Row Over Suvendu’s Netai visit: Governor gives 7-day deadline to chief secy, ‘last chance to respond’

However, according to the Governor, both officials indicated that they were “in isolation”.

“A directive was imparted on 10.01.2022 to the CS to ensure the presence of ACS Home and the DGP to ensure the presence of the next senior-most police officer in the meeting to be held on January 10 at 11 am. In the note dated 11.01.2022, the CS and the DGP were categorically called upon to respond regarding the position of ACS Home and the police official next in seniority to the DGP, both of whom were directed to attend the meeting on 10th January 2022, in respect of their discharge of official duties on the said date (response was sought by 4 pm on 11.01.2022). Finding no response, they were provided yet another opportunity on 12th January to attend the meeting with the undersigned or to depute their senior most officials, if they continued to be in isolation,” Dhankhar wrote.

“However, it is disturbing and concerning to note that neither the CS nor the DGP attended the said meeting and ACS Home and police official next to the DGP also failed to attend the said meeting,” Dhankhar added.

Describing this as “disregard” to his directive, he said no update in response to the note dated January 11 and 12 January has been sent to his office yet. “Sequence of events leave no manner of doubt that the defiance and dereliction of duty is extreme at the level of the CS.

As a matter of fact, this stance has become habitual, unmindful of all lawful objections towards this office or rule of law,” he added.

Dhankhar said in a parliamentary democracy, the Leader of Opposition enjoys a special, privileged position and “deliberate and intentional curtailment of his [Suvendu’s] freedom in spite of specific orders by the Calcutta High Court is “too serious a matter to be overlooked”. He said the CS has not treated the matter with the seriousness that it deserved.

Earlier, Adhikari wrote to Dhankhar and said he was prevented from visiting Netai, where he was to attend an event on January 7 to pay respect to those killed on the same day in, 2011.The Nandigram MLA alleged that he was stopped by the police, despite a Calcutta High Court order stating that “there is no restriction on my movement”. In 2011, nine people were killed in Netai in ‘indiscriminate firing’ by alleged CPI(M) workers.