Mamata Banerjee wants change of governor, writes to PM, President

Kolkata : West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee has written to President and Prime Minister demanding a change of Governor in the interest of "good governance " in the state .

The letter comes immediately after the CBI arrested four Trinamool leaders, including two ministers, a former minister and a former Mayor in the Narada scam, on Monday.

Governor Jagdeep Dhankhar has been on an unusual offensive against the Mamata government after the ruling Trinamool Congress won a landslide in this summer's assembly polls.

Banerjee's letters despatched on Tuesday alleges that Governor Dhankhar has been raking up an 'exaggerated version' of violence in West Bengal since the election.

It said the whole exercise is to project a ' highly inflated version ' of the law and order situation in West Bengal, overlooking the fact that the incidents happened when the control of administration was " not in our hands."

The situation is now under full control and the administration is busy fighting Covid, it said.

The letter also pointed out that Dhankhar was "crossing all limits" by raising the law and order issue during the swearing-in ceremony and tweeting about it in public domain.

It said the Governor is trying to 'destabilise the functioning of the government ' at the time when the need of the hour was focussed efforts to control the Covid pandemic .

Trinamool Congress sources said the party was considering a resolution passed by the legislative assembly demanding the removal of the Governor.

The Governor has been at daggers drawn with the Trinamool government ever since he took charge.

" He is trying to build up a narrative of a severe breakdown of law and order with malafide motive of destabilising an elected government, " alleged Trinamool MP Saugata Roy.

But Raj Bhavan sources rubbished the Trinamool charges.

One said the Governor was a lawyer by training and was " totally conscious of this powers and responsibilities."

" He had raised valid concerns over breakdown of law and order. He had cleared the CBI to prosecute the politicians involved in the Narada scam," the Raj Bhavan source said.