Bengal governor seeks report on legality of Trinamul dharna outside Raj Bhavan
The move comes after the BJP raised concerns about the dharna, which is being held to demand central funding for the 100-day job program.
In a letter to the chief secretary addressed to H.K. Dwivedi on Sunday, governor C.V. Ananda Bose expressed concerns raised by the Bengal unit of the BJP about the legality of the Trinamul dharna that is now taking place in front of the Calcutta Raj Bhavan.
The letter was sent a day after a Trinamul delegation claimed the governor agreed the Bengal government's request for central funding for the 100-day job program was "just" and "reasonable," but that he would be "helpless" to get the money back in the event of "political obstruction."
According to sources, the Trinamul delegation's assertion put the state BJP on the defensive.
According to sources, Raj Bhavan has asked the chief secretary for an immediate response to three inquiries.
"A response has been requested regarding whether Calcutta Police complied with Section 144 by allowing a dharna with a dais within the Raj Bhavan. Second, if authorization was granted, who granted it and under what local law? ", a source enquired. Thirdly, what enforcement actions have the police done against it if it has been occurring without permission?
Abhishek Banerjee, the general secretary of Trinamul, has been in charge of the dharna on the 100-day job funds issue for four days.
Bose was supposed to visit Calcutta and meet the protesters, according to the delegation, "soon."
The Raj Bhavan letter, however, gave the BJP and Trinamul additional ground on which to plant their flag.
The head of the opposition in the assembly, Suvendu Adhikari, posted on X that he had learned that the governor had "formally instructed the chief secretary to remove the agitators" from the restricted area surrounding the Raj Bhavan, where Section 144 is in effect.
"In flagrant violation of the law, the Kolkata Police have been facilitating the illegal agitation for the past four days. Shri Vineet Goyal, commissioner of police, should keep in mind that taxpayers, not the Banerjee family of West Bengal, fund his salary, Adhikari stated.
He said that the police had behaved in an unfair manner.
The BJP Nandigram MLA penned, "I wish the Hon'ble Governor would guarantee that the law is equal to everyone and that no special treatment is granted to anyone, whatever powerful the person believes of themselves.
"Discrimination" sparked a strong response from Trinamul.
"LoP @SuvenduWB you got one thing right - Law is equal for everyone," Trinamul spokesman Kunal Ghosh wrote on X. He inquired as to why Bengal was denied funding for 100-day jobs "while other BJP-ruled states" received it "despite irregularities." "Whenever we criticize the Zamindari politics of your Party, the central police force charges in..." Section 144 is automatically lifted when @BJP4Bengal leaders gather in front of the Raj Bhavan," he added.
Before departing for Calcutta on Sunday night, Bose visited Kalimpong's Teesta Bazar, which was impacted by flooding.
Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by Press Time staff and has been published from a syndicated feed.
