Dhankhar hurt as state govt stays away from unveiling of

West Bengal Governor Jagdeep Dhankhar on Wednesday said he is "hurt" as no senior state government representative attended the unveiling of a portrait of former prime minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee on his 95th birth anniversary at the Raj Bhavan here.

The idea to unveil a three-dimensional portrait of the late prime minister was conceived on November 27 and an invitation letter for the programme was sent to Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee on that day, he told reporters here.

"The CM is the executive head and I have not said she has to unveil (the portrait). She may have many other engagements and I have the highest respects for her. My grievance is not that she could not come, but lack of representation by the government and bureaucracy has hurt me," the governor said.

Asserting that there must be respect for people who hold constitutional positions, Dhankhar, who has had several face offs with the TMC government, said, "Unfortunately there is a very disturbing trend ... There seems to be no representation from the state ... This should not happen to a person who served the country with such distinction."
Elaborating his plans to have a corner of Bharat Ratna recipients at the Raj Bhavan in future, he said, "Things will be done decorously. We at the Raj Bhavan don't create controversies."
Asked for his comments, West Bengal Municipal Affairs and Urban Development Minister Firhad Hakim said, "There is no need to attach much importance to his utterances."