Mamata Banerjee government appointed son of a former BJP leader as advocate general of the state, replacing Kishor Datta who resigned today.
Gopal Mukherjee, the man who suceeded Datta, is the son of Satyabrata Mukherjee, former MP and minister in Atal Behari Vajpayee government. Banerjee worked with Satyabrata Mukherjee as minister in Delhi.
Satyabrata, 85, is still a BJP member but inactive. Fondly called Zulu Babu, he was MP from Krishnagar in 1999 election and was minister of state for commerce in Vajpayee government. Satyabrata is a renowned arbritation lawyer as well. He studied in London and often practised in Supreme Court.
The appointment of Gopal has come as a surprise for many as he was also connected with the BJP. The decision of Banerjee has exposed the fault-line in BJP. None of the senior BJP leaders has reacted to the appointment of Gopal as the advocate general.
Gopal is a senior advocate of Calcutta High Court. As the AG, Gopal will have to deal with the post-poll violence investigation conducted by CBI and SIT, in Calcutta High Court, along with Saradha and Narada cases. Interestingly, this would make an impact in local politics of Nadia district from where the Mukherjee family hails. In Nadia, the BJP had done considerably well in last assembly election.
West Bengal governor Jagdeep Dhankhar has “accepted the appointment of Gopal Mukherjee as advocate general under 165(1) of Indian Constitution".
