The ruling Trinamool Congress (TMC) in West Bengal on Monday hit out at governor C V Ananda Bose and accused him of being a representative of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), a day after he condemned a recent attack on a convoy of a Union minister in the state – in a development that may possibly end the brief spell of bonhomie that the two sides have shared so far.
Also read: West Bengal governor CV Ananda Bose’s principal secretary relieved of her duties
On Sunday, Bose condemned the attack on the convoy of Union minister of state for home, Nisith Pramanik, in Cooch Behar a day earlier and said “anti-social elements which try to take law into their hands will be dealt with sternly”.
“I have held confidential enquiries in the matter and personally discussed with… Pramanik. It is shocking that such incidents happened in a land which is known for its refined culture and enviable history of civilised conduct,” he said in a statement.
“Protest is a part of democracy, but violence is not a part of civilised conduct. Anti-social elements which try to take law into their hands will be dealt with sternly. Violence will be rooted-out ruthlessly. The Constitution should be upheld by all those who are committed to do so. Bengal expects every officer to do his duty, without fear or favour, be he in the police or magistracy or any wing of governance,” he added.
In its mouthpiece Jago Bangla on Monday, the TMC alleged Bose was following the footsteps of his predecessor and now Vice President of India, Jagdeep Dhankhar, with whom the Mamata Banerjee-led government had always shared a fractious relationship.
“That the governor is a representative of the BJP to implement the party’s secret agenda, former governor Jagdeep Dhankhar had proved it. The present governor has entered the race to follow the footsteps of the former governor,” the party said in its editorial.
HT reached out to Raj Bhavan for a response but did not get one immediately.
The TMC also raised questions on the governor’s “confidential enquiries” in connection with the attack on the convoy. It sought to know why the governor did not speak with the state government too.
“The governor is giving one-sided statements. What does he mean by confidential enquiries? Did he come to the conclusion only after speaking with Pramanik? Will he not speak with the state administration? Will he not find out what the ground reality was? The people of Bengal want the governor to be unbiased,” the editorial said.
“…It has to be remembered that the governor was a BJP worker,” it added.
The TMC’s attack on Bose came after an initial phase of bonhomie between Raj Bhavan and the chief minister’s office that highlighted the turnaround in the hostility between the two sides for three years, when Dhankhar served as Bengal governor between July 2019 and 2022.
Chief minister Banerjee often accused Dhankhar of doing the BJP’s bidding. In January 2022, the TMC had requested former president Ram Nath Kovind to remove Dhankhar from the governor’s post.
Earlier this month, Bose kicked off the budget session of the state assembly with a glowing speech of the TMC government’s achievements, even as BJP leaders sloganeered and walked out in protest.
He also heaped praises on the chief minister. On February 6, at a function where Banerjee received an honorary doctor of literature degree from Kolkata’s St Xavier’s University, Bose compared her to other “statesmen and politicians” who were writers, such as Sarvepalli Radhakrishnan, APJ Abdul Kalam, and Winston Churchill.
Also read: Bengal governor draws criticism from BJP for praising Mamata Banerjee
“As the people of West Bengal, we are very glad as we have chief minister Mamata Banerjee in this distinguished league,” he said during the event.
On January 26, Banerjee had attended a ceremony on the occasion of Saraswati Puja at the governor’s residence.
“The governor is so nice, and with his relationship being very good with the state government, I think there will not be any more problems,” the chief minister had said.
In December 2022, days after Bose took oath as governor on November 23, Banerjee described him as a “nice gentleman” and said that he was “cooperating with the state government”.
The growing ties between the two sides had irked the state BJP leaders. State BJP chief Sukanta Majumdar later called on the governor at Raj Bhavan.
Reacting to TMC’s editorial piece, state BJP spokesperson Samik Bhattacharya said: “This is a manifestation of the TMC’s taste, culture and attitude towards the Indian Constitution.”