‘Guv might seek team with state, central officers’

Kolkata: Senior bureaucrats and Trinamool leaders said on Monday the government’s lack of any official response to the governor’s decision to relieve principal secretary Nandini Chakraborty from Raj Bhavan could be “an indication that the issue might be on the table for some time”. A senior bureaucrat said it was unlikely that a decision to replace her would be taken immediately during the ongoing budget session. Government seniors said Bose might seek a younger team in Raj Bhavan composed of both state and central cadre officers. Dhankhar, during his tenure, had appointed some officers on special duty, triggering a row with the state government.Bose’s one-on-one with Dhankhar on Monday was preceded by a Saturday meeting with state BJP president Sukanta Majumdar. The Raj Bhavan later issued a press release that focused on issues like amendments to the Lokayukta Act, a “free and fair” panchayat poll and continuation of the governor as the chancellor of state-run universities. Bose called state panchayat minister Pradeep Majumdar to Raj Bhavan. The decision to move Chakraborty out of Raj Bhavan followed immediately after that. TMC spokesperson Kunal Ghosh on Monday said it was the state government that appointed officers to Raj Bhavan; the governor could not appoint officers of his own choice without keeping the state government in the loop. “Every posting has to be done after approval from Nabanna as the state government has to pay the salary of officers posted in Raj Bhavan,” he said. Chakraborty took up her Raj Bhavan assignment on August 18, 2022, after her predecessor, Sunil Gupta, moved to Delhi with Dhankhar as secretary to the vice-president. Chakraborty’s first Raj Bhavan boss was acting governor La Ganesan before Bose assumed office on November 23, 2022.