Bengal, May 31: West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee writes Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Monday that the state government cannot release Chief Secretary “at this critical hour“. In a letter written to PM Modi, Banerjee has requested him to withdraw the order recalling Chief Secretary Alapan Bandyopadhyay.
“West Bengal government can’t release and is not releasing its Chief Secretary at this critical hours,” she wrote.
“Do not understand what happened between your allowing extension to Chief Secretary on May 24 and your unilateral order 4 days later,” CM Mamata added in the letter.
The Centre had last week transferred Alapan Bandyopadhyay after he skipped Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s crucial meeting on Cyclone Yaas.
The Centre had on Friday night sought Bandyopadhyay’s services and asked the state government to immediately release the top bureaucrat, an order that snowballed into a major controversy.
Also Read: Centre tells West Bengal Chief Secretary to report to Delhi after CM Mamata skips meeting with PM Modi
Alapan Bandyopadhyay, a 1987-batch IAS officer of the West Bengal cadre, was scheduled to retire on May 31 after completion of 60 years of age.
However, he was granted a three-month extension following a nod from the Centre to work on Covid management.
