West Bengal: Chief Minister Blocks Governor On Twitter
By A Special Correspondent
First publised on 2022-02-02 09:35:41
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Relations between West Bengal chief minister Mamata Banerjee and state governor Jagdeep Dhankhar have never been good. But the recent decision of the chief minister to block the governor on Twitter is a new low. It can be argued that given Dhankhar's propensity to make tweets that disparage the state government and the chief minister (his recent tweet called the state a "gas chamber of democracy"), Banerjee was right in blocking him. But since the governor's Twitter account remains active and he will still be making tweets, it is just a point scored by the chief minister and nothing else.
Ever since Dhakhar was appointed as governor, his relations with the state government have been frosty, to say the least. The Trinamool Congress (TMC) accuses him of being a Central agent and working to implement the BJPs agenda in the state. After the huge TMC victory in the last assembly elections, the relations have deteriorated further. The governor accused the TMC of carrying out post-election violence by targeting BJP workers. The TMC accused the governor of actions not behoving his high office. The strained relations have forced the TMC to ask the Centre to recall the governor.
But there is point about social media that needs to be made. Politicians of all hue make charges against each other. Banerjee herself criticizes the Centre and Prime Minister Modi and Home Minister Amit Shah regularly in her tweets and public statements. That does not mean that they will block her on social media. It serves little purpose. The fact of the matter is that the chief minister and the governor (if he is not recalled) must hold a meeting and announce a ceasefire. Such ugly fights on social media lower the prestige of both and must be avoided. The governor must understand that a government elected by huge popular mandate is running the state. If there is something amiss, he must file his report to the home ministry and let it take a call. But he must refrain from spewing venom on the government and the chief minister in social media.
