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Breaking the ice? Mamata sends Bhaiphonta invitation to Governor

After finding senior administrative officials of North 24 Parganas and South 24 Parganas missing at the meeting called by him, Dhankhar on Tuesday had accused the Trinamool Congress government of “unconstitutional behaviour” with him and wondered whether some “sort of censorship” was in place in the state.

mamata banerjee, trinamool congress, west bengal governor, latest news, kolkata news West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee (File Photo)

Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee has invited Governor Jagdeep Dhankhar to her Kalighat residence on Bhaiphonta on October 29, even as the stand-off between Raj Bhavan and Nabanno seems to have no end.

This comes a day after the Governor had hit out at the government, accusing it of “total non-cooperation” and “working to frustrate the objective of his visit” to North and South 24 Parganas on Tuesday.

On Wednesday, Dhankhar took to Twitter saying: “Greatly touched by the response of the people during my visits to North and South 24 Parganas. The District Administration top was not there and worked to frustrate the object of visit. Total non cooperation! Sad! In pursuit of my constitutional obligation would be undeterred. (sic)”

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After finding senior administrative officials of North 24 Parganas and South 24 Parganas missing at the meeting called by him, Dhankhar on Tuesday had accused the Trinamool Congress government of “unconstitutional behaviour” with him and wondered whether some “sort of censorship” was in place in the state.

Dhankhar, who was visiting Dhamakhali in North 24 Parganas, had called a meeting of senior administrative officials of the two districts on Tuesday as part of his visit.

Festive offer

On Thursday, a senior Trinamool Congress leader said that the Bhaiphonta invitation to the Governor was not a signal to “minimise the ongoing tension between the government and Raj Bhavan”.

“It is a good gesture. Nothing more than that. Don’t think the CM is ready to lend a hand of friendship to the Governor,” the senior TMC leader said.
The latest stand-off is over the security cover to the Governor. The Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF) has taken a decision to provide ‘Z’ category security to him within two to three days, which the state government has requested the Centre to reconsider.

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The decision to provide a CRPF security cover to the Governor was taken by the Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) after the Jadavpur University (JU) incident, but the state government was unhappy with it.

Last month Dhankhar’s car was gheraoed by a section of students at Jadavpur University in Kolkata, when he went there to rescue Union minister Babul Supriyo who was also heckled there.

The state government, in a letter to the MHA, had sought to know why it was not consulted before the decision to hand over the Governor’s security to the CRPF was taken. “It is the responsibility of the state government to look after the security of the Governor since he is the constitutional head of the state.

The state government has provided him with ‘Z’ category security since the first day of his appointment. Then, why did the MHA suddenly decide to entrust his security with the CRPF without consulting us,” said a senior official.

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After getting a go-ahead from the MHA, the CRPF started its exercise to provide the ‘Z’ category security to the Governor. During the last week, the CRPF called coordination meetings with the state and Kolkata Police more than once, but no senior officer attended them.

Unofficially, police said ethically the state government didn’t agree with the MHA’s decision. So, they can’t attend the meetings, police said.
But, senior police officers assured the CRPF that they will provide logistic and other security support.

After getting the assurance, the CRPF started the process to take charge of the security of Governor Dhankhar.

First uploaded on: 25-10-2019 at 06:10 IST
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