West Bengal Governor Dhankar vs Mamata: A continuous battle of will

Jagdeep Dhankhar objected to many decisions of the Mamata government, inviting widespread criticism from her and TMC

In the last couple of weeks, West Bengal Governor Jagdeep Dhankhar has raised at least seven issues - one in every two days - where he has contested the state governments decisions.

Starting with the Howrah Corporation Bill 2021 up to the appointment of Vice-Chancellors in 24 state-run universities, the Governor objected to the functioning and the decisions of the state government, inviting widespread criticism not only from Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee but also from the Trinamool Congress in general.

Though the conflict between the Governor and the state government is nothing new in state politics and started way back in 1967, the skirmish between Dhankhar and the state government has gone beyond the corridors of legislative decorum and political etiquette. The media blackout of the governor's speech in the Assembly or the Chief Minister writing to President Ram Nath Kovind for the removal of the governor are some examples where the ruling party has crossed the boundaries of administrative protocol and propriety.

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In a recent incident, Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee did not suppressed her anger against Raj Bhavan. Without naming the Governor, she said: "Raj Bhavan mein ek raja baitha hai. Kya nahi bolta hai. BJP ke president se bhi bada. All India President BJP ka - aise baat karta hai (There is a king who sits in Raj Bhavan. What doesn't he say? He is even bigger than the President of the BJP. He speaks as if he is the All-India President of the BJP.)

The Governor on his Twitter handle wrote: "Stunned @MamataOfficial 'Raj Bhavan mein ek raja baitha hai' stance, while on a political visit to Goa - unexpected act of impropriety. On Dec 16 urged CM for interaction as constitutional functionaries must act in harmony to serve people."

In a separate message the Governor wrote: "Neither 'law unto oneself' nor 'state within state' governance @MamataOfficial can be constitutionally sanctified. CM continually in breach of 'duty' under Article 167 & politicized bureaucracy under Article 166."

Similarly on the issue of the approval of the vice-chancellors of the state-run universities, Education Minister Bratya Basu indirectly referring to the governor as 'Pagla (Crazy) Jagai (A humorous and crazy character of famous Bengali poet Sukumar Roy) wrote: "It is high time to introspect whether we should continue with the colonial legacy of the Governor being the Chancellor of Universities just by the virtue of his post or we should nominate eminent scholars and educationists as Chancellors."

The Governor, being the ex-officio Chancellor of the 24 state-run universities, had alleged that the education system in the state is a victim of shocking unionism and said that the appointments of Vice-Chancellors of 24 universities were made without his approval or in defiance of orders.

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Reacting to the allegations of several Trinamool Congress leaders, the Governor wrote: "Functionaries @AITCofficial and Ministers @MamataOfficial have publicly used most foul vituperative language defaming & insulting the Governor. Undeterred by these would continue to earnestly work to secure governance as per constitution & law. Present scenario alarmingly worrisome."

That the Governor is dancing to the tune of the BJP has become a signature allegation by the Chief Minister and several ministers.

The controversy even spilled over and entered the corridors of the Legislative Assembly.

The arrest of three legislators of West Bengal's ruling Trinamool Congress, including two ministers, by the Central Bureau of Investigation took a controversial turn after the Speaker of the State Assembly Biman Banerjee termed the probe agency's action based on the Governor's consent "illegal and unethical".

In a rare instance the Speaker even wrote a long letter to President Ram Nath Kovind alleging hindrances created by the governor in the smooth running of the assembly. The letter written both to the President and Prime Minister Narendra Modi mentions several instances when Dhankhar delayed the process of legislation. Sources close to the development said that Banerjee strongly alleged that the Speaker was taking the opportunity to undermine the position of the Speaker among the people and that is creating a wrong precedent in the democratic infrastructure.

These are not isolated instances but in the last two and a half years after Dhankhar took over, the Trinamool Congress has targeted Raj Bhavan on several occasions exposing the gloomy picture of state politics. Though the relation between the governor and the state secretariat has never been cordial, it has never been so murky.

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Though the state had Governors like Gopalkrishna Gandhi and Syed Nurul Hasan who held a position of respect not only among the politicians but also among the people as well but there are several instances when the role of the head of the state has been questioned by the elected government.

In 1967, Chief Minister Ajay Mukherjee clashed with Governor Dharamvir. Dharamvir sent a letter to Ajay Mukherjee asking him to prove the majority of the United Front within three days. Ajay Mukherjee replied that whatever happens will happen in the Assembly as per the predetermined time. After receiving the letter, Dharamvir sent a recommendation to the Centre to dismiss the Cabinet. The conflict escalated.

The late CPM leader Pramod Dasgupta, the former state secretary of the CPI(M), called former Governor B.D. Pandey as 'Bangla Daman Pandey', meaning one who wants to crush Bengal. The biggest resistance before Dhankhar came during the tenure of former West Bengal Governor A.P. Sharma. In 1984, Sharma chose the name of Santosh Bhattacharya by not approving the Left-nominated candidate Ramen Poddar for the post of the Vice-Chancellor of Calcutta University.

Ramen Poddar was the Left-Front nominated candidate while Bhattacharya was the candidate backed by the Congress-Janata Party. Sharma appointed him on the ground the Bhattacharya received more votes than Poddar but the Leftists were not ready to accept the ruling. As usual Bhattacharya was prevented from entering the university on the first day and he left the post amidst constant obstacles. The Left Front not only boycotted all the programmes of Sharma but also sent a report to the Sarkaria Commission in the eighties. The Left said that there was no need for a rhetorical Governor.

Thus, conflicts between the state governments and the Governor have a long history. But political experts in Bengal believe that the conflict has never been so disgraceful.

According to a very senior political expert: "The role of the Governor is like that of the Queen of Britain. He will listen, he will say less. Moreover, if he wants to say, he has the authority to send a report to the Centre. You can't even comment publicly by tweeting or commenting on social media, because it is the Chief Minister or the Speaker whose constitutional position is being disgraced."

On the other hand, political analyst Biswanath Chakraborty had also acknowledged that the level of conflict that existed in the past and now is not the same. He says: "In the past, they fought with courtesy to each other. Now, the disrespect is out of control. I saw the Governor being called a mad dog. You will never find such a pattern in the past. There were conflicts in the past but it was fought within the boundaries of political decorum. But this time the battle has crossed the boundaries."

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