MHA calls WB's Chief Secy and DGP to Delhi again; Mamata's top officials seek virtual meet

The Union Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) on Thursday sent another communication to the West Bengal government for the state's Chief Secretary Alapan Bandopadhyay and DGP Virendra to come to Delhi for a meeting on Bengal's law and order situation. The meeting was scheduled for 5:30 pm, said the news agency, ANI. Now, West Bengal's top officers who have been summoned by the Centre have responded seeking a virtual meeting rather than in-person presence. This fresh exchange comes amid an escalation of the row between the centre and West Bengal over matters related to the state in the run-up to the upcoming 2021 assembly elections.

Earlier, on December 12, in a move conveying is concern over the attack on BJP President JP Nadda's convoy on December 10, the MHA had moved for 3 specific IPS officers to serve in central deputation. It was these officers who had been accountable for the alleged lapse in providing security to Nadda during his 2-day visit to Bengal. The Chief Secretary and DGP had also earlier been summoned to Delhi after the incident but didn't comply. The West Bengal Chief Minister has hit out at the Centre, going so far as to call it 'expansionist' and has stated that her government will not cow down.

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JP Nadda's convoy attacked on December 10

Alleged TMC supporters threw stones and bricks at the BJP chief's convoy when he was on the way to Diamond Harbour to address a meeting of party workers last Thursday. While Nadda escaped unhurt as he was travelling in a bulletproof car, BJP general secretary Kailash Vijayvargiya's car was ransacked, resulting in him getting injured. Other party leaders including state BJP chief Dilip Ghosh, national joint general secretary (organisation) Shiv Prakash and secretary Anupam Hazra too received injuries.

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Incidentally, the WB CM's nephew Abhishek Banerjee represents the Diamond Harbour constituency in the Lok Sabha. Subsequently, Nadda addressed the public meeting and alleged that the state had slipped into "complete lawlessness and goonda raj". According to him, this showed the plight of common party workers in the state and asserted that the days of the Banerjee-led government are numbered. 

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(With ANI inputs)