Mamata names Bengal CS as her adviser amid tussle
West Bengal chief minister Mamata Banerjee appointed chief secretary Alapan Bandopadhyay as her chief adviser after allowing him to retire on Monday, ratcheting up a confrontation with the Centre by refusing to release the bureaucrat, and attacking PM Narendra Modi over his transfer.
Banerjee announced that she permitted Bandopadhyay to retire on his last working day after he expressed the desire, and added that he will serve as her chief adviser for three years. She also named the state’s new chief secretary, HK Dwivedi, and home secretary, BP Gopalika.
“A bold officer cannot be victimised like this. The Centre did vindictive politics,” a visibly agitated Banerjee said. “I have never seen such a heartless Prime Minister and home minister,” she added.
Late on Monday, the Centre issued a show-cause notice to Bandopadhyay, indicating that the bitter face-off was not over. An official aware of the matter said on condition of anonymity that “suitable action is being contemplated by the department against the official for defying the DOPT (department of personnel and training) order”.
The controversy began last Friday after Banerjee skipped a scheduled meeting on Cyclone Yaas with Modi. Hours later, the Centre ordered Bandopadhyay, a 1987-batch Indian Administrative Services officer, to report to DOPT by 10am Monday.
On Saturday, Banerjee refused to release him and urged the Centre to reconsider. On Monday, she wrote a five-page letter to Modi, questioning the legality of the transfer order, asking if it was linked to Friday’s meeting, saying she took permission from Modi before leaving the meeting, and objecting to the presence of Suvendu Adhikari, the leader of Opposition who defeated her in Nandigram. Bandopadhyay, too, didn’t go to Delhi.
Later in the day, Banerjee said the Centre again asked Bandopadhyay to report to North Block on Tuesday, but added that an officer cannot join a new office without the state’s permission.