CM, Governor on collision course

The confrontation between West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee and Governor Jagdeep Dhankhar appears to be unrelenting, with the latter being accused of creating social divisions in the state. The CM has now questioned Dhankhar over his alleged role in the Jain hawala scam in which the names of several BJP leaders had cropped up. Dhankhar has also been accused of involvement in illegal land deals in Haryana. The Governor, on his part, has not helped matters by asking for an audit of the Gorkhaland Territorial Administration and raising a question mark over the prepared text he will be required to read in his address to the upcoming session of the Assembly.

The CM has repeatedly asked for the Governor’s recall, even as an NHRC committee has submitted its report to the Calcutta High Court regarding post-poll violence in the state. While the Governor had taken up the matter of post-poll violence after prodding by the Centre over the law and order situation in the state which raised the hackles of the CM who holds the Home portfolio, how the Centre reacts to Mamata’s persistent demand will be under watch. As the Chief Minister, while Mamata may have a point in registering her protest against the Governor’s actions, there is a precedent: Gopalkrishna Gandhi, the then Governor who was at odds with the Left Front government, had visited Nandigram after the violence in 2007. MK Narayanan, who had generally cordial relations with the CM, had to resign as the Governor to facilitate a probe into the AgustaWestland helicopter deal.

Stand-offs between chief ministers and Governors are not something new, but as the West Bengal CM has herself maintained, such fights should be apolitical and democratic in nature. Dhankhar has in the past visited the CM on festivals as a goodwill gesture and both should strive to maintain the dignity of their constitutional offices without allowing political differences to mar a working relationship.

Join Whatsapp Channel of The Tribune for latest updates.