Dhankhar hits back at Banerjee, says he has undoubted stakes in governance

West Bengal governor releases public note, a day after CM complained to Modi

13-Jagdeep-Dhankhar Jagdeep Dhankhar

West Bengal Governor Jagdeep Dhankhar on Tuesday lashed out at Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee for lodging a complaint against him with Prime Minister Narendra Modi. While sources said that Banerjee has not named anyone in her complaint, the Bengal governor has taken it personally. “I am stunned and shocked, as are many, at your observation yesterday,” the governor wrote in a public note to the chief minister on Tuesday.

“There are some who do non-cooperation, despite holding constitutional posts and keep harassing the state," Dhankhar quoted the chief minister from her complaint. 

It is to be noted that the chief minister had praised PM Modi in her letter. A few days ago, she had also praised Union Home minister Amit Shah and hence, Dhankar is not alone in concluding that Banerjee indeed took aim at the governor. 

“Your observations are bereft of any fact, premise or foundation—there being not even one illustration to sustain these. A look at my communications and tweets would bear out my wholesome motivations, primacy ever being the welfare of the people—be it systematic destruction of railway and other public properties during anti-CAA agitation; rampant corruption in Amphan relief distribution; hurdles in functioning of Inter ministerial central team; alarming law and order scenario; oppressive police action against opposition and many more.”

Dhankhar said he was not in politics, but he did have a stake in the governance of the state, an interesting insight coming from a governor, perhaps for the first time. “I am not a stakeholder in politics, but have undoubted stakes in governance in the state in view of my constitutional obligations and would ever insist supremacy in constitution and rule of law in governance. I am required to be aware of state of affairs and also affairs of state. I have scrupulously adhered in my actions to constitutional prescriptions while you have, in spite of my umpteen suggestions, all through practiced constitutional distancing and making my role as governor and chancellor dysfunctional,” Dhankhar said, hitting out against Banerjee.

Dhankhar, particularly, trained his guns at the police department, handled by the chief minister herself. “Police in the state have fingers in every pie and this does not augur well for democracy. Inputs indicate that the governance in the state is police driven—a worrisome scenario that leads to a police state. Time to take note of the fiscal empowerment of those in police, in positions of authority, and it will be an eyeopener as many assert,” the governor said in an attack on the administration, perhaps for the first time.

His outbursts gained a lot of significance after his meeting with Home minister Amit Shah last week. Dhankhar, in a hurried trip, went to Delhi to meet Shah and discussed the affairs of the state for over an hour.