Cyclone of arrogance still hovering over Bay of Bengal: Sena on Centre-WB tussle

Mumbai: Amid the ongoing tussle between the central government and West Bengal involving the state’s former chief secretary Alapan Bandopadhyay, the Shiv Sena on Thursday said the “cyclone of arrogance” is still hovering over the Bay of Bengal, and added that it is wrong on the part of the Centre to put pressure on the states.

In an editorial in party mouthpiece ‘Saamana’, the Sena said that the Centre should have a broad vision towards political wins and losses as the absence of it might hurt the country’s unity.

The party also said that during the tenure of former prime ministers Manmohan Singh, Rajiv Gandhi, Narsimha Rao and Atal Bihari Vajpayee, there were no stand-offs between the Centre and the states.

The Union Home Ministry issued a show-cause notice to Bandyopadhyay on May 31, the day he retired, for allegedly violating the Disaster Management Act by not attending a meeting called by Prime Minister Narendra Modi.

“Cyclone Yaas has come and gone, but the cyclone of arrogance is still hovering over the Bay of Bengal. Like Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee, Bandopadhyay did not attend the cyclone review meeting called by PM Narendra Modi during his visit to the state,” the Sena said.

After the Centre transferred the chief secretary to Delhi, Banerjee took his resignation and appointed him as her chief advisor. The Centre has now issued a show-cause notice to Bandopadhyay and threatened to file a case if he did not respond, it said.

The bureaucrat belongs to the Bengal cadre and is duty bound to abide by the chief minister’s directives. He did not reach the PM’s meeting since he was attending another one chaired by the chief minister on cyclone review. Bureuacrats get sandwiched between such political fights, it added.

“How can the bureaucrat be a criminal if he is following the orders of the chief minister of his state? Had he attended the PM’s meeting, the state would have taken action against him,” the Sena said.

It is wrong on the part of the Centre to put pressure on the states. We are a federal structure. It is wrong to humiliate state governments which are not of the political ideology of the Centre, the ruling party in Maharashtra said.

“There are six accused in the Narada sting operation case. While four have been arrested and two others were not since they both have joined the BJP. Has the Constitution given the Centre powers to act in such a manner?” the party asked.

“The Centre wants to teach Mamata Banerjee a lesson by punishing Bandopadhyay. This is a threat to the country’s bureaucracy. This is height of arrogance. The Centre should keep broad vision towards political wins and losses,” it said.

“During the time of former prime minister Manmohan Singh, Narsimha Rao, Rajiv Gandhi, Atal Bihari Vajpayeethere used to be no stand-offs between the Centre and the states. During their tenure, issues faced by the states would be resolved amicably and with a long-term vision. The states used to get more than what they demanded,” it said.