The letter to Alapan reads, “by abstaining himself from the review meeting taken by the Prime Minister who is also the chairman of National Disaster Management Authority in the aftermath of cyclone Yaas as part of his visit to the cyclone affected areas in the state of West Bengal, Alapan Bandyopadhyay, chief secretary, government of West Bengal, has acted in a manner tantamount to refusing to comply with lawful directives of the central government and is thus violative of section 51 (b) of the Disaster Management Act, 2005”.
Using Alapan as scapegoat would not augur well. It would be tough proposition for the bureaucrats acting at the behest of Modi to substantiate their action. Pushed by Modi to the extreme, he would move a high court or the Supreme Court if any action is taken by the Centre or any other authority. But this will certainly not boost the image and prestige of Modi.
In a significant development the secular, liberal, left and democratic forces have started the process to come to a single platform. Kerala chief minister has already made an appeal. Mamata has also expressed same sentiment. She has appealed to civil society across the nation, all state governments led by opposition, NGOs, and the bureaucracy to stand together and fight, as this was not just about an Alapan.
“This battle is for all bureaucracy…. Only the two-member (Modi and Shah) syndicate, that is the law? Even if they go to court, the court will also not give support as far as my knowledge as a lawyer goes,” she said. A group of ex servicemen, bureaucrats and some top political leaders are in the process to meet the Congress and leaders of CPI and CPI(M) to build a popular sentiment.
The moral ethics of Modi’s decision would also be questioned. It is quite explicit that Modi has been pursuing the most design to scare the bureaucrats in Bengal and make them refuse to carry out Mamata’s orders. Modi has been treading on a most volatile path and this will not only endanger the federal structure but turn irrelevant the political system. Modi in fact has been inciting the people of Bengal to come to the streets and raise their voice against him and BJP-RSS nexus.
It is said that a senior officer who was accompanying Modi had argued against this action. But the sources point out that the Governor Jagdeep Dhankar prevailed. The bureaucrats who have been keen to serve the wishes of Modi ought to realise that Alapan was to attend the meeting along with his boss, the chief minister. The meeting was scheduled between the PM and CM. These bureaucrats may well infer that this act also applies on Alapan, but their argument has many loops and holes. They will have to do a lot of explanation in their bid to keep their master happy.
The decision to slap the show cause notice has been the part of a well-planned design. They could have issued the notice on the day the first notice was served. Instead they waited till his retirement was announced to serve the notice as he would no longer in the protection of the state government.
However Bengal Governor Dhankar continues with his jibes against Mamata. On Tuesday he said; “ego prevailed over public service". Astonishingly he came out with revelation that chief minister had called him before the meeting at Kalaikunda and indicated that she won't attend it if Leader of Opposition Suvendu Adhikari is present in it. Really it is surprising that Mamata chose to confide to a person who has been systematically trying to vilify her.
Nevertheless in her letter to Modi on Monday, Mamata had written, "I wanted to have a quiet word with you, a meeting between the PM and the CM as usual. You, however, revised the structure of the meeting to include a local MLA from your party and I am of the view that he had no locus to be present in a PM-CM meeting."
Mamata revealed that she could have prevented Alapan from retiring “But I did not force him; after he said he would like to retire on schedule, today, I permitted him. I allowed him to be the chief adviser to the chief minister
Little doubt Alapan episode is yet another “great blunder” by the Centre in its efforts to bulldoze state governments and the federal structure of the nation. Mamata alleged ;“It’s really a danger for the country… they are damaging the morale of the bureaucrats throughout the country…. Are bureaucrats their bonded labour? They are not”.
Amidst this boisterous scenario the silence of many of the state BJP leaders has been causing deep concern to the party leadership. Even senior state leaders excepting Subhendu Adhikari and state president Dilip Ghosh are not happy at the turn of developments. Majority of senior leaders feel that the central leaders are carrying forward the mistakes of Assembly poll campaign and continue to overlook the sentiment of people of Bengal. The entire incident is being seen as proof of the ever-widening rift between the national and state leaders in the saffron camp.
These leaders also point out that this will alienate the bureaucracy and in future the state leaders cannot aspire to get their help and sympathy. These leaders also nurse the view that any action against Alapan would get its manifestation in people boycotting them and resorting to movement.
A senior state BJP leader said; “There is no doubt that Alapan is a decorated officer. What is being done to him is tantamount to harassment and citizens of the state aren’t taking it well.” While he blamed the turn coat Subhendu Adhikari for creation of the crisis, he said; “If the central leadership had discussed with us before going all out against Alapan, we would have advised against it.” The leaders nurse the feeling that the central leaders did not take proper lessons from the assembly elections results. (IPA service)