West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee, true to her characteristics, has picked up yet another fight with the Centre as she initiates her campaign for the 2024 Lok Sabha elections. After her conduct which was unbecoming of a state Chief Minister during the review meeting of Cyclone Yaas with PM Modi, the Union government decided to order Mamata’s Chief Secretary, Alapan Bandyopadhyay, who broke service rules as he also left the meeting with Mamata in tow instead of delivering the scheduled presentation on the cyclone, for central deputation.
In what can be seen as an act of defiance, Mamata saw to it that Alapan Bandyopadhyay retired as he opted for superannuation in order to avoid shifting base to New Delhi. But, now Bandopadhyay has been appointed as West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee’s Chief Adviser for a period of three years.
The fact that Mamata Banerjee moved heaven and earth to ensure that Bandyopadhyay doesn’t have to report in New Delhi for his new deputation in the department of personnel and training (DoPT) in North Block, points to the fact that Bandyopadhyay is her weakest link with an insecure West Bengal CM worried about what would happen should he open his mouth ever in Delhi. There is no doubt that Bandopadhyay is close to Mamata as the latter has appointed him as her Chief Advisor – a post reserved only for the Chief Minister’s closest confidantes. A similar scenario can be seen in Punjab where CM Captain Amarinder Singh has appointed poll strategist Prashant Kishor as his Advisor.
Times of India quoted a government functionary as saying, “The chief secretary’s retirement shows that Mamata Banerjee is on the back foot. She knows that the facts of the matter are against the chief secretary and this is a last bid to save him. Banerjee has done a big U-turn in a matter of hours. From requesting the PM to confirm the extension of the chief secretary for three months to retiring him now. But this move doesn’t change anything. Chargesheet will be issued and disciplinary action will be taken against Alapan Bandyopadhyay.”
The Centre is set to initiate disciplinary proceedings against Bandyopadhyay with the rules dictating that disciplinary proceedings can be initiated against an officer for up to four years after his/her retirement. And, now it seems that the Modi government has grabbed Mamata Banerjee’s weakest link which is making the West Bengal CM even more unstable than she already is.