Former Chief Secretary Alapan Bandyopadhyay on Thursday replied to the Centre’s show-cause notice issued to him stating that he left the review meeting held by Prime Minister Narendra Modi at Kalaikunda as per the directive of West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee.
According to sources in the State Secretariat, “Bandyopadhyay also stated in his reply that he left the meeting for a review of the coastal town of Digha which suffered heavy damages by the cyclone Yaas with the Chief Minister.”
They further revealed that the Centre had issued the show-cause notice to him under the Disaster Management Act. Under the Act, one may get a prison sentence for up to three years.
The West Bengal Government and the Centre have been at loggerheads over the former’s transfer order to Bandyopadhyay asking him to join the Union Government. However, CM Banerjee refused to release him.
She conveyed her decision to Prime Minister Narendra Modi in a strongly worded letter describing the Centre’s order as “unilateral”. Bandyopadhyay was granted three months extension by the Centre upon request from the state.
However, he retired on the scheduled date of May 31 and was appointed as the Chief Advisor to the Chief Minister for three years.
The incident has resulted in a raging controversy in the state. West Bengal Governor Jagdeep Dhankhar criticised CM Banerjee and then Chief Secretary Bandyopadhyay for not attending the review meeting held by PM Modi.
BJP MLA and Leader of the Opposition Suvendu Adhikari had demanded stringent action against Bandyopadhyay.
Mamata Banerjee has repeatedly claimed that she and Bandyopadhyay left the meeting with the Prime Minister’s permission after handing him over the report regarding damages caused by the cyclone Yaas in the state as he had to survey damages caused by the storm in Digha.