A day after Mamata Banerjee accused the Centre and some other State Governments of taping her telephone a fresh war of words broke out on Sunday between senior Bengal Government functionaries and Governor Jagdeep Dhankhar.
Reacting to reports of police inaction in complying with the orders of National Green Tribunal banning Chhat Puja at environmentally sensitiveplaces like the picturesque Rabindra Sarobar lake, considered “lung ofKolkata,” the Governor expressed doubts over the State Government’s intention to comply with court orders.
“I have been informed about how for years many court orders are not being implemented,” Dhankhar said circuitously accusing the Government for inaction in preventing the devotees of Chat Puja from polluting the 192 acre lake and garden area replete with a variety of flora and bird species.
Ignoring an National Green Tribunal ban on performing Chat Puja at Rabindra Sarobar thousands of devotees on Saturday evening and Sunday morning broke open the gates performed religious rites, burst crackers and polluted the waters even as the police disappeared from the area.
Reminding the Government of its duties to implement court orders the Governor said “law should be obeyed by the people and implemented in right perspective by the Government or else there will be anarchy and no democracy,” adding when “the law wants you to pay taxes you have to pay it, when the law fixes a limit for you one should not cross it.”
Reacting to his comments senior Trinamool Congress leader and Minister Partho Chatterjee said “he is talking not like a Governor but a BJP leader more so the State BJP president Dilip Ghosh. It seems that Dilip babu is speaking behind the veneer of the Governor.”
Another Minister and Kolkata Mayor Firhad Hakim said “a Governor should also know his limits. It seems he does not carry a book on ‘dos and don’ts’. He has always been partisan and does not check out on facts,” adding the Governor was acting not like an impartial person but an agent of the BJP-led Central Government.
Incidentally referring to a different kind of victimization Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee had on Saturday alleged that the Centre and some States including one ruled by the BJP had been taping her telephone calls demanding a probe into the matter.
“Where is our freedom of speech? What independence do we have now that we cannot even talk freely over the phone? Somebody is listening to everything we say,” Banerjee said adding she used to think that “WhatsApp messages can’t be intercepted but even that hasn’t been spared. Neither landline phones nor mobiles phones are safe. It is total espionage,” and “this is very serious.”
She said that she would request Prime Minister Narendra Modi to getthe matter probed.”