oppn parties West Bengal: TMC Asks President To Recall Governor Dhankhar

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West Bengal: TMC Asks President To Recall Governor Dhankhar

By A Special Correspondent
First publised on 2020-12-31 09:33:31

The Trinamool Congress (TMC) has upped the ante in its raging war with the West Bengal governor Jagdeep Dhankhar. It has submitted a memorandum and a letter to President Ram Nath Kovind asking him to remove Dhankhar from his post for his alleged lapses in 'adhering' to the Constitutional modalities and 'ignoring' Supreme Court directives regarding the duties of the governor as the head of the state.

The TMC has alleged that the governor has been unnecessarily poking his nose in the working of the state government and is acting at the behest of the Centre (read BJP) is trying to destabilize the elected government in the state. It has alleged that the governor has been using traditional media and social media "wherein he has been commenting on the functioning of the state government, its officers, ministers, the chief minister, and even the Speaker". The party said that "every such action is in violation of his constitutional authority."

Dhankhar has always been at the loggerheads with the state government, even on small matters. He can be described as a proactive governor at best and as meddlesome and outright partisan one at worst. No elected state government will take kindly to a governor who tries to interfere in the working of the administration by raising questions on most matters and pulling up and calling officers to the Governor's House at the drop of the hat. Having said this, the Governor is within his rights to keep tabs on the law and order situation in the state and send periodic reports to the Union home ministry. For that, he might call upon state officials to submit ground reports. But frequent such calls will obviously be resented by the elected government.

The BJP is putting in its all in battleground West Bengal and wants to oust the TMC in the elections in 2021. But it should not use the office of the Governor to achieve this end. The elected government is competent enough to look after the state. If there indeed is a severe breakdown of law and order in the state, the Governor can submit his report to the MHA and let the Centre take action. Beyond that, he is wrong to frequently needle the elected government. The TMC's grouse against the governor is justified. The Centre must ask him to tone down his 'extra-constitutional' activities. 

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