No Indian can be called an 'outsider' in the country: Bengal Guv Jagdeep Dhankhar

West Bengal Governor Jagdeep Dhankhar on Wednesday said no Indian could be dubbed as “outsider” anywhere in the country and called such actions as "unconstitutional".

“No Indian citizen can be labelled as an outsider in any part of the country. Unfortunately, some people in Bengal are dubbing those who are coming from other states as outsiders. It goes blatantly against the Constitution,” said Dhankhar while speaking to reporters at Kollaghat in East Medinipur district.

His comments come at a time when West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee had repeatedly called BJP leaders as “outsiders” to the state.

Read: Anurag Thakur slams TMC for outsider barb against BJP leaders

The governor also said he would try his best to ensure that the Assembly elections in Bengal remain free of violence. “I urge everyone to ensure that the Assembly elections are free and fair as well as devoid of any kind of violence,” said Dhankhar.

Urging public servants to remain “politically neutral,” the governor said that police personnel and state government employees should not do things which are the job of a worker of a political party.

“They should do their job impartially assigned to them by the state government and not by their political bosses. They must not carry the burden of the political police,” said Dhankhar.

He also said the chief minister must provide details of the procurement of medical equipment worth Rs 2,000 crore for the treatment of Covid-19.

Later in the day, Mamata paid a surprise visit to the governor at the Raj Bhavan. The meeting lasted nearly 40 minutes and neither of them addressed the media after that. Sources said it was a “courtesy visit” by the chief minister.