‘Will be forced to look into Article 154 of Constitution’: West Bengal Governor issues threat to Mamata

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Amid the ongoing war of words between the West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee and Governor Jagdeep Dhankar, the latter on Monday said that he has been ignored for long and will be forced to look into Article 154 of Constitution, which mandates power of the state shall be vested in Governor.

Governor Dhankar also claimed that law and order have completely collapsed while Maoist insurgency is raising its head in the state as well.

He further added that in reply to his letter to the Director General of Police (DGP) regarding the decline of law and order situation in the state, he was dismissed with a cursory comment that “West Bengal firmly adheres to the at laid down by the Governor”.

“How is such a dismissive statement is given to a constitutional head of the state,” questioned the West Bengal Governor.

The Governor wrote a detailed reply to the Chief Minister’s letter dated September 26, writing, “I’m confident that you will take urgent steps to ensure ‘political neutrality’ of police and enforce their accountability rather than be a shield to cover their culpable transgressions of the law.”

Mamata govt turns down Governor’s request for additional funds

Earlier in the day, the West Bengal government turned down a request from Governor Dhankar to increase the budget allocation for Raj Bhavan. The Governor’s office had written to the state secretariat a couple of times in the recent past, seeking additional funds of Rs 53.5 lakh to meet everyday expenses.

The state government, however, expressed its inability to allot more funds, claiming that it has adopted austerity measures amid the COVID-19 pandemic.

“The governor’s office had sought additional funds of Rs 53.5 lakh. As our state has adopted certain austerity measures to handle expenses during this pandemic, the request was turned down,” read an official statement from the govt.

It should be noted that West Bengal’s finance department has slashed budget allotted to the Raj Bhavan by 50 per cent and set aside Rs 16 crore for its expenditure in 2020-21 fiscal.