Why Mamata Banerjee fought with Centre for Alapan Bandopadhyay

After the Centre directed Alapan Bandhopadhyay to report in New Delhi on May 31, West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee refused to release him and shot off a letter to Prime Minister Modi.

West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee seems to have won the battle with the Narendra Modi government of the Centre over senior bureaucrat Alapan Bandopadhyay. Mamata Banerjee did not release Alapan Bandopadhyay, who requested retirement from the Indian Administrative Service (IAS), and created a new position for his continuation in the West Bengal government. All of this happened against the direction of the Narendra Modi government. However, last sentence on the Mamata versus Modi over Alapan Bandopadhyay is yet to be written. The Department of Personnel and Training (DoPT) — that governs central government officers including those belonging to the IAS — has issued a show-cause notice to Alapan Bandopadhyay. The DoPT functions under the Ministry of Personnel and Public Grievances, a portfolio under the charge of Prime Minister Narendra Modi.