Kolkata: Leaders of Trinamool Congress have severely criticised Governor Jagdeep Dhankhar for making his confidential meeting with the Union Home minister Amit Shah public and have also sharply hit out for his alleged "partisan" approach calling him "a disgrace to the Raj Bhavan" and accusing him of acting like a "loudspeaker" of BJP.
Dhankar met Shah in Delhi on Thursday.
Saugata Roy, veteran Trinamool Congress MP said: "Such a public statement by the Governor is unwarranted. It was a private meeting with the Union Home minister. How come that after the meeting he has told the press about the matter which was discussed. Such a statement by the Governor is unwarranted," he maintained.
Roy said the Governor has no authority to hold press conferences under the Indian Constitution.
He is violating the Constitution regularly. "The function of the Governor has been clearly laid down in the Indian Constitution and it does not permit any Governor to
hold press conference," he remarked.
He said the Governor is speaking on issues that are "beyond his jurisdiction." He is raising question as to how peaceful election could be held in Bengal.
"This is the purview of the Election Commission of India and the Governor has no authority to talk on how election could be conducted," he said.
Roy said at a time when several BJP leaders including Amit Shah, the party's national president JP Nadda and even state BJP president Dilip Ghosh have said that declaring the President's Rule "will not be democratic," the Governor "is projecting the law and order situation in Bengal in such a way as if the environment is congenial to declare President's Rule here. He is trying to reap benefit from the BJP," he maintained.
He said the law and order situation in Bengal is better that most of the states and remarked: "The Governor should have spoken a few lines on the law and order situation in the BJP ruled UP where
gang rape has become frequent."
Partha Chatterjee, secretary general of Trinamool Congress said: "He has lowered down the prestige of the Governor's chair and felt that the Union Home ministry should look into the matter."
Pradip Bhattacharya of Congress said: "Such a statement of the Governor is uncalled for. If he feels that the law and order situation has deteriorated, then he should have spoken to the Chief Minister and state Chief Secretary and not make press statement on the matter."
TMC MP, Kalyan Banerjee accused the governor of being the loudspeaker of BJP
and "a disgrace to the Raj Bhawan".
He tweeted: "The Governor of West Bengal @jdhankhar1 is a loudspeaker of BJP. Did he go to meet the Home Minister, or did he go to meet his BJP leaders? He has done it around 99 times, so this must be
chapter 100. Once again, he went to Delhi with his garbage of lies."