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'Soul-searching needed,' says Governor Jagdeep Dhankhar after Mamata claims Bengal is 'peaceful'
"We are in a deep crisis in the state," Dhankhar also said while referring to the alleged violence in which at least 16 people from various political parties were reportedly killed since May 2.
West Bengal governor Jagdeep Dhankhar on Monday came down heavily on the Mamata Banerjee-led government, moments after he administered the oath of office to 43 of her Trinamool Congress ministers. Speaking to reporters after the ceremony in Kolkata, Dhankhar said, "Retributive violence, acts of arson, loot now have graduated to intimidation and extortion. This is worrisome," news agency ANI reported.
"We are in a deep crisis in the state," Dhankhar also said while referring to the alleged violence in which at least 16 people from various political parties were reportedly killed since May 2. The death toll was announced by Banerjee on May 6.
The governor who has been an old rival and a vocal critic of Banerjee, also announced that he would visit the violence-affected areas and he has informed the state government about the same. "As part of my constitutional duty, I've decided to visit affected parts of the state and asked the government to make arrangements." "Unfortunately, their response hasn't been very responsive," Dhankhar added.
Dhankhar then said that he will go ahead with the visit and make arrangements by himself in the coming days.
Further criticising Banerjee, Dhankhar said that people are being made to pay with their lives for exercising their franchise in the recently concluded assembly elections. "If your vote becomes a cause of your death or property destruction, if it leads to arson, then that signals the end of democracy," he said.
Taking a swipe at Banerjee's earlier statement in which she claimed that West Bengal is peaceful and there is no violence, Dhankhar said, "I expect the state government to engage in soul searching, address grim ground reality and book the culprits who have chosen to tarnish our democratic fabric."
Clashes were reported from several places in Bengal following the declaration of assembly election results on May 2. In the recently concluded assembly elections, Trinamool Congress secured a thumping majority by securing 213 of the 292 assembly seats.
However, Banerjee herself lost from Nandigram, a hotbed of Bengal politics. She was defeated by TMC's former leader and now in Bharatiya Janata Party, Suvendu Adhikari.
