Former Bengal CS gets MHA notice in Centre-state tussle
The Union home ministry has served a showcause notice to former chief secretary of West Bengal Alapan Bandyopadhyay under the Disaster Management Act that entails imprisonment up to two years, amid a tug-of-war between the Centre and the Mamata Banerjee government. A home ministry official said that hours before chief minister Mamata Banerjee announced his retirement on Monday, Bandyopadhyay was served the notice for refusing to comply with lawful direction of the central government in violation of Section 51-B of the Disaster Management Act, 2005.
The officer has been asked to reply within three days to the notice, the official said.
Earlier, the Department of Personnel and Training (DOPT) had asked him to report to the central government in Delhi by Monday.
The Centre’s action had come after Bandyopadhyay, along with the chief minister, did not attend a meeting chaired by Prime Minister Narendra Modi to review the impact of Cyclone Yaas.
Meanwhile, West Bengal Governor Jagdeep Dhankhar has stirred fresh controversy by saying that the chief minister’s “ego prevailed over public service”.
Terming the governor’s comment “unfortunate”, the ruling party in the state said Banerjee is involved in public service 24/7 and all her actions are prompted by her concern for the interests of the state.
Dhankhar said the chief minister had called him up before the meeting at Kalaikunda in Paschim Medinipur district and indicated that she won’t attend it if Leader of Opposition Suvendu Adhikari is present in it.
“Constrained by false narrative to put record straight: On May 27 at 2316 hrs CM @Mamataofficial messaged ‘may I talk? urgent’,” Dhankhar tweeted.