Bengal govt denies withdrawal of Mamata Banerjee’s security arrangements

Kolkata, June 18 (ANS) The Kolkata Police on Thursday denied the allegations raised by two Trinamool Congress Rajya Sabha members and one Lok Sabha member on Wednesday, accusing the West Bengal government of deliberately withdrawing the security arrangement to which former Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee is entitled.

On Wednesday night, two Rajya Sabha members of Trinamool Congress, namely Derek O’Brien and Sagarika Ghose, a journalist-turned-politician and the party’s Lok Sabha member, Mahua Moita, made social media posts sharing a video of the empty police kiosk in front of Mamata Banerjee’s residence at Kalighat in South Kolkata and claiming the city police had withdrawn her security arrangement under the instructions of the administration.

However, insiders from the state police have clarified that while there has not been any minimum curtailment in Mamata Banerjee’s security, only two personal security officers (PSOs) engaged in her security have been replaced.

The city police insider explained that Mamata Banerjee insisted that two officers of the Kolkata Police who were in charge of her security when she was the Chief Minister should be retained in the same position even now.

“There is no scope for such appointments of officials on the basis of personal preference in government rules. Security officials are transferred as per duty roster and specific government protocols. In this case too, the same normal administrative reshuffle has taken place. There is no way to accept such personal demands in the government structure,” a city police insider said.

He also said that the replacements of the two previous security officers reached her Kalighat residence on Wednesday night. However, the city police insider added that they were not allowed by the former Chief Minister and her associates to take charge of duty on grounds that the former CM was not acquainted with them.

The city police officer added that the security arrangements at Mamata Banerjee’s residence have been intensified since Wednesday, with view-cutter high barricades placed in front of her Kalighat residence.

The state leaders of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) had said that all these developments and social media posts by the Trinamool Congress MPs were just attempts to “make an issue out of a non-issue”, with the sole intention of attracting public sympathy.

–IANS

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