Governor to CM: your strategy is crafted to divert attention from your failure in combating Coronavirus in Bengal

Governor Jagdeep Dhankhar on Friday wrote to Mamata Banerjee telling her that her “entire strategy is crafted to deliberately divert people’s attention from your abject failure in combating and containing Coronavirus in West Bengal”.

He told Banerjee that the content of her letter to him – sent on Thursday – “emanates from a script that seeks to cover up ‘monumental failures’ in these challenging times by series of ‘blunders’ while people of the state are suffering”.

Dhankhar was responding to Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee’s letter to him that reminded him of his “role” by quoting BR Ambedkar and the Sarkaria Commission.

Some of the key points of the letter:

*He accused in his letter that her “appeasement of minority politics was so explicit and awkward” that responding to a question on the Nizamuddin incident – asked to her by a journalist – she had responded asking to not be asked communal questions.

*Dhankhar said that “as an escape route” for failing in her work, “you thought of being in your favourite pastime of being in ‘accusatory mode’ and take to streets”. He wrote: “Let me indicate in times of such gigantic crisis ‘street fighter approach’ is counter productive and has potential to spell disaster for the people”. He said it was not befitting for a CM to take mike and broom day after day in this grim situation and that “real time action and effective governance are need of the hour – not theatrics or politicking”. “There awaits the catastrophe” he said, if the issues he mentioned are not taken care of immediately.

*He said that “your cover up ‘mechanism’ would lead to very painful results.” Dhankhar in his letter also said that “for the sake of people, whose survival is at stake, disable your political antenna, shun confrontationist approach and be in action mode.”

*Dhankhar also criticised her move of taking to the streets on anti-CAA, stating that she was diverting state funds for her political stance.

*“Nationally and globally our actions on this count are putting us to shame”, he further wrote in the letter, mentioning the eight associations of doctors and some NRIs who had written to Mamata Banerjee about the COVID-19 situation in Bengal.

*He said that the chief minister had consistently disregarded the “Constitutional prescriptions”.

*Dhankhar said he was firmly disowning her accusations of directly attacking the chief minister, her ministers and officers and that his tone, tenor and language were unparliamentary and so on.

*He said “Dr BC Roy and the like” would have connected to and empathised with the people with energy, honesty, integrity, empathy and commitment. And “no coercive route, no violations of human rights, no politicking, no loot of public funds, no PDS politicization and scam.” He said that Banerjee’s stance on these issues is “at the unacceptable other end, and revisitation will be in public interest”.

*Dhankhar also said that Banerjee quoting BR Ambedkar was paradoxical as she was invoking the father of the Constitution to throttle the Constitution. “Recourse to these betrays text book ignorance of the Constitution, and I take this approach as misleading and diversionary”, he wrote.

*He quoted judicial pronouncements indicating “the contours of the role of the Governor”, including one which said “His loyalty must be to the Constitution and to none else and his commitment to the well being of the people of his State.”

*Dhankhar wrote that “​your actions are antithetical to the core values of Constitution. He said that her constant refrain that “Governor is nominated” is an affront to the founding fathers of our Constitution as a Governor is appointed and not nominated.  He is neither a ‘rubber stamp’ nor a ‘post office’.