Calcutta, Feb. 26: The bureaucrat dubbed mad by his boss will claim Rs 1 crore for defamation if he doesn’t tender an apology in 48 hours.

N.R. Banerjee, principal secretary, co-operation department, today served a legal notice on minister Rabin Ghosh. “If he does not tender a public apology in 48 hours, I’ll file a criminal defamation case and a civil suit claiming Rs 1 crore in damages,” he said this afternoon.

The Forward Bloc today summoned Ghosh to the party office. “We have asked him not to speak against his department secretary in public any further. If he has grievances against the secretary, he should first discuss it in the party,” party secretary Ashok Ghosh said.

A Bloc MLA from Uluberia (South) in Howrah, Rabin Ghosh debuted as a minister this time. His party boss, Ashok Ghosh, wondered why he had to call a news conference to air his grievances against the bureaucrat.

On Thursday, Rabin Ghosh told the media the 1981-batch IAS officer had been showcaused for exceeding his brief and added that he thought he was “mad”.

Banerjee said the minister was not happy with his drive against corruption.

Bloc sources said the rap on Rabin Ghosh followed a discussion between Ashok Ghosh and chief minister Buddhadeb Bhattacharjee. “Rabin was grilled for an hour today,” a Bloc leader said.

The minister, however, was not available for comment. He had his cellphone switched off till late tonight.