires on May

31. He will assume charge as the state security advisor from June

1. Two offices for him — the first one at the state secretariat of Nabanna, and the second, at the state police headquarters at Bhabani Bhavan — have been kept ready.

“SSA will actually act as a bridge among all new enforcing agencies of the state for strategic coordination,” read the notification issued by state’s principal secretary (home), Atri Bhattacharya.

BJP leaders have questioned the creation of the post and the selection of Purkayastha.

“First Purkayastha was rewarded with an out-of-turn two-year extension, and now he has been gifted this special position created to accommodate him. How can we expect the person, who has failed to manage law and order in the state in the panchayat elections, to be an efficient security adviser,” said BJP national secretary Rahul Sinha.

In a jibe, Sinha also said that Mamata Banerjee knows that she cannot become the Prime Minister. “So, the NSA will remain out of her reach. So she is trying to create a position with similar nomenclature for her,” added Sinha. According to the gazette, he will share important intelligence inputs received from different national and state security agencies.