‘Censorship in WB’: Guv Dhankhar After Officials Refuse to Meet

“Despite this, I will continue my tour of the districts,” the West Bengal governor said.

File image of West Bengal Governor Jagdeep Dhankhar.

(Photo: PTI)

West Bengal Governor Jagdeep Dhankhar on Tuesday, 22 October, wondered whether some sort of censorship was in place in the state after district officials refused to meet him, citing ongoing administrative tour of the chief minister.

Governor Dhankhar termed the refusal of the district officials to attend a meeting called by him as “unconstitutional.”

He had last week expressed his desire to hold meetings with district magistrates, bureaucrats and elected representatives of North and South 24 Parganas districts, a tour of which he has begun from Tuesday.

However, the office of the Governor on Monday evening received letters from the district magistrates of the two districts mentioning that the officials would not be able to attend his meetings as they will be busy with Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee's ongoing tour of north Bengal, Raj Bhavan sources said.

However, they said that other arrangements for his tour will be made, the sources said.

“I am astonished to receive the letters from the district officials in which they have expressed their inability to attend the meetings, that too four days after my intimation. I do not know whether some sort of censorship is in place in West Bengal,” the Governor told PTI over the phone.

“However, despite this, I will continue my tour of the districts,” he added.

‘I Am Not Subordinate to the State Govt’

Later while speaking to reporters, Dhankhar wondered whether the state government goes on a holiday when the chief minister is on a district tour.

“Is it appropriate that whenever the governor wants to meet someone there has to be censorship, an approval from the state government? I am not subordinate to the state government. I find it unconstitutional,” Dhankhar said.

Reacting to the development, BJP national general secretary, Kailash Vijayvargia, said the way the governor is being “insulted” by the state government is “unprecedented” in the entire country.

“There are some constitutional norms, which every state government has to follow. But from the behaviour meted out to Governor Jagdeep Dhankhar it seems in West Bengal, the TMC government has created a new set of rules and does not want to follow the Indian Constitution,” he said.

The TMC leadership, however, declined to comment on the issue.

Dhankhar has been at loggerheads with the state government over several issues –ranging from his seating position at the Durga Puja carnival to comments on his security – since he rushed to Jadavpur University on 19 September to 'rescue' Union minister Babul Supriyo who had been gheraoed by a section of its students.