Moved out of Raj Bhavan, Chakravorty made principal secy in tourism department

On Sunday, Governor CV Ananda Bose relieved Chakravorty of her duties amid speculation that a new team would be constituted by him comprising senior state and central IAS officers.

For two days, tension was brewing in the corridors of state secretariat and Raj Bhavan over the development as the state government, since the appointment of Bose as the Governor of West Bengal in November last year, has maintained a cordial relationship with him. The stage seemed set for a confrontation between the both sides, on the lines of the several run-ins with former Bengal Governor Jagdeep Dhankhar.

By accepting the Raj Bhavan’s decision to relieve Chakravorty of her duties and subsequently appointing her to the tourism department, the state government has made an attempt to defuse the tension.

“It is completely an administrative decision. As a party, we have nothing to comment on this. However, it is clear that the state government has shown courtesy by accepting the decision of the Governor. It is also clear that there was pressure on the Governor to take such a decision. But it is unfortunate that a qualified and competent woman IAS officer has been relieved of her duties. The Governor could have done otherwise,” said TMC state general secretary Kunal Ghosh.

Chakravorty was appointed as principal secretary to former West Bengal Governor La Ganesan, who had taken interim charge, after Jagdeep Dhankhar, in August 2022. She continued in the post till Bose’s appointment in November last year.

Chakraborty is 1994-batch Indian Administrative Service (IAS) officer from the West Bengal cadre.

Sources said Chakravorty had refused to clear a proposal for the formation of an advisory committee for the Governor in which Bose’s choice was a former IAS officer from the Tamil Nadu cadre and a former IPS officer who had worked as the Special Director of the CBI and also as the Commissioner of Delhi Police.

The BJP, meanwhile, welcomed the decision of the Governor over the matter. “The state government has to abide by the decision of the Raj Bhawan. The move by the Raj Bhawan came following complaints that Chakravorty was not cooperating with the Governor over several issues. It was also learnt that she was not maintaining confidentiality of the office of the Governor. Therefore, she was relieved of her duties. Therefore, the state government had no option than to accept the decision of the Governor,” said senior BJP leader Rahul Sinha.