Bengal CM, governor exchange barbs again

Kolkata In a veiled attack on governor Jagdeep Dhankar, chief minister Mamata Banerjee on Thursday said that certain individuals are “acting like BJP mouthpieces”

Kolkata In a veiled attack on governor Jagdeep Dhankar, chief minister Mamata Banerjee on Thursday said that certain individuals are “acting like BJP mouthpieces” and “trying to run parallel administration”. Dhankar also

HT Image

“There are some people, who are behaving just like a BJP mouthpiece. In my state also you have seen what is going on. Just like a parallel administration they want to run,” a visibly unhappy Banerjee told media persons in reply to a question on Maharashtra Governor Bhagat Singh Koshyari’s role in the promulgation of president’s rule in the western state.

The latest trigger for Banerjee’s comment came as Dhankhar visited Singur in Hooghly district and interacted with employees at the BDO office and common people.

Stating that both the central and state governments were elected bodies, who need to work in a federal spirit as per the constitution, the Chief Minister said: “Central government must work as per constitutional provisions, state government should also work as per the constitutional provisions.

“But some nominated persons... should not supercede the state, the central government also. I think the central government must take care,” she added on the sidelines of a programme at the secretariat Nabanna.

On Monday, Dhankhar paid a surprise visit to Singur, where chief minister Mamata Banerjee led a land agitation forcing Tata Motors to withdraw its Nano car project in 2008. On Tuesday local TMC workers staged an agitation, condemning the visit.

Reacting sharply to Mamata’s remarks on Thursday, Dhankar said his visits to certain places in the state were triggering political reactions probably because people wanted to “hide the truth.”

In the same breath, Dhankhar said that these reactions might prompt him to spend days in Singur and Nandigram, the two most politically sensitive places during the Left era -- and the two epicentres of peasant movements which played a big role in bringing Banerjee’s party to power in the state in 2011.

Since his swearing in on July 30, Dhankhar has been having constant run-ins with the Banerjee government, on a wide number of issues.

“I went to Singur, they say you went to Singur all of a sudden. But I went to Singur after informing the Collector. If my visit to any area in West Bengal generates so much curiosity, then I feel I should spent a long time in Singur and Nandigram. You will always see, whatever you want to hide, people want to see them,” he said.

Dhankhar also announced that he could go to severe Cyclone Bulbul-hit areas, if “required”.

“Nobody should do politics over distribution of relief material. Relief material should be distributed irrespective of political identities,” Banerjee had said at the administrative review meeting on Wednesday.

“I would urge, let us not put politics into governance... All agencies are working, for those who have suffered by loss of property or life, agencies must come forward, government must come forward, and NGOs must also come forward... I don’t want any politics. Whether I will visit or not, I will assess the situation, if my visit is required, I will go,” he said.

West Bengal BJP president Dilip Ghosh extending support to Dhankhar said the TMC government should stop politicising cyclone relief work. “We completely support what the governor has said. The TMC government should stop politicising the relief work.

(With inputs from Agency)