Bengal Chief Secretary Quits, Named Chief Adviser To Mamata Banerjee

Mamata Banerjee had made it clear that she would not follow the Centre's order shifting Mr Bandyopadhyay to the Centre in the middle of her state's Covid fight.

Hours after Mamata Banerjee wrote to Prime Minister Narendra Modi that she would not send top Bengal officer Alapan Bandyopadhyay to Delhi, she announced that he had retired as Chief Secretary and would now serve as Chief Adviser to her government for three years. Mamata Banerjee had made it clear that she would not follow the Centre's order shifting Mr Bandyopadhyay to the Centre in the middle of her state's Covid fight. The Centre, she said, responded by insisting that he has to report to Delhi. After Mr Bandyopadhyay's retirement, HK Dwivedi has taken over as Chief Secretary, she announced. "They have given no reason. I am shocked. I have decided we need his service for the Covid pandemic. For Covid and for Cyclone Yaas, he must continue his service to the poor, the state, the country, the affected people..." the Chief Minister said.