The Trinamool Congress, at an all-party meet on Sunday, urged Union minister Amit Shah to “call” West Bengal Governor Jagdeep Dhankar and to “show him the way”. This is unprecedented in the country’s recent political history.
After the all-party meeting – in which senior leaders Sudip Bandyopadhyay and Derek O’Brien were present – the leaders said that the Governor was running a parallel administration, he was moving around with CRPF and not informing the state police. Bandopadhyay said that this was contrary to the federal structure and that Jagdeep Dhankar should be called and shown the way. It is learnt that Shah heard the matter though he did not comment on it. The Union government has recently provided the Governor with CRPF security.
It is likely that the Trinamool Congress will raise the matter during the winter session of the Lok Sabha beginning today. The party hopes it will get the support of other opposition parties on this.
Trinamool leaders have been accusing the Governor of trying to run a “parallel administration” in the state referring to his visit to some parts of the state including Singur in Hooghly district, calling meetings with state officials in various districts and most recently, asking for a helicopter to attend a program in Murshidabad, among others. The Governor has been saying that he knows his job as well as his limitations.
Without naming the Governor, chief minister Mamata Banerjee too, among other Trinamool Congress leaders, has said that it was wrong for people in constitutional positions to run a parallel government. She said that the state and Central government had both been elected by the people, and everyone should keep in mind that both the governments should be able to work. This is what has been mentioned in the constitution, and people should remember it, she had said last week.
