In a surprising move, the Mamata Banerjee government, on Monday, appointed a former top Army commander as the head of West Bengal Right to Public Commission.
Governor Jagdeep Dhankar administered the oath of office to Lt Gen (Retd) Abhay Krishna.
Lt Gen (Retd) Krishna was a former General Officer Commanding-in-Chief of the Army's Eastern Command. He retired as the GOC-in-C of the Central Command.
He was senior to present Army Chief Gen M.M. Naravane, but had to retire before former Army chief Bipin Rawat retired.
The West Bengal Right to Public Service Commission is under the Consumer Affairs Department of the West Bengal government. But like consumer court, the commission enjoys autonomy and can submit reports directly to the chief minister and governor of West Bengal.
The choice of an Army officer, instead of a retired IAS or IPS officer, as the chief of the commission raised several eyebrows, even as COVID-19 is wreaking havoc in Bengal with more than 13,000 cases and 550 deaths so far. The government has also faced a new challenge with the return of over one crore migrant workers.
The commission looks after the complaints on ration cards, SC, ST cards distribution and land related issues. It may also look into complaints regarding state government’s relief materials, according to a source.
Even as there is only 10 months to go for the assembly polls, Banerjee is faced with several complaints over relief measures during COVID-19. Besides, despite the chief minister herself making direct transfer of Rs 20,000 to each of the families of Cyclone Amphan victims, it was found that in many cases beneficiaries includee chief of the village panchayats or members of it.
“In many cases, the party expelled such people. Many are under the scanner,” said a party statement.
Many feel that the appointment of a former Army commander as the head of commission would send a shock-wave across the ground level in the party. “You can call it a surgical strike against corruption. It is surprising, but it is bold,” said a minister.
However, it is to be noted that Lt Gen (Retd) Krishna was posted in Kolkata as chief of Army’s Eastern Command for possibly the shortest period of time. His tenure saw many Army officers in Manipur going to Supreme Court against CBI’s inquiry into the alleged extrajudicial killings. For the first time, 355 Army officers were seen moving court against the government in 2018. Shortly after this, in a surprise decision, Army headquarters transferred Lt Gen (Krishna) to low-key Central Command, and made the then Army Training Command chief, Lt Gen M.M. Naravane, as commander of the Eastern Command. That paved the way for Naravane’s elevation as vice chief of Army and then Army chief late last year.
