Centre recalls West Bengal chief secretary

The Centre has recall West Bengal's chief seceratry Alapan Bandyopadhyay. His tenure was extended for three months only four days ago, before Friday's order to recall him to the centre came. The centre has asked Bengal to send  Bandyopadhyay to the Department of Personnel and Training's office in Delhi by May 31 morning.  He is a 1987 batch IAS officer.The development comes hours after Ms Banerjee skipped a meeting with PM to assess the impact of Cyclone Yaas, choosing instead a quick 15-minute interaction with him at an airbase where his flight landed. She was to attend a cyclone damage review with PM Modi but left after handing him a report. The centre alleged Ms Banerjee kept PM Modi and governor Jagdeep Dhankhar waiting for half-an-hour.

The centre invoked Section 6(1) of the IAS (Cadre) Rules while ordering the recall of the Bengal Chief Secretary. The provision reads: "A cadre officer may, with the concurrence of the state governments concerned and the central government, be deputed for service under the central government or another state government or under a company, association or body of individuals, whether incorporated or not, which is wholly or substantially owned or controlled by the central government or by another state government."