West Bengal Governor cuts short Delhi visit, says 'pained by seeing violence'

Kolkata: Cutting short his visit to Delhi, Governor Jagdeep Dhankhar on Monday visited injured BJP MP Arjun Singh, who is admitted to a private hospital in Kolkata and said he was "pained" to witness this kind of violence in West Bengal.

"I was in Delhi, but I had to cut my visit short and come here this morning because of this serious incident. West Bengal needs peaceful atmosphere. The state does not need violence. The state must be on path of progress," he said.

"Holding this constitutional position, my appeal is that we must believe in the rule of law and peace. We must avoid violence. I am in pain seeing this violence," he added.

This was his first remark on the law and order situation in the state since assuming office on July 30. After sustaining head injuries during a clash between BJP members and police at Shyamnagar on Sunday, the BJP MP from Barrackpore was first taken to a local hospital and then to Apollo Gleneagles Hospital in Kolkata.

Updating about Singh's health, the Governor said during the night he had some serious problems. "He is under treatment. I am sure it is a good hospital and they will take care of him," he said after visiting Singh. As per doctors, Singh was brought to the hospital with a scalp injury. He is in an Intensive Care Unit for observation under Dr S N Singh, senior constant neurosurgeon.

"Arjun Singh is in a hemodynamically-stable clinical condition at present," said a statement by the Apollo hospital Monday.

In response to the Governor's statement, Trinamool Congress MP Saugata Roy said, " I don't know why he said that, but he should not have made any political comment."

(With inputs from Indian Express)