Kolkata, March 23 (IANS): The Leader of Opposition (LoP) in West Bengal Assembly, Suvendu Adhikari, has requested the Election Commission of India (ECI) to immediately replace BP Gopalika, as the Chief Secretary, as the senior bureaucrat is scheduled to retire before the forthcoming seven-phase polls in the state end.

According to BJP leader Adhikari, while the last and the seventh phase of the polls in the state will be June 1, followed by counting on June 4, BP Gopalika will be retiring on May 31.

According to LoP Adhikari, Chief Secretary Gopalika's replacement should be done by applying the same logic under which the 1988-batch Indian Police Service (IPS) officer Vivek Sahay was replaced as the state Director General of Police within 24 hours of his selection to the post.

To recall, the ECI ordered the appointment of Vivek Sahay, replacing his predecessor Rajeev Kumar on March 18 and again replaced Sahay with 1989-batch IPS officer Sanjay Mukherjee on March 19.

The logic of replacing Sahay was that he was retiring in May before the end of the election and counting process.

So, said the LoP, the same benchmark should be followed in case of the post of the Chief Secretary as well.

He has also drawn the attention of the commission in the matter and also welcomed the ECI’s recent move to direct the West Bengal government to remove four District Magistrates since they were promoted to that post from the West Bengal Civil Service (Executive) cadre and replace them with Indian Administrative Service (IAS) cadre officers.

He said that there are several examples in the police department as well where non-IPS officers are occupying the chairs designated for IPS-category officers including that of police superintendents.

“In due time, I will reveal their names as well,” Suvendu Adhikari said.