In less than 24 hours of announcing the dates for the Assembly elections in West Bengal, the Election Commission (EC) removed top administrative and police officers in the state, triggering a sharp reaction from Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee.
The reshuffle began late Sunday night as the EC sent a letter to Chief Secretary Nandini Chakraborty, informing her that she and state Home Secretary Jagdish Prasad Meena have been substituted with Dushyant Nariala and Sanghamitra Ghosh, respectively.
In a letter sent to the chief secretary, the EC said “the officers transferred out” — Nandini Chakraborty and Jagdish Prasad Meena – “shall not be posted in any election-related position” till the polls are over.
“The directions of the Election Commission should be implemented with immediate effect, and a compliance report in respect of joining of Dushyant Nariala and Sanghamitra Ghosh be sent by 3 pm on March 16 (Monday),” the letter read.
By Monday morning, the EC also ordered the removal of Director General of Police Peeyush Pandey, Kolkata Police Commissioner Supratim Sarkar, and Additional Director General (Law and Order) Vineet Goyal.
Reacting to the removal of her top officials, Mamata Banerjee accused the EC of acting at the behest of the BJP.
Speaking at a protest rally in central Kolkata over the LPG shortage in the country, the TMC supremo said the BJP may use the EC to change as many officers as it wants, but will not be able to change the government. “It doesn’t matter who you appoint as replacement officers… they will all work for Bengal,” Banerjee said.
“They chose the hour of midnight to remove Chief Secretary Nandini Chakraborty without consulting the state government. Nandini Chakraborty is a Bengali woman. It goes to show how anti-women they are,” Banerjee said.
Referring to the removal of Jagdish Prasad Meena, she said, “Our home secretary is a non-Bengali. His removal reflects the deep disdain they have for efficient officers of Bengal.”
Nandini Chakraborty, a 1994-batch IAS officer, was appointed as the first woman chief secretary of West Bengal by Banerjee on December 31 last year. Her presence alongside the Chief Minister during the Enforcement Directorate’s search at I-PAC’s Kolkata office in January had sparked criticism from the state Opposition BJP and former bureaucrats – who called it a breach of administrative protocol.
Chakraborty, a voter in Kolkata, was also called for hearings by the EC during the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls.
The EC has replaced her with Dushyant Nariala, a 1993-batch IAS officer of the West Bengal cadre. He currently serves as the additional chief secretary (ACS) of the North Bengal Development Department.
He held additional charge as principal secretary of the Gorkhaland Territorial Administration (GTA) as well as additional chief secretary of the Correctional Administration Department.
Sanghamitra Ghosh, the new Home Secretary, is a 1997-batch IAS officer who served as principal secretary of the Department of Women & Child Development and Social Welfare.
The EC has also replaced DGP Peeyush Pandey with 1992-batch IPS officer Siddh Nath Gupta, and brought in Ajay Kumar Nand, a 1996-batch IPS officer, as the new Kolkata Police Commissioner, replacing Supratim Sarkar.