Resignations mount among Mamata Banerjee's advisors after TMC's election loss
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Kolkata: A wave of resignations has hit advisory positions in West Bengal's outgoing Mamata Banerjee government following the Trinamool Congress's defeat in the assembly elections.
The departures come despite Banerjee's defiant stance on Tuesday, when she refused to submit her resignation to Governor R.N. Ravi. She claimed her party's loss—along with her personal defeat in the Bhabanipur constituency—and the alleged "stealing" of around 100 seats did not reflect the true public mandate.
Among the high-profile exits is economist Abhirup Sarkar, who resigned from his dual chairmanships of the West Bengal Industrial Development Corporation (WBIDC) and West Bengal Small Industries Development Corporation (WBSIDC). A Nabanna secretariat insider confirmed Sarkar had emailed his resignation.
Two former chief secretaries, retired IAS officers Alapan Bandopadhyay and H.K. Dwivedi, have also stepped down as advisors to Banerjee. Reports suggest another ex-chief secretary, Manoj Pant, resigned as principal secretary, though neither he nor the secretariat has confirmed it.
The trend began in 2011, when Banerjee ended the 34-year Left Front regime and took office, ushering in 15 years of TMC rule. She routinely retained retiring bureaucrats and police officers in advisory roles at their last-drawn salaries, citing their expertise for smooth administration.
Opposition parties, particularly the BJP, decried the practice amid the state's failure to match central dearness allowances for employees. They accused it of rewarding officials for allegedly doing the "dirty work" for Banerjee during their tenures.
Earlier on Monday, state Advocate General Kishore Datta had also resigned.
(Inputs from IANS)