TMC wants Guv to quit, says Dhankar instigating violence

KOLKATA: Trinamool Congress (TMC) on Friday demanded resignation of Governor Jagdeep Dhankhar, alleging that the latter was acting "as an agent of the BJP leaders from Delhi" and "instigating violence" by visiting different places and violating Constitutional provisions.

Coming down heavily on Dhankhar, who visited Cooch Behar and Ranpagli in Assam on Thursday and Friday respectively, TMC Rajya Sabha MP Sukhendu Sekhar Roy said: "When the Calcutta High Court has also praised the role of the state government in tackling the post poll situation, the agent of Delhi's 'sahenshas' (emperors) — who stays at Raj Bhavan — is visiting places like Sitalkuchi and instigating violence."

"He neither visited the houses of the four youths who were killed in CISF firing nor interacted with family members of two Trinamool Congress workers who were killed by BJP-backed goons in Cooch Behar," Roy maintained.

Stating the acts of the Governor to be unprecedented, Roy said: "He (Governor) was found accompanied by an "infamous" MP (Nisith Pramanik) and running on the street and pulling up police officers. The people of India have never seen any Governor in the past 70 years running on the street and threatening administrative officers. He is not fit for the chair of Governor and he must resign."

He further said it was unfortunate that the governor had not visited the houses of TMC workers who got killed by the BJP post election. He was shown black flags and a section of people shouted "go back" slogans, when he was passing through Mathabhanga recently.

Dhankhar's visit comes at a time despite Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee on Wednesday writing to him, claiming that his visit to Cooch Behar would be "violative of the long-standing norms as evolved over several decades" and urged him to desist from "abrupt decisions with regards to field visits".

Dhankhar visited Ranpagli in Assam in a BSF chopper stating that BJP workers and their family members from Cooch Behar have taken refuge there.

After visiting Cooch Behar and Ranpagli in Assam, Dhankhar tweeted that he would also be visiting Nandigram on Saturday claiming that the place also witnessed post-poll violence. He would also be performing puja at Janakinath Temple. In connection with his decision to visit Nandigram, Roy said he is just "misusing the taxpayers' money to instigate violence in different parts of Bengal".

Earlier, five TMC MPs — Sukhendu Sekhar Ray, Sudip Bandyopadhyay, Derek O'Brien, Kalyan Banerjee and Kakoli Ghosh Dastidar — had sent a memorandum to President Ram Nath Kovind in December 2020 demanding the immediate removal Dhankhar from the post of Governor.