With every passing week, relations between Raj Bhavan, Kolkata, and the West Bengal government are touching a new low. It is no longer only about pending Bills and the appointment of Vice Chancellors to State universities; there are far more serious issues which are resulting in administrative and legislative bottlenecks.
In the past few days, Governor C. V. Ananda Bose’s insistence on action against the Kolkata Police Commissioner and an IPS officer posted as Deputy Commissioner of Kolkata Police’s Central Division for setting up a committee to probe sexual harassment allegations against him has dominated headlines. This week, a defamation petition filed by the Governor against Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee came up for hearing before the Calcutta High Court, which has restrained Ms. Banerjee from making any defamatory statements against the Governor till August 14. The West Bengal government has also approached the Supreme Court alleging that the Governor has been withholding key Bills passed by the State Assembly.
While questions about whether the Governor or the Ministry of Home Affairs can unilaterally take action against IPS officers or the constitutional and political head can be locked in a defamation suit may be pertinent, the bigger issue is that differences between the constitutional head and the political head are hampering the day to day functioning of the government.
Relations between the Governor and the Chief Minister have been declining for the past several months, but they reached a nadir after Mr. Bose filed a defamation case against Ms. Banerjee. What precipitated the situation was a police complaint against the Governor by a Raj Bhavan employee who alleged sexual harassment against him. Even though the Governor has immunity under Article 361 which states that no criminal proceedings shall be initiated against the Governor of a State in any court during the term of his office, the Kolkata Police set up a special investigation team to probe the allegations and tried to record statements of Raj Bhavan employees.
For the past one-and-a-half decade, there’s been a constant tussle between Raj Bhavan and the West Bengal government, which escalated after 2006.
During the last term of the Left Front, former Governor Gopalkrishna Gandhi’s statements on the Nandigram violence, calling out the “cold horror” prevailing in the region, had embarrassed the government. When the Trinamool Congress came to power, relations between Raj Bhavan and the West Bengal government were far from being cordial during the regime of several former Governors like M.K. Narayanan, Late Keshari Nath Tripathi and more recently Jagdeep Dhankhar. There are several instances that reflected tensions in the ties.
The regime of Mr. Bose as Governor started with a spirit of cooperation, but soon differences started emerging over the appointment of Vice Chancellors of State-run universities. With the Governor and the State government locked in legal disputes, political observers believe that the bitterness in ties has reached a point of no return.
The differences between Raj Bhavan and the State government have led to tensions in State-Centre relations too. The oath administered to the Governor under Article 159 says that the Governor will preserve, protect and defend the Constitution and the law and will devote himself to the service and well-being of the people of the State. However, the perpetual dispute has not been of any service to the 10-crore population of the State. Moreover, a situation where the Governor is raising questions about the functioning of the government under him, and the Ministers targeting the constitutional head, is not a healthy sign.
The Governor and the State government need to take a step back and complement each other’s functioning rather than contradict each other.
It is not necessary that the Governor should make his opinions public on every issue relating to the State government and neither it is imperative that the State government has to react to such criticism. It is high time that both the Governor and the State government break the cycle, settle disputes outside the courts and work unitedly for the people. There are far more pressing issues in West Bengal that require the attention of the State government and Raj Bhavan.
Published - July 18, 2024 01:10 am IST
