New Delhi/Kolkata: In a move that is likely to lead to further confrontation between the Election Commission of India (ECI) and the Mamata Banerjee led Trinamool Congress government in West Bengal, the former announced the replacement of the state’s chief secretary and home secretary late on Sunday night.
This move came hours after the ECI announced the poll schedules for West Bengal and three other states, as well as the Union Territory of Puducherry.
The poll panel has removed chief secretary Nandini Chakraborty and replaced her with Dushyant Nariala. State home secretary Jagdish Prasad Meena has been replaced by Sanghamitra Ghosh.
“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 ECI has said in a letter.
“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 Gh
osh be sent by 3 pm on March 16 (Monday),” it added, as reported by The Indian Express.
Chakraborty, a 1994-batch IAS officer, was appointed as the first woman chief secretary of West Bengal on December 31 last year. She was present with Mamata, along with other top bureaucrats of the state, during the Enforcement Directorate’s search operation at I-PAC’s Kolkata office. This has sparked criticism from the opposition BJP and former bureaucrats, who had called it a breach of administrative protocol.
Nariala, who will be replacing her, is a 1993-batch IAS officer of the West Bengal cadre. He currently serves as additional chief secretary (ACS) for 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. Nariala also served as the principal secretary for the Disaster Management and Civil Defence Department.
Ghosh, who will take over as home secretary, is an IAS officer of the 1997 batch belonging to the West Bengal cadre. She served as the principal secretary for the Department of Women & Child Development and Social Welfare.
She also served as the mission director for the National Health Mission and district magistrate in several districts, including Howrah and South 24 Parganas, in a career spanning over 25 years.