Law and order not broken down in entire Bengal, but goons control substantial areas: Governor Bose

Kolkata: Noting that law and order have not broken down in entire West Bengal, Governor C V Ananda Bose has said that violence in parts of the state cannot be entirely blamed on the present Trinamool Congress government as it could be due to the 'legacy of the past'.

Speaking to PTI in an exclusive interview at the Raj Bhavan here, Bose, who has been at loggerheads with Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee over several issues, also said that their perceptions may differ but they maintain a 'pleasant decorum'.

Bose, who describes his ongoing stint in West Bengal as a 'fact-finding and data-gathering time for him', further said that the law and order have not broken down in the entire state but claimed that goons control substantial areas.

"In Sandeshkhali, what I saw is that the women wanted peace with honour, but their honour was in pieces. That was the disquieting situation that mars the landscape in West Bengal. This is confined to certain pockets but the number is rising. That is the issue. Therefore I will not say that in entire West Bengal, the law and order has broken down but there are substantial areas where goons are in control," Bose said.

The Governor, however, did not attribute the entire violence in pockets of the state to the present Trinamool Congress government and said that it was a 'legacy of the past'.

He spoke of the 'rotten and pocket boroughs' — referencing the 19th-century parliamentary borough or constituency in England— and said, "Rotten boroughs were created artificially for electioneering. Now, I find there is a reiteration of this here. In some places, there is 'goonda raj'."

"And the elected government did not take adequate steps to contain it (Sandeshkhali atrocities). I do not attribute the entire violence that is there in certain pockets of Bengal, to the present government. It came as a legacy of the past. But the government in power had the duty to quell it, that is not being done," Bose said.

Asked about his equation with Chief Minister Banerjee and how he would describe her way of functioning, Bose said that on many issues they have 'decided to agree to disagree'.

"A CM is a political being, a Governor is not. Naturally, her perceptions will be different from mine. There are many many occasions when we had to differ from each other. But there again we decided to agree to disagree. A certain element of pleasant decorum... we always try to maintain (that),' he said.

He, however, declined to comment anything on the TMC chief as a politician.

"... Mamata Banerjee as a politician is not my cup of tea. I am not a politician and do not want to dabble into that at all,' the Bengal Governor said.

The former bureaucrat went on to hold the IAS officers responsible for the current law and order situation in the state and alleged that a large number of them are 'biased' towards the administration.

Asserting that the maintenance of law and order in the state leaves a lot of room for improvement, he said, "I would attribute it to a very large extent to the attitudes of the IAS officers here. Bureaucrats are expected to uphold impartiality, objectivity and neutrality, they should not be committed to the party in power."

"Here, unfortunately, a large section of the IAS officers are partial, who do not do their duty, so much so that people have lost faith in them and that reflects on the ground as well," he said.

A rotten or pocket borough was referred to as a parliamentary borough in the 19th century UK before the Reform Act 1832. They had a very small electorate who could be used by a patron to gain representative influence within the unreformed House of Commons.

On TMC's allegations that he was trying to intervene in the state subject of law and order by opening a 'Peace Room' at the Raj Bhavan, Bose said, "I, as Governor, had to intervene because law and order is a state subject. The Constitution says the Governor is the head of the executive of the state..."

"I have a responsibility to be the friend, philosopher and guide to the elected government. My role is to facilitate the functioning of the elected government. I will support what the elected government does, but not whatever it does," he said.

On the TMC's allegation that the Centre was not paying dues to West Bengal, Bose described the matter as 'professional and not political' and said that he 'could be of help in getting the dues if at all it is being held up'.

"Having been in the Indian Administrative Service (IAS), I was on the other end of the spectrum working with the Centre, delivering money to the state governments. There may be some lapses on the part of the states, not only West Bengal. These have to be resolved through discussions," he suggested.

"The state has taken steps to fulfill that requirement. I do not find any reason why sanctioned money will not be released. It (non-release of dues) is a professional matter, not a political one. I will also be able to help the state in getting from the Centre whatever is due, if at all, is being held up," he said.

On whether fear of violence during the election led him to decide to be on the streets on the polling days, Bose said, "History repeats itself. In the past elections, which I witnessed and also before that, occasional violence had been prevalent in many parts of Bengal."

"I have no reason to believe that it will not happen again. Therefore, defences against that have to be built. As Governor, my role is to ensure that the law takes its course. My presence there is a signal to the people that I am with you," he added.