Bengal Governor meets Central ministers, Trinamool cries foul

Kolkata: Soon after West Bengal Governor Jagdeep Dhankhar met two Central ministers in the national capital on Wednesday, the Trinamool Congress and the CPI(M) accused the Governor of overstepping the limits of his constitutional boundary.

Dhankhar, who met Union ministers Pralhad Joshi and Prahlad Singh Patel on Wednesday, is also likely to meet Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Home Minister Amit Shah during his two-day visit to Delhi.

Taking to Twitter, Dhankhar said: "Had useful interaction with Union Minister of Coal, Mines and Parliamentary Affairs of India @JoshiPralhad on varied issues."

Later in another tweet, the Bengal Governor said: "Had useful deliberations with Union Minister for Culture, Tourism Prahlad Singh Patel on issues pertaining to Victoria Memorial, Indian Museum and Asiatic Society aimed at enhancing the impact of these bodies."

Dhankhar, who is expected to Modi and Shah on Thursday, is likely to brief them on the 'deteriorating' law and order situation in Bengal.

He had already written a letter to Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee on Tuesday, urging her to react to the law and order situation in the state and restore the faith of the people in the state administration and the police in general.

The state government, however, had reacted strongly to the letter, alleging that the Governor made the letter public even before it reached the secretariat.

Dhankhar's meeting with the Union ministers on Wednesday drew strong criticism from the Trinamool Congress and the CPI(M), which accused the Governor of overstepping his constitutional limits.

Speaking to the media, senior Trinamool leader Sougata Roy said, "I don't know what he is doing. He is meeting Central ministers. He is going to places with BJP leaders. He stays in a huge house which he has turned into a party office. He is saying something which he should not have said."

"He is supposed to act on the aid and advice of the council of ministers headed by Chief Minister Banerjee, but he is not doing that. He has nothing to do beyond that. Where is it written in the Constitution that a Governor can do all these things," Roy asked.

Left Front Chairman and veteran CPI(M) leader Biman Bose said, "The Governor is overstepping his constitutional limits. He went to some places even in North Bengal and moved with the BJP leaders. I am not saying that he cannot go to any place on his own, but why should he move only with BJP leaders? He is not a BJP man, but his activities are tantamount to that of a BJP person. This cannot happen. We cannot expect this from a Governor."