“The Governor went to help BJP without taking government into confidence”: Trinamool Congress on Babul Supriyo incident at JU

The Trinamool Congress has gone into a collision course with Governor Jagdeep Dhankar over Thursday’s incident at Jadavpur University campus in which union minister of state Babul Supriyo had been gheraoed by students, and the Governor himself went there to “rescue” him.

Issuing a statement, Trinamool Congress general secretary Partha Chatterjee said that it was “unfortunate” and “shocking” that the Governor, “the custodian of the Constitution of the State, without informing the elected government went to the so called rescue of the BJP leader from Jadavpur University”.

According to Chatterjee, the union MOS had gone there without informing the state government, and after what had happened at JU, the Governor “went there without taking the State Government into confidence. On the way, he rang up the CM.”

Chatterjee’s statement also says that chief minister Mamata Banerjee (who is now in New Delhi) had requested him several times that “the Governor being the constitutional head need not go at this moment” and that she had requested him to give the government time to resolve the issue peacefully.

“But instead of taking the government into confidence, the Governor went there to help BJP,” the statement reads.

Chatterjee also said in his statement that though the Governor had released two press statements before going to JU which said “this is a very serious reflection on the law and order in the State”, there was no comment from him on the “vandalism perpetrated by the BJP and ABVP goons” in the JU campus.

Significantly, the Trinamool Congress general secretary has stated, “We strongly oppose his political views”. The Governor – a constitutional position – does not represent a political party or any specific political ideology, but in saying so, Chatterjee has indicated that the Bengal Governor had gone against what he is expected to represent. This strong statement against the Governor’s action indicates the position the ruling party in Bengal, Trinamool Congress, is taking on the incident.

Chatterjee also said that the police had facilitated in taking Babul Supriyo and the Governor out of the spot. He also equated the incident at Jadavpur with that of the episode at Vidyasagar College – prior to the Lok Sabha elections in Kolkata — in which alleged BJP and ABVP followers vandalised the premises and broke a bust of Ishwarchandra Vidyasagar.