In a move unheard of in the contemporary political history of India, Bengal Governor Jagdeep Dhankhar on Wednesday called on National Human Rights Commission Chairman Justice Arun Mishra apparently to apprise him of what he called “retributive post poll violence” in the State.
The ruling Trinamool Congress, the prime target of Dhankhar’s attack, promptly reacted saying “Governor… don’t come back to Bengal.”
The Governor is reported to have drawn the attention of the NHRC chief towards the attacks mounted on the Opposition supporters and human rights violation in the State. Dhankhar, who was on a three-day trip to New Delhi, also met Union Ministers Prahlad Singh Patel and Prahlad Joshi before tweeting, “… Had useful interaction with Union Minister of Coal and Mines and Parliamentary Affairs...”
Earlier dwelling on the post poll violence and the alleged Governmental apathy, Dhankhar said how the State Government was turning a blind eye to the incidents of “retributive post poll violence” that had rendered thousands of people homeless and properties worth crores looted and destroyed.
“Four Cabinet meetings have taken place in the past six weeks … not a single word has been spent on the post poll violence … no Minister or officer has visited the affected areas and no compensation has been declared,” the Governor said, adding, “I told the Chief Minister to update me about the situation but … there was no response on her part… it seems that the police have forgotten their work … the police and the Home Department must rise above partisan politics … (or else) I shall not overlook the matter.”
In a sequence of events a delegation of 50 BJP MLAs led by Bengal Opposition leader Suvendu Adhikari on Monday met the Governor asking for his intervention to stop the ongoing attacks on the saffron workers in the State.
In private the BJP leadership said their workers were being hounded out of their houses and tortured everywhere.
“What they did to the communists they are doing to the BJP workers …their goons are killing, raping and looting our workers whereas their police force are slapping false cases and putting them to jail … the worse part of it is the leaders and MLAs are not being allowed to visit the affected areas … if this is not fascism and State repression then what is … but they must understand that we are not CPI(M) … we will hit back organisationally and politically … we will not let Mamata sit in peace … just wait and see,” said a BJP MP.
Hitting back at Dhankhar for “doing what no Governor has done since Independence”, TMC Rajya Sabha MP Sukhendu Shekhar Roy said “a Governor meeting the NHRC chairman on the issue of his State is unprecedented, crooked and condemnable … he has denigrated the high post he is in … he has sent a bad precedence making it the blackest day in Indian federal politics … As Governor he has crossed the constitutional barriers … the TMC strongly condemns this act…”
Another Trinamool MP Saugato Roy quoted Article 163 of the Constitution saying “there should be a council of ministers to aid and advise the Governor … he has no power to act outside this advice … He cannot see central ministers or NHRC on State affairs.”
Attacking the Governor for making the contents of his letter --- about post poll violence --- to Chief Minister Mamata public, he said, “A Governor has no business to make public the privileged communication between him and the Chief Minister but he did so breaking the constitutional norms.”
Calling the Governor a “mental patient” senior Bengal Minister Firhad Hakim said, “This man has become a mental patient … he is a frustrated person now as he could not take the BJP’s defeat in the State …instead of going to Delhi he should visit a counselor.”