EC Shunts Top 5 WB Bureaucrats in a Rejig, Didi Fumes
You are choosing those who will follow BJP orders. But whoever you send will work for us, the public and Bengal.
Kolkata: The Election Commission (EC) has shunted West Bengal chief minister Mamata Banerjee's favourite five bureaucrats at the top level of her government in an unprecedented revamp since Sunday midnight hours after announcing a two-phase assembly polls in the state. All of them have been kept out of any poll-duty.
The list included state chief secretary Nandini Chakravorty, state home secretary Jagdish Prasad Meena, state director general of police Peeyush Pandey, DG (law and order) Vineet Goyal and Kolkata Police Commissioner Supratim Sarkar among others. Fuming over the overnight reshuffle, Ms Banerjee predicted that whoever would be appointed by the EC, would work for her and that her government would not change in the ensuing election.
Targeting the EC and BJP, the Trinamul Congress supremo alleged after leading a protest rally over fuel crisis in the city, “What did you do last night?! I got a message around 1 am. A party with the help of someone is conducting a covert action. The chief secretary is a Bengali woman. But they are anti-women. The rule earlier was that we used to send three names after they were sought. Later one of them used to be selected. But now it has become suo moto, Zamindari.”
She claimed, “You never cared about asking the state government. Shame on you! You not only removed efficient officers who are Bengali like Ms Chakravorty and Mr Sarkar but also those, Mr Meena, Mr Pandey and Mr Goyal who are non-Bengali. You are choosing those who will follow BJP orders. But whoever you send will work for us, the public and Bengal. You can change district magistrates and superintendents of police on BJP’s instructions for one month and a half. But you can not change human beings and humanity. You can change everything. But the government will not change in Bengal.”
The EC launched the IAS officers’ rejig around 12 am with the removal of Ms Chakravorty and Mr Meena. While Ms Chakravorty has been replaced by Dushyant Nariala who was earlier additional chief secretary at North Bengal Development department, Mr Meena’s post went to Sanghamitra Ghosh who was the principal secretary of women and child welfare department.
The IPS officers’ transfer started on Monday morning with Mr Pandey, Mr Goyal and Mr Sarkar who were replaced by Siddh Nath Gupta and Ajay Mukund Ranade and Ajay Kumar Nand, both in the rank of additional director general (ADG), respectively.
While Mr Goyal earlier earned a rebuke from Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar during the poll preparedness meeting, Mr Sarkar came under the radar of the EC for the daylight attack by BJP workers on state minister Shashi Panja's residence at Girish Park in the city hours before Prime Minister Narendra Modi's rally on March 14.
Natarajan Ramesh Babu who was DG (Home Guards) has been appointed as DG(correctional services), a post held by Mr Gupta before becoming DGP. Later the state government made Mr Pandey director (security) and Manoj Verma, the incumbent, the additional director of the unit which looks after the VVIP protection.
It also appointed Mr Goyal as DG of Intelligence Branch (IB) with additional charge of DG(anti corruption branch) and assigned Mr Sarkar as ADG (criminal investigation department) with additional charge of ADG (IB). Meanwhile, 30 state civil service officers were posted at the additional district magistrate level.
