West Bengal chief secretary Alapan Bandyopadhyay, who has been asked to report in Delhi by the department of personnel and training (DoPT), might opt to retire on May 31 as scheduled.
The Centre's decision to recall Bandyopadhyay came after he and West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee skipped the meeting called by Modi to review the aftermath of the cyclone.
Bandyopadhyay, who was set to retire on May 31, had received a three-month extension from DoPT just four days earlier. "He is unlikely to accept such an extension now," said sources close to West Bengal administrative circle. "Instead, he would retire on that day as was planned earlier," said a source. Mamata has written to the PM, requesting him to reconsider the decision to recall Bandyopadhyay.
According to sources, Bandyopadhyay, after inviting the wrath of the PMO for not attending the meeting on May 28, may have different plans. The Mamata Banerjee government would very likely accept his retirement and he would be given some plum post under the state government.
Last month, Mamata Banerjee had sought six months extension for the chief secretary from DoPT as the state battled the second wave of COVID-19. Indian Administrative Service officers come directly under the DoPT. But the Centre granted an extension of only three months.
The conflict between the Centre and West Bengal has risen to unprecedented levels in recent times. Two months back, two IPS officers were asked to report to Delhi after the attack on convoy of BJP chief J.P. Nadda. The state government approached the Supreme Court against that but the apex court ruled that the decision of the Centre would prevail in case of any tussle between Centre and state as IPS officers are centrally recruited though they are sent to different states under state cadre.
Who is Alapan Bandyopadhyay?
Known as a suave and gentle officer in Bengal circle, Bandyopadhyay was one among the favourites of former chief minister Buddhadeb Bhattacharjee, who is battling Covid-19 in Kolkata's Woodlands Nursing Homes these days.
Being the district magistrate of South 24 Parganas in 2001, Bandyopadhyay was the man who advised the then newly elected chief minister Bhattacharjee to ride a rickshaw-van to reach a village which was ravaged by a series of dacoities. At least 40 houses were hit by the gang of robbers. Bhattacharjee, long with Bandyopadhyay, went deep into the village on a van and subsequently took action to control the law and order.
A student of literature, Bandyopadhyay studied in Presidency College and became a journalist of the ABP group in the eighties. He can talk both in Tagorean Bengali and Shakespearean English. His brother Anjan, a journalist and editor of a news channel, succumbed to Covid-19 last month last month. B Bandyopadhyay’s wife is the vice chancellor of Calcutta University.
In 1987, he quit his job as a journalist to become IAS officer. A former officer said, "Alapan came rushing to my cabin in Writer's Buildings to give me the good news. Many thought how a journalist who should wait for appointment could come to a senior officer's chamber." But the officer told them soon he would become part of the state government.
Bandyopadhyay received key postings throughout his life because of his politeness and convincing ability. When Mamata Banerjee took charge in 2011, Bandyopadhyay was not given primacy. But it took time for the chief minister to understand the potential of Bandyopadhyay. When the state Election Commission in 2018 entered into a tussle with state government over panchayat election, Bandyopadhyay, the transport secretary, was given the temporary task of state election commissioner to complete the election process and he did it smoothly. Within a year, he was made home secretary of the state.
When in 2019 he became chief secretary, Bandyopadhyay convinced the chief minister that it would not be proper to be in conflict with the governor of West Bengal, who is constitutional head of the state. Contrary to his predecessor, who used to avoid the governor, Bandyopadhyay used to meet the governor whenever he was summoned. Using his convincing power, he made Mamata understand the need to bring Dhankhar in the loop.
But things took a dramatic turn after May 2 when the TMC came back to power and violence marred the state of West Bengal.
Bandyopadhyay continued to visit Dhankhar but with centre-state relations touching the lowest point, he was clueless on how to manage things. His last challenge was when Prime Minister Modi decided to attend the state to review aftermath of the cyclone. Bandyopadhyay failed perhaps for the first time, unable to convince Mamata to attend the meeting.
