Kolkata: Former Chief Secretary, Alapan Bandyopadhyay, who is at present the Chief Advisor to the Chief Minister, has received a letter from the Centre warning him of "major penalty proceedings" with allegation of skipping Prime Minister Narendra Modi's Cyclone Yaas review meeting on May 28.
This comes even after the retired IAS officer has already given a reply to the show cause issued to him by the Home Ministry stating that being the state's Chief Secretary it was his duty to follow instruction of the Chief Minister whom he was accompanying. The Centre's Department of Personnel and Training (DoPT) issued a memorandum (dated June 16) stating that Bandyopadhyay has to submit a written statement in his defence within 30 days after receiving the same.
It has been stated that the substance of the "imputations of misconduct" or "misbehaviour" in respect of which the inquiry is proposed by the Centre to be held is set out in the statement of Article of Charge. The Centre has proposed to hold "major penalty proceedings" against Bandyopadhyay under Rule 8 Discipline Rules and Rule 6 of retirement Benefits Rules.
He has also been informed that an inquiry will be held only in respect of the Article of Charge as is not admitted. "He should, therefore, specifically admit or deny the Article of Charge," the letter to Bandyopadhyay reads.
DoPT further stated in its memorandum that "the inquiring authority may hold the inquiry against him ex-parte" if he "does not submit his written statement of defence" within 30 days or does not appear in person before the authority.
It needs mention that Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee had slammed the Centre for harassing Bandyopadhyay claiming that it is being done out of "vendetta politics".
Trinamool Congress Rajya Sabha MP Sougata Roy said people of Bengal will give a befitting reply when the time will come for unnecessarily harassing Bandyopadhyay who has served the state his entire life with honesty and due diligence.