WB govt to provide chopper to Dhankhar, indicating a thaw

In what can be seen as a sign of reconciliation between the state administration and the Raj Bhavan, the Mamata Banerjee government has decided to provide Governor Jagdeep Dhankhar with a helicopter for his travel to Santiniketan on Thursday.

The governor's secretariat had requested a chopper from the state government for Dhankhar's travel and, unlike previous occasions, it has been approved.

"We had sought a chopper for the governor to travel to Santiniketan to attend a programme. It was approved by the state government," a Raj Bhavan official said on Tuesday.

The development comes a day after Dhankhar held a meeting with state Finance Minister Amit Mitra and Parliamentary Affairs Minister Partha Chatterjee to discuss the state Budget session scheduled to start from February 7.

Chatterjee, also secretary general of the ruling Trinamool Congress, had a meeting with Governor for over an hour on Sunday too.

A senior TMC leader said the development is an indication of both the Raj Bhavan and the state government softening their stance.

On several occasions last year, the state government had rejected Dhankhar's request for a chopper to travel to Santiniketan, Domkal and Farakka, which was around 300 kilometres from Kolkata.

The governor has been at loggerheads with the TMC government over a number of issues ranging from Dhankhar's seating arrangement at the Durga Puja carnival to comments on his security since he rushed to Jadavpur University to "rescue" Union minister Babul Supriyo who was heckled there by a section of students.