TMC Govt turned WB into police state, will act if Constitution not protected: Governor
   Date :29-Sep-2020

Jagdeep Dhankhar_1 
 
 
KOLKATA ;
 
GOVERNOR Jagdeep Dhankhar on Monday claimed that the TMC Government has turned West Bengal into a “police state” and said he would be forced to “look at” Article 154 of the Constitution, as his office has been ignored for long by the ruling dispensation. Article 154 of the Constitution mandates that the executive power of the State shall be vested in the Governor and shall be exercised by him either directly or through officers subordinates to him. Criticising DGP Virendra for “being irresponsible and callous” in his response to a letter, Dhankhar said police personnel are working as “cadres” of the ruling TMC. “If the Constitution is not protected, I have to act. The office of the Governor has been ignored for long.
 
I will be forced to look at Article 154 of the Constitution,” he said at a press meet here. The Governor also said that “electronic surveillance by the TMC Government” has forced him to communicate over WhatsApp voice calls. “West Bengal has been turned into a police state...Police state and democracy cannot go hand in hand. Law and order has collapsed in the State. Maoist insurgency is raising its head. Terror modules are also operating from this State,” the Governor added. Dhankhar, who has been at loggerheads with the TMC Government since he assumed office in July 2019, had written to DGP Virendra earlier this month, expressing concern over the law and order situation in the State.
 
Following the DGP’s two-line reply, he had asked the State police chief to meet him by September 26. Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee, in a letter to the Governor on September 26, urged him to “act within the mandates of the Constitution”, expressing anguish over his letter to the DGP. Governor demeaning his post, SAYS TMC: TRINAMOOL Congress Monday came down heavily on Governor Jagdeep Dhankhar for his comments against the State Government and said “instead of demeaning the post he holds, he should take over as the BJP State President”. “Instead of demeaning the post of the Governor, he should take over as State BJP President. If BJP or Opposition parties say such a thing, it is acceptable. But such comments coming from a Governor is unfortunate,” TMC leader Subrata Mukherjee said.
 
Governor Dhankhar, who had several run-ins with the State Government, said he will no longer tolerate the TMC Government’s attempt to “compromise Raj Bhawan”. The Opposition Congress and BJP came out in support of the Governor and said democratic and constitutional rights have been compromised during the TMC regime. “The Governor did the right thing by pointing out the lacunae and the unconstitutional approach of the State Government. The State Government has been ignoring the constitutional norms,” West Bengal BJP President Dilip Ghosh said. Leader of the Opposition and senior Congress leader Abdul Mannan, said the TMC Government in Bengal since 2011 has been destroying all democratic and constitutional norms.