Kolkata: West Bengal Governor Jagdeep Dhankhar said on Tuesday the post of the state's constitutional head has been 'seriously compromised', as he hit out at Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee, who shot back wondering why she never had any problem with the previous Raj Bhavan occupants.
The verbal duel between the two happened on the day the state assembly met to mark the 70th anniversary of the adoption of the Indian Constitution. There was, however, no direct exchange of words on the floor of the House.
"The post of the constitutional head of the state has been seriously compromised. This is an unprecedented and challenging situation. I would call upon the lawmakers to ask their conscience," Dhankhar said in his address to the House.
TMC lawmakers were seen chanting slogans like 'Jai Bangla, Jai Hind' as he was leaving the House after concluding his speech.
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When Banerjee's turn came, she questioned the propriety of BJP leader Devendra Fadnavis being sworn in as Maharashtra chief minister, and the subsequent Supreme Court ruling that led to his resignation. She said it showed that the Constitution cannot be subverted.
"The apex court has upheld the Constitution and it is the best gift as we mark 70 years of adoption of the Indian constitution," she told the assembly
"Efforts are on to destroy the Constitution. We have heard about freedom at midnight but have never heard about government at midnight," Banerjee said while alluding to the acclaimed book 'Freedom at Midnight' that chronicled India's journey to independence from the British yoke.
"In my state, the post of the governor is being badly misused. No one should forget that the Governor's is a nominated post but the state government is elected. We are not at anyone's mercy," she later told reporters.
She said nobody, including the prime minister, spoke to her the way Dhankhar did.
Without elaborating on how Dhankhar spoke to her, the West Bengal chief minister said, "We never had any problems with the previous governors. So, it needs to be seen who is responsible for this situation."
Reverting to the Maharashtra conundrum, Banerjee said Fadnavis's resignation showed that 'our Constitution cannot be subverted'.
The governor and the state government have been locked in a bitter exchange of words on a number of issues ranging from Dhankhar's seating arrangement at the Durga Puja carnival to comments on his security detail ever since he rushed to Jadavpur University to 'rescue' Union minister Babul Supriyo, who was heckled and manhandled by students.
A tussle had also erupted over the state government's refusal to provide a helicopter to Dhankhar to travel to Farakka in Murshidabad district and Santiniketan in Birbhum.
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