Centre stuns Mamata Banerjee, transfers top Bengal official to Delhi after row
West Bengal chief secretary Alapan Bandopadhyay's transfer to New Delhi is unusual, specially because the 1987 IAS officer, according to his record on the DoPT website, has never served in the central government.
The central government on Friday transferred West Bengal chief secretary Alapan Bandopadhyay to the Centre’s department of personnel and training, ordering the top civil servant to report in New Delhi on May 31. The decision by the Appointments Committee of the Cabinet chaired by Prime Minister Narendra Modi was conveyed to Bengal hours after a row broke out over Bengal chief minister Mamata Banerjee skipping a meeting convened by the prime minister during his visit to the state.
“I am directed to inform that the appointments committee of the Cabinet has approved the placement of the services of Sri Alapan Bandopadhyay, IAS, (WB:1987) with the Government of India as provisions of Rule 6(1) of the Indian Administrative Service (Cadre) Rules, 1954, with immediate effect,” the letter signed by an official at the Centre’s ministry of personnel, public grievances and pensions said.
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“Accordingly, the state government is requested to relieve the officer with immediate effect and direct him to report to the department of personnel and training, North Block, New Delhi, by 10 am on May 31, 2021.”
Bandopadhyay was touring the cyclone-affected areas with chief minister Mamata Banerjee on Friday evening when the government received the order from the Centre. Bandopadhyay was also present at the chief minister’s brief interaction with Prime Minister Narendra Modi at Kalaikunda on Friday afternoon when the prime minister came to Bengal to review the damage caused by Cyclone Yaas. Mamata Banerjee did not attend the review meeting chaired by PM Modi, saying she had other appointments triggering a fresh political row.
Bandopadhyay was due to retire on May 31. But Mamata Banerjee had announced this week that the central government had cleared her request to let the officer continue for three more months since he had the experience of working during last year's Amphan and had handled the ongoing Covid-19 pandemic.
Trinamool Congress (TMC) spokesperson Kunal Ghosh said, “This is a vindictive action by the BJP which cannot get over its humiliating loss in the recent polls. This will go down in the history of dirty politics. A bureaucrat is being recalled before his retirement when he is touring cyclone-hit areas. This proves how anti-Bengal and anti-Bengali BJP’s central leaders are.”
TMC Rajya Sabha member, Sukhendu Sekhar Ray, said, "Has this ever happened since Independence? Forced central deputation of a chief secretary of a State. How much lower will Modi-Shah’s BJP stoop. All because people of Bengal humiliated the duo and chose Mamata Banerjee with an overwhelming mandate."
Bengal BJP general secretary Sayantan Basu said, “IAS officers are employed by the Indian Government. These are administrative decisions. This is not a political issue to comment on.”
Alapan Bandopadhyay's transfer to New Delhi is unusual, especially because the 1987 IAS officer, according to his record on the DoPT website, has never served in the central government and would not have been empanelled to serve at senior positions in the government.
