West Bengal Governor Jagdeep Dhankhar and Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee have again written stinging letters to each other on law and order and the Pradhan Mantri Kisan Samman Nidhi.
The two letters that have come to the fore over the past 48 hours mark a new low in the relations between Raj Bhavan and the government. Ms. Banerjee in a letter dated September 26 described the Governor’s remarks on law and order as an “unwarranted excesses”.
“I was extremely upset, anguished and disillusioned on reading your captioned letter and the address to the DGP which was placed before me, as well as to see your Twitter post regarding the same. Your aspersions sadly consist of uncorroborated judgments and insinuations against the State police and the State government,” she wrote in the nine-page letter to the Governor.
The Chief Minister raised concern about the Governor’s “inquiry into criminal investigation in connection with a particular accused A. Singh [BJP MP Arjun Singh] and seeking reports regarding the investigation processes from the DGP”.
She said such an inquiry “not only amounts to interference in the day-to-day administration of the State government but also gives rise to serious suspicions of interference in and influencing on-going investigations”.
The Governor has sent the note to the DGP and asked him to appear before him. “DGP @WBPolice did not appear as requested-third time in a row-can’t be overlooked. DGP does not want to explain affairs @MamataOfficial CM writes instead, on his behalf. Is this what constitutionalism envisages? Is CM being rightfully counselled? Would respond to CM.” the Governor had tweeted on Saturday.
On Sunday, Mr. Dhankhar shot a letter to the Chief Minister why the State wants to be an ‘intermediary’ in the “transfer of funds under the PM-Kisan scheme”.
“All are justifiably alarmed and concerned why the State government seeks to be an intermediary agent, at the cost of farmers, in PM-KISAN which provides seamless, transparent and accountable direct transfer of funds to farmers,” the Governor wrote. Earlier in the week, Ms. Banerjee wrote to the Centre saying she was ready to implement PM-Kisan and Ayushman Bharat schemes provided the funds are routed through the State government.
