Days after crying foul over the presence of army troops at toll plazas, West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee today looked set for fresh confrontation with the Centre when she asked state's officers not to follow instructions from the Union government without the permission of the state dispensation.
Accusing the Modi government of trying to bulldoze the federal structure, she said, "Instructions are coming from Delhi these days. Remember that you work for the state (government). You inform us but do not implement things (Centre's orders) on your own," she said.
The state government would tell its officials what should be done and what not, Banerjee said addressing the annual general meeting of West Bengal Civil Service (Executive) Officers Association here. She alleged that the Modi government had been giving direct orders to district magistrates. Describing WBCS officers as the "face of the government", she announced new facilities for them.
"IAS officers will now get a special allowance of Rs 1,300 while WBCS will get Rs 1,200," Banerjee said, adding the government has allowed WBCS officers to go on foreign tours and increased facilities for training. Banerjee had termed the Centre as a 'daku' (dacoit) last Friday and threatened to take legal steps for directly contacting state officials for information "bypassing" her government.
She had strongly objected to the presence of army contingents at some toll plazas in the state recently and asked if it was an attempted "coup". The army had said its troops were engaged in conducting a routine survey on highways to ascertain how many vehicles they would be able to muster from a particular place in times of disasters.
On the issue of demonetisation, the Chief Minister said that the state's revenue had fallen by 25 per cent. "Small sector industries, unorganised sector, salaried class people are all in an unstable condition," she said.
Published 05 December 2016, 15:41 IST