Dhankhar meets NHRC chairman, Union ministers in Delhi; TMC, CPM cry foul
Governor Jagdeep Dhankhar before his departure for Delhi, wrote a letter to chief minister Mamata Banerjee on Tuesday, alleging that the state is witnessing post-poll violence and violation of human rights and never witnessed since Independence. He accused the government of inaction.
West Bengal governor Jagdeep Dhankhar met Arun Kumar Mishra, chairman of the National Human Rights Commission (NHRC) during his trip to Delhi on Wednesday, triggering a political row in Kolkata where the Trinamool Congress (TMC) demanded his immediate removal and the Communist Party of India (Marxist) or CPI(M), alleged that Dhankhar is acting like a Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) member.
“Governor West Bengal Jagdeep Dhankhar had a courtesy meeting in New Delhi with former Supreme Court Judge, Justice Arun Kumar Mishra, Chairperson National Human Rights Commission @India_NHRC,” Dhankhar tweeted at 6 pm after meeting Mishra.
This immediately triggered a controversy in Bengal as Dhankhar, before his departure for Delhi, wrote a letter to chief minister Mamata Banerjee on Tuesday, alleging that the state is witnessing post-poll violence and violation of human rights and never witnessed since Independence. He accused the government of inaction.
“Never before has a governor met an NHRC chairman. He is partisan, uncivilized and should be removed immediately. Dhankhar is acting beyond his Constitutional limits,” said TMC Rajya Sabha member Sukhendu Sekhar Roy. TMC supporters started a hashtag campaign, #DhankharAbBandhkar (Dhankhar stop it now). The posts turned viral.
Veteran CPI(M) leader and Bengal Left Front chairman Biman Bose said, “We saw Dhankhar visiting violence affected areas with BJP leaders. As governor he is free to go anywhere but why is he accompanied by BJP leaders all the time? His actions are akin to that of a BJP member. He is not following the Constitution of India.” This was the first time that the Left has spoken out so sharply against Dhankhar.
Going a step forward, the national executive committee of the Communist Party of India (CPI) has accused Dhankhar of attempting to create unrest in Bengal. The CPI said that the President must recall Dhankar immediately. “After taking over as the governor he started behaving like a BJP representative, ignoring all moral and government protocols supposed to be followed by a constitutional authority. His role before the election, during the election and after the election remains the same. He is disrespecting the poll verdict and is aiming at creating instability and unrest in West Bengal. Such behaviour from a constitutional head of a state is unacceptable,” the committee said in a statement.
Defending the governor, Bengal BJP’s chief spokesperson Samiik Bhattacharya said, “We have lost 28 supporters in post-poll violence. The governor has repeatedly sought action. If his actions are being described as unprecedented then the violence, too, is unprecedented.”
After writing to the chief minister on Tuesday, Dhankhar attached a copy of the letter to his tweet that said, “Constrained to convey @MamataOfficial that continued silence & inaction over post-poll violence, violation of human rights & dignity of women, destruction of property, and perpetuation of miseries on political opponents- worst since independence, ill augurs for democracy.”
“Urged @MamataOfficial to break silence on post-poll retributive violence, restore law and order, provide succour to the suffering people. Called upon her to have an interaction on these issues at the earliest,” he wrote in a second tweet.
The state government reacted sharply to his tweets.
“Government of West Bengal has observed with dismay and distress that the Hon’ble Governor of West Bengal has suddenly made public, a letter of his to the Hon’ble Chief Minister of West Bengal, with contents that are not consistent with real facts. The communication format is violative of all established norms. The letter has been written to Hon’ble Chief Minister and released to public media through tweets simultaneously, which disrupts sanctity of such communications,” tweeted the state home department.
“The unusual step of going public in this manner abruptly and unilaterally has shocked the Government of West Bengal all the more because the contents are fabricated. While the post-poll violence in the state was somewhat unabated when the Election Commission of India was in charge of the law and order machinery, after the swearing in, the State Cabinet has reigned in the situation, restored normalcy and established full command over anti-law elements. State police has been firmly directed to bring to book all anti-socials and the government remains committed to maintain the basic fabric of society and to uphold law and order,” the home department said in subsequent tweets.
On Wednesday, Dhankhar also met Union minister for culture and tourism Prahlad Singh Patel and minister of coal, mines and parliamentary affairs Prahlad Joshi. Both the ministers campaigned in Bengal during the recent polls in which the BJP lost to the TMC.
“Had useful deliberations with Union Minister for Culture, Tourism @prahladspatel Prahlad Singh Patel @MinOfCultureGoI on issues pertaining Victoria Memorial @victoriamemkol, Indian Museum @IndianMuseumKol;@ezcckolkata @asiatic_society aimed at enhancing impact of these bodies,” tweeted Dhankhar.