Unlike what it used to be in the Jagdeep Dhankhar era, the BJP which occupies almost the entire Opposition space in Bengal Assembly on Wednesday raised anti-Government slogans during the entire speech of Governor CV Ananda Bose alleging he had given into the pressure of the ruling TMC. The Governor was addressing the House ahead of the Budget Session.
Bose addressed the State Assembly for the first time after taking charge, amid protests by BJP MLAs against “corruption” by the ruling outfit.
Unlike Dhankhar who would often refuse to read out the lines given to him by the Government, Bose read out the speech in its entirety even as the BJP MLAs shouted slogans before staging a walkout. “We are disappointed with the Governor who knows what is happening in the State … still he is silent and read out a speech prepared by the state government, which has no relation with reality,” Opposition Leader Suvendu Adhikari said.
While the State BJP enjoyed an excellent chemistry with the then Governor Dhankhar the saffron outfit has been raising questions on the style of Bose’s functioning.
“He should go and get some briefing from the Vice President of India about running the Raj Bhavan,” Adhikari had on an earlier occasion said, referring to the close chemistry developing between the Mamata Banerjee Government and the Governor’s House.
In his address Bose also urged the Centre to release funds to the state for the benefit of the poor people. His speech comes after the Mamata Banerjee government and the ruling Trinamool Congress repeatedly accused the Centre of "not releasing funds" to the state. "There are three areas where the state could have done better - MGNREGA, rural housing, and rural roads. Till 2021-22, West Bengal has been number one in these areas. But this year, the state is yet to receive funds from the Centre," he said.
He also said, "I hope the Centre will release the funds soon in the interest of poor people. And I am sure; West Bengal will continue to hold the No. 1 place in MGNREGA, rural housing, and rural roads as soon as it gets its dues from the Central Government."
While lauding the initiatives by the state government in the last decade to provide the best possible amenities and facilities to the pilgrims, the Governor said, "My government is riding on the wave of its immensely popular pro-people policies".
Claiming that the state government is committed to upholding the noble tenets of cooperative federalism as "enshrined in our constitution", Bose said the TMC government is steadfast in its course to withstand all possible assaults on the secular fabric of the state.
"The members (of the Assembly) can be rest assured that my Government will deal with all inimical forces of divisiveness, hatred and intolerance with a firm hand and defeating all kinds of negativity," he said.
Lauding Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee, Bose said it was due to her persistent efforts that Durga Puja of Kolkata has been included in UNESCO's 2021 list of "Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity".
Speaking about initiatives of the state government to boost the industrial sector, the Governor said the development of Tajpur Deep Sea port is expected to draw an investment of Rs 15000 crore. "Shale Gas Exploration License has been given to exploit 6.6 trillion cubic feet shale gas in the Raiganj region of the state," he said. He said the Bengal Silicon Valley is being established at Newtown close to Kolkata and has drawn a tremendous response from data centre players, which signals strong confidence in the newly formulated "WB Data Centre Policy, 2021".