As the war of words between the State’s ruling party and the Governor continued to rage unabated, West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee on Wednesday made a surprise visit to the Raj Bhawan and met Governor Jagdeep Dhankhar.
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While there was no word from the Chief Minister about the hour-long meeting, Mr. Dhankhar tweeted a photograph of the meeting with Ms. Banerjee. “Myself and Mrs Sudesh Dhankhar greeted Hon’ble Chief Minister @MamataOfficial when she visited Raj Bhawan today,” Mr. Dhankhar said, sharing the photograph on social media.
According to sources, Ms. Banerjee is likely to induct new members to her Cabinet after two Ministers — Suvendu Adhikari and Laxmi Ratan Shukla — resigned recently. Ms. Banerjee is most likely to have discussed a suitable date for the swearing-in. It is also seen as an attempt by the CM to break the ice.
Hours before the meeting, however, Trinamool Congress spokesperson and MP Kakuli Ghosh Dastidar reiterated the party’s stand on Governor, saying that the party wanted him removed from the post. Five TMC MPs, including Ms. Dastidar had only a few days ago written to President Ram Nath Kovind, seeking the Governor’s removal.
Mr. Dhankhar had earlier in the day reiterated that the 2021 polls in the State should be free of violence. He added that it pained him when he heard that some people called fellow countrymen “outsiders” in the State.
The last one-to-one meeting between the CM and the Governor was almost a year ago, when Ms. Banerjee visited the Raj Bhawan in February 2020. However, with the acrimonious public utterances by both the Raj Bhawan and the Trinamool Congress, relations have hit a new low with every passing day.
