Wanted a quiet word with you, Mamata in letter to PM while refusing to release chief secretary

New Delhi, May 31: In a letter to Prime Minister Narendra Modi, West Bengal Chief Minister, Mamata Banerjee said that she would not be releasing the chief secretary of the state.

She said that she was stunned and shocked by the unilateral order asking Bengal chief secretary Alapan Bandyoadhyay to report to the Centre. "The government of Bengal cannot release, and is not releasing, its Chief Secretary at this critical hour, on the basis of our understanding that the earlier order of extension, issued after lawful consultation in accordance with applicable laws, remains operational and valid," Mamata wrote in the letter to the PM.

I wanted a quiet word with you, a meeting between PM & CM as usual. You however included a local MLA from your party who had no locus to be present at a PM-CM meeting, she also wrote in the letter.

The unilateral order is a volte-face against state interests. Chief secretary suffered personal bereavement recently and yet continues to do his duty. Presume earlier order by Centre made in consultation with state government extending Chief Secretary's tenure for three months from June 1, stands, she also wrote

Following a row after Mamata did not attend a meeting with the Prime Minister on Friday, the Centre had ordered the chief secretary to move to the Centre.