West Bengal Governor Jagdeep Dhankhar on Thursday met with President Ram Nath Kovind at Rashtrapati Bhavan. This was unique for two reasons. One, this is the second time Dhankhar met the president personally—one to one—in the last two years. Before COVID-19, governors used to come for governors’ conferences at Rashtrapati Bhavan. And secondly, he has been called by the president, who had appointed him as governor of West Bengal, and it is not a courtesy call.
However, Raj Bhavan had tweeted the visit was a courtesy call.
Before meeting the president, Dhankhar on Wednesday met with the Union ministers of coal and culture. He has a couple of meetings scheduled for Thursday and Friday morning.
Raj Bhavan sources said that the governor reached Rashtrapati Bhavan, accompanied by his wife. Both the president and the governor used to be senior advocates of the Supreme Court previously and they knew each other.
The governor being called by the president has been seen as hugely significant this time for two reasons. First, the ruling Trinamool Congress had recently written to the president on the governor's recent actions and second, there is a huge buzz in the corridors of power on a possible transfer of governor.
Speculation is rife that the Union government might replace Dhankhar with Kerala Governor Arif Mohammad Khan. However, neither Raj Bhavan in Kolkata nor Union government sources have confirmed it.
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Also many felt that the president recently received a huge number of letters on post-poll violence in West Bengal. It is also thought that the president might have called the governor to have knowledge of the situation on the ground. And last, but not the least, President Kovind, who had earlier sought a report on West Bengal’s law and order situation, wanted to receive that report from the governor in person.
Governor Dhankhar is also likely to meet Union Home Minister Amit Shah later in the day. It is, however, not known whether he would meet the prime minister on Friday as he is supposed to return to Kolkata by evening of that day.
The situation, therefore, is getting extremely interesting with the new developments unfolding every day in Delhi and Kolkata. Sources said many actions and reactions would now happen after the governor’s meeting with the president.
Usually, the governors meet the president once they get their appointments in different states or in extraordinary situations. But that a governor received a sudden call from Rashtrapati Bhavan has created a storm in the political circles in West Bengal and New Delhi.