Malda Zilla Parishad chief receives showcause notice- for not turning up for pre-election training as a government school teacher.

Gour Chandra Mondal's absence from pre-election training cited by district election department

Election department authorities, unaware that Mondal was a zilla parishad head, served him a showcause: File picture

TT Bureau   |   Siliguri   |    27.02.21  : The head of Trinamul-run Malda Zilla Parishad received a showcause notice from the district election department for not turning up for pre-election training that he had been asked to take up in his capacity as a government schoolteacher.

Zilla parishad head Gour Chandra Mondal, included in the list of poll personnel in Malda district as a primary schoolteacher, along with hundreds of other teachers, did not go for the poll training because of his political identity.

Election department authorities, unaware that Mondal was a zilla parishad head, served him a showcause.

The bureaucratic lapse threw up embarrassing questions.

“Five years back, when Mondal was elected as sahakari sabhadhipati, he took lien and has not been in active service (as a teacher) since. He continued to be in lien when he became the sabhadhipati in 2018. Those in the education department overlooked this and forwarded his name for poll duty. Those in the election department did not cross-check why he absented himself from the training and served him a showcause,” said a source.

On Friday, Mondal’s name was struck off the poll personnel’s list. The showcause may be withdrawn, sources have hinted.

Mondal, when contacted, said it was a mistake (on the administration’s part) but he did not want to drag the issue. “The administration is taking remedies,” he said.