CM Mamata, Governor Dhankar trade barbs in Bengal amid coronavirus crisis

The face-off between the West Bengal government and Raj Bhavan escalated on Thursday, with Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee accusing Governor Jagdeep Dhankhar of repeatedly interfering in the functioning of the state administration, and the latter asserting a state cannot be governed as a personal fiefdom.

At daggers drawn for the last several months, the two went for each others jugular with Banerjee shooting off a letter to Dhankhar in the backdrop of his recent criticism of the government over the way the state was tackling the COVID- 19 pandemic.

Banerjees allegation drew a sharp reaction from Dhankhar, who said, a state cannot be governed as a personal fiefdom and a constitutional functionary cannot be allowed to turn into a law unto oneself.

In a strongly worded five-page letter to the governor, Banerjee said Dhankhar has forgotten that she is the "elected chief minister of a proud Indian state" whereas he is a nominated governor.

"You have to judge for yourself, whether your direct attacks on me, my ministers, officers, your tone, tenor and language, which in mildest words of extreme moderation, deserve to be characterized as parliamentary, your holding press conferences against the state government of which you are a governor, your repeated and consistent interference in the administration of my ministries make it clear as to who has flagrantly transgressed constitutional dharma...," she wrote.

Banerjee claimed the governor's conduct does not conform to even "basic norms of decency" between constitutional functionaries.

Dhankhar was quick to respond, tweeting, "A communication @MamataOfficial has been received. Outrageously factually wrong and constitutionally infirm.

Recognised Non Resident Bengali Doctors have in an eye opener representation flagged concern? @MamataOfficial in Covid 19 battle. Worrisome issues flagged 1. Gross under- testing in West Bengal, and 2. Misreporting of data on the cause of death in COVID-19 patients, he said.

Dhankhar then shot back with a missive to the chief minister, saying There has been a total failure at your end all through as regards compliance of constitutional prescriptions qua (in so far as) the constitutional head.

The enormity of the situation and lapses at your end is that in spite of repeated communications for compliance you have blackholed all my communications resulting in the virtual negation of Articles 166 and 167 of the Constitution, he said in a five-page reply.

In her letter, Banerjee referred to a text message from the governor and said the tone, tenor, and language was unprecedented.

Terming Dhankhar's statement to the audiovisual media "to warn her" an "unprecedented event", Banerjee said, the governor continues to ignore all advice and inputs given by her and the council of ministers since his appointment.

She also annexed a two-page letter from Dhankhar where he had castigated her government.

In his April 24 letter, Dhankhar had said the state was passing through severe and stressful times because of the COVID-19 pandemic. He claimed that despite repeated pleas for interaction with the government on the issue, only the states chief secretary had met him once.

He had asked the state government to unlock this logjam and bring down the state governments iron curtain in the larger interest of the people.

Dhankhar said after Banerjee complained about the paucity of testing kits, he had contacted the union health minister who told him that adequate number of kits were available with the state government.

The governor also wrote about the states public distribution system being in disarray during the COVID 19- induced lockdown and said it was resulting in people incrementally getting into agitational mode.

In his Thursday's missive after receiving Banerjees letter, the governor wrote both of them are constitutional functionaries and their roles in relation to each other are clearly defined in the Constitution.

The Constitution does not allow any constitutional functionary to be law unto oneself and the state cannot be run like a fiefdom. It has to be governed with complete adherence to constitutional prescriptions, he said.

Referring to the series of indignities and indiscretions heaped by the chief minister and her ministers, he said Banerjees constant refrain of the governor being nominated is lamentable and can be ascribed only to elementary ignorance of the Constitution.

Noting that going by the chief ministers response the governor should be in sleep mode, totally non-functional and confined to Raj Bhavan, the governor said the the reading of the Constitution at your end or by your advisors is not shared by me and goes against the essence, letter, and spirit of the Constitution.

"Let me indicate for the benefit of the people of West Bengal that for their welfare, I would ever be in persuasive mode. I would bend to an extreme degree to serve them. I will plead with you as CM and the Government to see the writing on the wall, to follow the Constitution, but this mode of mine should not be misunderstood as my weakness.

I would rise spinally to serve the people of the State and vindicate my oath under all challenges, he said.

The fresh confrontation between Raj Bhawan and the state government set off a political storm in the state with Bengal BJP leadership firmly standing behind the governor and the TMC wondering whether the governor has taken over the mantle of the opposition leader.

"Governor did the right thing by pointing out the lacunae and unconstitutional approach of the state government. The way the governor has been insulted by the ministers of the TMC government is unprecedented," state BJP president Dilip Ghosh said.

State parliamentary affairs minister and senior TMC leader Partha Chatterjee said in his long political career he has never ever come across "such a governor who has an approach of bossing over the state government".

"I have never such a governor whose all communications reflect a bossing approach. It seems he has taken up the mantle of opposition leader in the state," he said.