Nabanna mum on Nandini, CV Ananda Bose in Delhi

 Source confirmed that Raj Bhavan sent note to state administrative headquarters on release of Chakraborty from her duties

CV Ananda Bose: File picture

TT Bureau   |   Calcutta   |  14.02.23 : The Mamata Banerjee government did not initiate any move to remove Nandini Chakraborty, principal secretary to governor C. V. Ananda Bose, on Monday amid murmurs in Nabanna that the administration could not act as Raj Bhavan unilaterally released the senior IAS officer on Sunday night. 

While a source in Nabanna confirmed that Raj Bhavan sent a note to the state administrative headquarters on the release of Chakraborty from her duties, it was addressed to her, not anyone else. 

“If the governor wants Chakraborty to be removed from the post, the note should be sent to the chief secretary for action... The state government posted Chakraborty in that position and so it has to act to withdraw her... The note... does not mean anything,” said a senior bureaucrat.

Till late on Monday evening, no fresh communication on Chakraborty, who reported to work on Monday, reached Nabanna, a source confirmed.  

“Let her do her job. She is doing well,” said a bureaucrat explaining that as the state government has not withdrawn her from her posting, she needs to attend office till an order comes from Nabanna.

While there was no clarity on the future of Chakraborty in Raj Bhavan, the governor’s attempt to release the 1994 batch officer from his office became the main political discourse in the state. The BJP camp, led by the leader of the opposition Suvendu Adhikari, couldn’t hide its glee. 

“The hon’ble governor was being misguided by Nandini Chakraborty and Mamata Banerjee along with the chief secretary. The governor is coming back on track.... I’m hopeful he will follow in the footsteps of Gopalkrishna Gandhi and Jagdeep Dhankhar to protect the oppressed people of Bengal and the Constitution,” said Adhikari at a news conference.

Multiple sources in the BJP camp said Bose’s decision to release Chakraborty was the fallout of the state BJP unit’s complaints to central leaders about the governor’s “bonhomie” with Mamata, which was apparently going against the BJP’s interest in Bengal. 

“In the name of co-operative federalism, he was praising the chief minister.... He got initiated to Bengali under her supervision on January 26, which was ridiculous. In St Xavier’s University event, the governor equated the chief minister with the likes of Winston Churchill and Sarvapalli Radhakrishnan, which was hilarious... Then, he read out the speech drafted by the government at the beginning of the budget session without any alteration,” said a senior state BJP leader. 

The fact that Delhi has taken the complaints seriously became clear with Bose’s decision to release Chakraborty, whom the state BJP leaders had portrayed as the chief architect of the Nabanna-Raj Bhavan bonhomie.  

“The governor is in Delhi today (Monday)... We have requested Amit-ji (Shah) to meet him and discuss the contents of his speeches,” said the BJP leader. 

It could not be confirmed if Bose met Shah, but the governor met his predecessor Dhankhar, in whose tenure the ties between Nabanna and Raj Bhavan had reached a nadir.

“They will see a different governor on his return from Delhi,” said a BJP leader.

Trinamul seemed unfazed. “Is he (Adhikari) the adviser of the governor?” asked Mamata.