West Bengal Chief Secretary Alapan Bandopadhyay and DGP Virendra will not attend the meeting on Monday (December 14) despite summons by Ministry of Home Affairs.
Earlier, Chief Secretary Bandopadhyay had written to Union Home Secretary Ajay Bhalla, saying he has been directed to request to “dispense with the presence of the state officials” in the meeting convened on December 14, considering that the state government is already addressing the issue with utmost seriousness. The issue here means the stone pelting on the convoy of BJP president JP Nadda during his visit to West Bengal few days ago.
On Saturday, the MHA had called three senior IPS officers to serve in central deputation after the attack on Nadda’s convoy in West Bengal. According to PTI, three senior IPS officers of West Bengal, who were responsible for Nadda’s security, have been asked to serve in the central deputation.
As the issue sparked a political row, the MHA had sought a detailed report from the Bengal government on the incident and summoned their top officials to Delhi.
Trinamool Congress had slammed the MHA’s decision with TMC MLA Kalyan Banerjee writing to Union Home Secretary Ajay Bhalla on Saturday, saying that West Bengal’s chief secretary and director-general of police were summoned to Delhi over the attack on BJP chief JP Nadda’s convoy with “political motive”, asserting that law and order is a state subject.
Banerjee, the chief whip of the Trinamool Congress in Lok Sabha, alleged that the Centre was resorting to coercive means to intimidate the state administration, and the top officials were summoned at the instance of the Union Home Minister.
“We want to inform you that law and order is within the domain of the state under 7th Schedule of the State list…How in respect of the law and order situation you can call both the officers for any sorts of discussion?” he asked.