Mamata writes to Modi, says will not release Bengal chief secretary

West Bengal will not send its top civil servant to Delhi as the state needs him to manage the Covid-19 crisis, said Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee on Monday in a letter to Prime Minister Narendra Modi.

Chief Secretary Alapan Bandyopadhyay was to report to Delhi at 10 am. He was ordered to move to Delhi after Banerjee skipped a meeting with Modi on Friday, sparking another round of confrontation with the central government.

"The government of Bengal cannot release, and is not releasing, its Chief Secretary at this critical hour, on the basis of our understanding that the earlier order