Tag: West Bengal Governor

  • Extremely alarming law and order scenario in post-poll Bengal; many killed, displaced: Governor Dhankar

    By PTI
    KOLKATA:  Describing the law and order situation in post-poll Bengal as “extremely alarming” with numerous cases of killings and rapes recorded, Governor Jagdeep Dhankhar on Sunday said he has called upon Chief Secretary HK Dwivedi to learn about the steps being taken by the administration to contain this “retributive violence”.

    He also claimed that the state police is “engaged as an extension of ruling dispensation to let loose vindictiveness on political opponents”.

    Dhankhar, taking to Twitter, said lakhs of people were being displaced and property worth hundreds of crores vandalised in Bengal.

    “Extremely alarming law & order scenario. Security environment is seriously compromised. In such a grim situation called upon (the) Chief Secretary to brief me on the law and order situation on Monday 7th June and indicate all steps taken to contain post poll violence,” he tweeted on Sunday.

    The governor also alleged that people who have voted against the ruling TMC are victims of “targeted violence”.

    “The state is in (the) grip of unprecedented post poll retributive violence at unimaginable scale, with lacs of people being displaced and property worth hundreds of crores vandalised. Rampant vandalism and hooliganism has resulted in large scale arson, loot, destruction of property.

    Numerous instances of rapes and killings at the hands of rogue elements who have no fear of law (sic),” he stated.

    Condemning alleged incidents of socially boycott and denial of benefits to people who had voted for TMC rivals, he said they are being made to pay extortion fees for living in their own house or running their own business.

    “Democratic values are openly shredded and trampled by ruling party harmads.

    People are in mortal fear of police and that in turn is at the feet of ruling party rogue elements,” he wrote on his Twitter handle.

    He maintained that the state functionaries “are not recognising this malaise, much less take steps to contain it”.

    “Police is engaged as extension of ruling dispensation to let loose vindictiveness on political opponents.

    In such a grim situation Chief Secretary of the state be called upon to brief me urgently on Monday 7th June and indicate all steps taken to contain post poll violence,” Dhankhar, who has always been at loggerheads with the TMC government, added.

  • ‘Ego prevailed over public service’: Guv Dhankhar on Mamata Banerjee skipping PM Modi meet

    By PTI
    KOLKATA:West Bengal Governor Jagdeep Dhankhar on Tuesday stirred fresh controversy by saying “ego prevailed over public service” on Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee skipping Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s meeting to review post-cyclone damages on May 28.

    Dhankhar said the chief minister had called him before the meeting at Kalaikunda in Paschim Medinipur district and indicated that she won’t attend it if Leader of Opposition Suvendu Adhikari is present in it.

    “Constrained by false narrative to put record straight: On May 27 at 2316 hrs CM @MamataOfficial messaged ‘may I talk? urgent’,” Dhankhar tweeted.

    “Thereafter on phone indicated boycott by her & officials of PM Review Meet #CycloneYaas if LOP @SuvenduWB attends it. Ego prevailed over Public service,” he said in another Twitter post.

    ALSO READ | Sheer misuse of power by Centre, say former civil servants on Bengal chief secretary transfer

    Besides Adhikary, Dhankhar and BJP MP Debosree Chaudhuri were present at the meeting.

    The chief minister said she skipped the meeting because “a BJP MLA has no locus to be present in a PM-CM meeting”.

    Adhikari has defeated Banerjee in Nandigram seat in the recent assembly elections.

    In a letter to the prime minister on Monday, Banerjee had written, “I wanted to have a quiet word with you, a meeting between the PM and the CM as usual. You, however, revised the structure of the meeting to include a local MLA from your party and I am of the view that he had no locus to be present in a PM-CM meeting.” 

    Banerjee had also mentioned in the letter that she had no objection to the presence of the governor and other Union ministers in the meeting.

  • Attempts being made to create instability in state: Shiv Sena demands West Bengal Governor be recalled

    By PTI
    MUMBAI: The Shiv Sena on Wednesday demanded that West Bengal Governor Jagdeep Dhankar be immediately recalled, claiming that attempts were being made to create political instability in the state.

    The conduct of the West Bengal governor is “against the Constitution”, an editorial in the Sena mouthpiece ‘Saamana’ alleged in the wake of the ongoing political tussle between the TMC-led state government and the opposition BJP.

    “Attempts are being made to create instability and unrest in West Bengal….the governor should be immediately recalled,” said the Sena, which extended support to Trinamool Congress (TMC) head and Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee ahead of the state polls held recently.

    The arrest of four TMC leaders by the CBI in connection with the Narada sting tape case smacks of “political vendetta”, the Marathi daily further charged.

    “They were caught on camera taking bribes in the the 2014 Narada string operation. But why no action against the other two accused – Mukul Roy and Suvendu Adhikari – who are now with the BJP? Have they become clean since they are now in the BJP and fought elections against (TMC head) Mamata Banerjee?” it asked.

  • Bengal Guv visits Cooch Behar, says state facing twin challenges of pandemic and post-poll violence

    By PTI
    COOCH BEHAR: Claiming that people, who cast their votes as per their choice, are being subjected to attacks in West Bengal, Governor Jagdeep Dhankhar on Thursday said while the country is facing the COVID crisis, the state is grappling with the twin challenges of the pandemic and the post-poll violence.

    The governor said he was shocked by incidents of attack following the West Bengal assembly elections, and decided to visit various places affected by the post-poll violence in the interest of the people.

    “The country is facing the COVID crisis, and West Bengal is facing twin challenges of the pandemic and unprecedented post-poll violence only on the ground that some people decided to vote as per their own choice,” he said while embarking on a visit to various places in Cooch Behar district.

    He said the Mamata Banerjee government must ensure that everyone who took the law into their hands must be brought to justice.

    The opposition BJP has been accusing the Trinamool Congress of indulging in violence against their supporters, a charge which the ruling party has also brought against the saffron camp in the state.

    “History will judge Mamata Banerjee, the chief minister. History will also judge Jagdeep Dhankhar, the governor, and it will judge the bureaucracy and the media,” he said.

    Claiming that he did not get any response from the state government despite efforts being made to get information about the post-poll violence, Dhankhar said the state government must provide him with the requisite particulars under Article 167 of the Constitution.

    “I will perform my constitutional duties unhindered, undeterred by any situation whatsoever,” he said.

    The chief minister and the governor got involved in a war of words on Wednesday after Mamata Banerjee wrote to him claiming that his planned visit to the post-poll violence- affected Cooch Behar district violates norms, while Dhankhar hit back saying he was discharging duties mandated by the Constitution.

    “I find from social media that you are unilaterally proceeding to Cooch Behar district on May 13, and sadly, I find that to be violative of the long-standing norms as evolved over several decades.

    “I, therefore, would expect you will kindly follow the well-established norms of protocol, and desist from abrupt decisions with regards to field visits,” Banerjee said in a letter to the governor.

    Soon after receiving the letter, Dhankhar wrote back saying that he has been following the Constitution since taking oath as the governor and his visit to Cooch Behar was to share the pain and agony of the people suffering from post-poll violence.

    Speaking to reporters at the Cooch Behar airport after alighting from a BSF helicopter by which he travelled from Kolkata, the governor claimed that the chief minister, who took oath on May 5, has full power to control the situation.

    He claimed that those who did not give political support to the ruling party were subjected to attacks and atrocities, and women and children of their families were also not spared.

    Claiming that the post-poll situation in the state took a grim turn owing to the “unfortunate behaviour of the chief minister”, the governor alleged, “During the elections, she had publicly said the central armed police force will not be there always and she will see after that.

    “This kind of challenge and behaviour is not acceptable under the constitution,” the governor said.

    He urged the chief minister to make constructive decisions and said this is not the time for confrontation between the state and the Centre.

    While Banerjee had termed the incident of firing by the CAPF in Sitalkuchi in which four persons were killed as “genocide”, she “did not say a word about other violent events” in different parts of the state, Dhankhar alleged.

    Five persons were killed, four of them in firing by central armed police force personnel and a first-time voter in firing by goons, at Sitalkuchi on April 10 during the fourth phase of the assembly poll in West Bengal.

    Post-poll violence has been reported from various places in the state, with both the opposition BJP and the ruling TMC accusing each other of indulging in attacks on their workers.

    Banerjee had on May 6 said 16 people have been killed in the recent clashes between the two parties.

    Accusing the chief minister of being “partisan”, he said that “she acts with a political goal in mind”.

    Dhankhar is scheduled to visit Sitalkuchi, Mathabhanga, Sitai and Dinhata in Cooch Behar district during the day.

    The governor said he will on Friday visit camps in Assam where BJP workers, who reportedly fled from West Bengal owing to the post-poll violence, have been staying.

  • Bengal assembly polls should be violence-free, says governor Jagdeep Dhankhar

    By PTI
    KOLKATA: West Bengal Governor Jagdeep Dhankhar on Saturday paid tribute to Mahatma Gandhi on his death anniversary and said that the assembly elections due in April-May should be devoid of violence.

    The Father of the Nation had preached for non-violence and it should be adhered to in the polls, he said.

    “In the coming polls in 2021, we have the opportunity to make it free of bloodshed and violence. The coming polls should not be blood-stained like the 2018 (panchayat) polls. There should be a complete air of non-violence and peace this time,” Dhankhar said.

    He told reporters that he was not speaking from “political considerations”.

    ALSO READ | Bengal polls: BJP leaders visit Matua belt to ease discontent after Shah cancels visit

    While politicians will be engaged in politics, his aim is to safeguard the Constitution and save democracy, Dhankhar said after paying homage at the statue of Mahatma Gandhi on Mayo Road in Kolkata.

    “Everyone must follow Gandhiji’s motto of non- violence. He was an ambassador of peace,” he said.

    Reacting to this, West Bengal minister Bratya Basu said, the governor “must have uttered these words keeping in mind that Gandhiji was gunned down by fascist forces on this day. In our state, we will always keep resisting such forces.”

    Mahatma Gandhi was shot dead on this day in 1948 by Nathuram Godse.

    His death anniversary is observed as Martyrs’ Day.

  • Bengal Governor Jagdeep Dhankhar expresses concern over security situation ahead of polls

    By PTI
    NEW DELHI: West Bengal Governor Jagdeep Dhankhar expressed concerns about the security scenario in the state in light of the upcoming Assembly elections and raised questions over the state administration’s role in maintaining law and order after meeting Union Home Minister Amit Shah here on Saturday.

    The governor’s interaction with Shah comes days after his meeting with West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee at the Raj Bhavan in Kolkata.

    Dhankhar, who had been at loggerheads with the Trinamool Congress (TMC) government ever since taking charge as the Bengal governor and criticised the Mamata Banerjee dispensation on several occasions, alleged on Saturday that the state has been “plagued with rampant violence”.

    “The law-and-order situation and the security environment in West Bengal is under threat. Al Qaeda is spreading, illegal bomb-making is rampant. I’d like to know what are they (state administration) doing?

    “The position of the director general of police in Bengal is an open secret. That’s why I say we have ‘political police’. Everyday I am hearing news of bomb blasts or bombs being found,” he claimed in a press briefing after meeting Shah in Delhi.

    The ongoing tiff between the West Bengal Governor and the ruling TMC reached a new high recently when a group of party leaders wrote to President Ram Nath Kovind demanding Dhankar’s dismissal from the post.

    On Saturday, the West Bengal governor said, “It’s time for us to set an example by engaging in best practices so that every voter is in a position to express their franchise freely and fairly in a peaceful atmosphere.”

    The TMC has repeatedly targeted the BJP, saying it is controlled by “outsiders”.

    Chief Minister Banerjee has also labelled the BJP as a “party of outsiders”.

    “My heart pains when ignoring constitutional provisions, a child of ‘Maa Bharti’ is called an outsider in West Bengal because he doesn’t belong to the state. We’re all the children of ‘Maa Bharti’ and we believe in our unity. No person living in this land can be an outsider.

    “The year 2021 is a challenging year for West Bengal. It’s an opportunity for the state to engage in makeover of the image as elections in Bengal have been plagued with rampant violence, compromising basic rights of voters and role of bureaucracy,” he said.

    Dhankar, who had a meeting with Shah barely a month ago, spoke to the Union home minister for over an hour on Saturday.

    Tagging Mamata Banerjee in a tweet, he said, “Called on Union Home Minister Amit Shah today. Had more than an hour interaction as regards various facets of state of affairs @MamataOfficial. Traversed issues of concern.”

  • West Bengal Governor Jagdeep Dhankhar accepts TMC Minister Laxmi Ratan Shukla’s resignation

    By Express News Service
    KOLKATA: West Bengal Governor Jagdeep Dhankhar on Tuesday accepted the resignation of Laxmi Ratan Shukla from the state’s council of ministers on the advice of Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee. Shukla also resigned as the Trinamool Congress’s Howrah district president, but is likely to continue as the MLA. 

    Shukla was the minister of state for youth services and sports.

    “Shri Laxmi Ratan Shukla ceases to be a member of the Council of Ministers with immediate effect,” the governor said in an order.

    The charge of the youth services and sports department will vest with Aroop Biswas as recommended by the chief minister, Dhankhar said in the order.

    While political circles were busy assessing the impact of Shukla’s withdrawal, coming as it does within a month of Mamata’s once trusted lieutenant Suvendu Adhikari’s BJP switch, the Bengal chief minister said, “He is a nice boy. There is no scope for political rumors over this issue.

    He told me that he wanted to concentrate on sports and that is why he stepped down. He said he would continue as the MLA.’’ However, BJP state president Dilip Ghosh said the TMC was losing people by attacking us.

    “The split in TMC has already begun,” he said. Left Front leader Sujan Chakraborty echoed Ghosh while saying, “The chief minister should understand that her colleagues are no longer relying on her.”Union minister Babul Supriyo sent feelers to Shukla, saying BJP was ready to accept him, if he wanted to join the party.

    (With PTI inputs)