Bengal Governor Jagdeep Dhankhar continued to open newer battlefronts, this time taking on State Assembly Speaker Biman Bandopadhyay even as he wrote a strong letter to him for denigrating the honour of the gubernatorial chair.
The Governor’s letter to Bandopadhyay comes days after the latter complained to Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla about Dhankhar’s alleged “interference in the functioning of the (State) House.” He had complained to Birla about the Governor’s interference during a virtual meeting of the All India Speakers.
Reminding that the stand taken by Bandopadhyay was not commensurate to the office he held the Governor wrote that he was “saddened” by the Speaker’s approach that had brought down the dignity of Raj Bhavan.
Wondering as to why the Speaker would not deliberate on the issue with him the Governor said there was not a single instance when he had interfered in the matters of the State Assembly.
Saying that the allegations brought by the Speaker that the Governor was not clearing the Bills passed by the State Assembly were “bereft of any factual foundation,” the Governor said “aadherence to constitutional norms is quintessential to democracy & rule of law.”
He said “No Bill, save one, is pending consideration at my end and therein too there is delay in response from the concerned,” the governor said in a letter written to the Bengal Assembly Speaker.”
Providing the details of the status of the “pending Bills” the Governor said that the delay was not on account of his office but the department concerned.
An unprecedented battle of words had been going on between the Raj Bhavan and Nabanna (state secretariat) for past several months with the ruling Trinamool Congress alleging the Governor was running a BJP party office from the Raj Bhavan and the Governor saying there was no rule of law in Bengal.
Things hit a new low when Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee on Tuesday called him a “corrupt person” who was involved in the Jain Hawala scam.