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A defiant West Bengal government of Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee has decided not to send the state’s chief secretary and police chief to New Delhi on December 14 in compliance with Union Home Ministry’s summons in the wake of a mob attack on BJP chief J P Nadda’s convoy.
Chief Secretary Alapan Bandopadhyay wrote to Union Home Secretary Ajay Bhalla, saying he has been directed to request to “dispense with the presence of the state officials” in the meeting convened on December 14.
The MHA had on Friday summoned Bandopadhyay and DGP Virendra asking them to present themselves on December 14 for an explanation on the law and order situation in the state, following Governor Jagdeep Dhankhar’s report on the attack on Nadda’s convoy by alleged supporters of the ruling TMC.
“Kindly refer to the letter whereby the Chief Secretary and the Director-General of Police, Government of West Bengal have been requested to attend a meeting on December 14, 2020, at 12.15 PM in your chamber to discuss the law and order situation in the State of West Bengal including the incidents regarding certain Z-category protectees,” Bandopadhyay wrote in his letter.
Listing out various steps taken by the West Bengal government to ensure the protection of Nadda’s convoy, Bandopadhyay said the state is addressing the issue with utmost seriousness.
“While further reports are being obtained and compiled, in the circumstances, I am directed to request you to kindly dispense with the presence of the State officials in the meeting, considering that the State Government is already addressing this issue with utmost seriousness,” he said in the two-page letter.
