Kolkata, The already embittered relations between West Bengal Governor Jagdeep Dhankhar and Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee took a turn for the worse on Monday when they shot off strongly-worded official letters to each other.
It was an eventful day in the unending series of feuds between Raj Bhavan and the state secretariat Nabanna with the Governor asking Banerjee to cancel her scheduled march against the Citizenship Amendment Act, ” a law of the land”, and called the programme “unconstitutional”. Banerjee, however, paid no heed to Dhankhar’s warning and went about the event which was attended by people in huge numbers.
In the next act of the dramatic confrontation, Dhankhar tweeted that he was “stunned” at neither the Chief Secretary nor the Director General of Police briefing him on the volatile situation against the backdrop of widespread violence related to anti-CAA protests in the state despite his request, and summoned Banerjee to the Raj Bhavan on Tuesday.
Soon after, Banerjee fired a letter addressed to the Governor where she accused him of “aggravating the situation” and asked him “cooperate to maintain peace”.
“Constitutional obligation in my view is to support the state government machinery to maintain peace and harmony rather than aggravating the situation by provoking the elements who may attempt to disturb the order and tranquility,” she said.
Within hours, Dhankhar hit back complaining that he has taken note of her communication with “deep pain and anguish” and was “surprised at the unwarranted tangential approach” she has adopted.
“Your reflections are far from fact situations and would urge you to engage in soul searching,” he said and complained that he has been “heaped indignities”, with her ministers going “on rampage with most vituperative language”.
“My Constitutional position was repeatedly compromised. Even on the current critical situation in the state, I have not been briefed by the state government at any stage and at any level whatsoever.
“I look forward to positive response from your end at our meeting tomorrow,” he added.
A number of trains, railway stations, train tracks, toll plazas and buses have been torched and vandalised and train and vehicular movement thrown into jeopardy in the anti-CAA protests that began in Bengal on Friday, a day after President Ram Nath Kovind signed the bill into law.
