Ceaseless sparring in West Bengal: State government and Governor remain at odds

FOR the last three years, sinceJagdeep Dhankhar became Governor of West Bengal, the Trinamool Congress government and the Raj Bhavan have been locked in a continuous and relentless battle, the like of which has never been witnessed in the State. “It will be appropriate for Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee to proactively catalyse development bonhomie with all concerned as it is imperative to distance development from partisan stance,” he said, adding that he was sure the State government was “alive to the need of investment friendly, wholesome ecosystem in governance as investors invariably look for political stability, democratic governance, transparent, accountable mechanism and systemic working, coupled with peaceful environment and rule of law”. In February this year, when he “remitted back” files seeking his approval for finance matters, Mamata Banerjee said, “Governor Jagdeep Dhankhar has been holding files and thus delaying the government’s work. This ground reality makes it very difficult for me to resist the conclusion that the State of West Bengal is a laboratory for violation of human rights.” Mamata Banerjee reacted by writing to him: “It pains me that you have chosen an unfortunate incident… that resulted in loss of precious lives to pass sweeping and uncalled for comments on the law and order situation in the State” and urged him to “kindly refrain from making unwarranted statements and allow the administration to conduct impartial investigation to find out the truth….” On an earlier occasion, she had tried to put Dhankhar in his place when in a letter to him she wrote, “You appear to have forgotten that I am an elected Chief Minister of a proud Indian State. “In the past there was definitely tension between the State government and the Governor, but it has touched unthinkable levels in recent times—something that even theoreticians of politics cannot imagine,” Chakraborty told Frontline.