Kolkata: The Governor House in West Bengal does not seem to be happy with just the transfer of Nandini Chakroborty, who was the principal secretary to Governor C.V. Ananda Bose, but also wants the state government to probe her.
Sources aware of the development said that the Governor House has also dropped a formal request to the state secretariat for initiating an enquiry against this 1994 batch Indian Administrative Service (IAS) officer of West Bengal cadre under All India Services Rules.
The main complaint of the Governor House against her was that she had given misleading information to the state secretariat about the internal functioning of the Governor House.
On Wednesday evening, the state personnel and administrative reforms department issued a notification transferring Chakroborty from the chair of principal secretary to the Governor to the position of the principal secretary to the state tourism department. However, the state government is yet to name her replacement in the Governor House.
Hours after the transfer notification was issued, the state secretariat received the formal request from the Governor House for initiating proceedings against Chakroborty under All India Services Rules.
Meanwhile, political slugfest has started over the entire development indicating resurrection of the closed chapter of Governor House-State Government barneys as was evident during the tenure of Bose’s predecessor and the current Vice-President of India, Jagdeep Dhankhar.
According to Trinamool Congress Rajya Sabha member, Santanu Sen, C.V. Ananda Bose came under the attack of BJP since he was maintaining coordination with the state government and its administrative head. “Probably now he has started succumbing to that pressure. We hope that his good sense will prevail and he maintains the dignity of his chair. However, if he chooses to adopt the path of constant collision with the state administration, the pattern of our reactions will change,” he said.
BJP’s state spokesman in West Bengal, Samik Bhattacharya said the sweet will of the chief minister Mamata Banerjee is to convert the Governor House into an extended arm of the state government. “If any Governor refuses to allow that then he becomes the automatic target of the state’s ruling party,” said Bhattacharya.
CPI(M) central committee Sujan Chakroborty said that if there had been flouting of service rules there could be proceedings against a bureaucrat. “But that proceedings should be according to the constitution and not the basis of the whims of any individual,” he said.
–IANS