Calcutta, Feb. 23: Co-operation minister Rabindra Ghosh again called his principal secretary “mad” and the bureaucrat accused him of criminal defamation.

“The repeat of his statement has made me firm up my resolve to seek a remedy to this. I don’t want him to get away by paying a fine in a civil defamation case. I’ll file a criminal case,” said N.R. Banerjee, a 1981 batch IAS officer.

Yesterday, Banerjee said his drive to get the department rid of corruption had ruffled feathers. The minister today said: “I’m trying to bring transparency in this corrupt department. Ask him why he’s suddenly leaving the state service.”

Banerjee is going on a central deputation in June, but he had sought it before joining Ghosh’s department.

“Since he (Ghosh) is a minister, I think I’ll need the government’s permission before proceeding,” Banerjee said.