The transfer order of the West Bengal Chief Secretary Alapan Bandyopadhyay became a fresh bone of contention between the Centre and the state Government as Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee on Saturday accused the Narendra Modi Government of resorting to “vendetta politics”’ and urged to withdraw the transfer order. The development comes a day after the Centre asked him to join the DoPT office in Delhi on May 31.
Speaking to reporters at the State Secretariat, the Chief Minister accused Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Union Home Minister Amit Shah of deliberately creating problems for her government at every step as the BJP was yet to accept its defeat in the Assembly elections in Bengal.
Mamata, in a sarcastic jibe against the Prime Minister, said if he will be happy with her holding his feet, then she is willing to do it.
“Just because you (Modi and Shah) cannot accept BJP’s defeat in Bengal, you have been deliberately creating problems for Bengal from the beginning. What has the Chief Secretary done wrong? Recalling him at a time when the state is battling the Covid-19 pandemic shows political vendetta. I urge the Centre to withdraw the order,” said Mamata.
The Chief Minister further alleged that she and the Chief Secretary were insulted by the Centre out of narrow-minded politics.
“I wonder whether just because the Chief Secretary is Bengali, they are so vindictive against him. But I don’t want get into the Bengali-non Bengali issue here,” said Mamata.
Describing the Centre’s transfer order of the Chief Secretary as “shocking”, Mamata questioned its legal validity asking under which law was he transferred.
“What was Alapan’s fault. He was working with us,” said Mamata. She pointed out that the Centre had recently approved the state government’s request of extending Bandyopadhay’s tenure for three more months as the Chief Secretary, Mamata said that the Centre gave its approval on May 24.
“But what happened all of a sudden that Alapan was suddenly given transfer order without holding any discussion with the state government,” said Mamata.
“Under which law was he recalled in such a manner? This has not happened in the country 74 years after Independence,” she added.
She accused the PMO and the office of the Home Minister of “planting” news in the media to malign her. Refuting the BJP leadership’s allegation that she made the Prime Minister wait at the review meeting at Kalaikunda, the Chief Minister said that her chopper was asked to hover over over Kalalikunda for 20 minutes, adding that even then, she was made to wait after the SPG told her official that they have to wait for at least an hour.