Bengal gas chamber of democracy, says Jagdeep Dhankhar

This is the second instance of Dhankhar venting his ire against the government on the premises of the Assembly

Jagdeep Dhankhar.: File photo.

Arkamoy Datta Majumdar   |   TT  |  Calcutta   |  15.04.22  : Bengal governor Jagdeep Dhankhar on Thursday went all guns blazing at the state government over the recent incidents of violence and crimes against women in the state.

“Bengal is a gas chamber of democracy. People are being burnt to death. Then they are being given jobs.... Why are there so many questions regarding the CBI investigation? Crimes against women are on a rise,” Dhankhar said.

He was speaking to journalists on the sidelines of an event to celebrate the birth anniversary of Dr B.R. Ambedkar at the Assembly. Speaker Biman Banerjee who was standing next to him urged journalists not to turn the event into a news conference. Dhankhar, however, went on with his tirade against the government and developments like scuffle between different groups of lawyers at Calcutta High Court.

Dhankhar criticised the “quality of criminal investigation” in the state referring to the spate of CBI investigations ordered by the high court.

“We need to focus on independent, impartial, technology-driven investigation,” said Dhankhar, who also mentioned that unlike in the past, state government officials had taken an “affirmative” role in briefing him on law and order and had also listened to his concerns.

This is the second instance of Dhankhar venting his ire against the government on the premises of the Assembly. In January, on National Voters’ Day, Dhankhar had come to garland the statue of Ambedkar in the Assembly and launched a diatribe against government officials as well as the Speaker.

On Thursday, Dhankhar took a dig at Anubrata Mondal, the Birbhum district president of the Trinamul Congress, — without naming him — for avoiding CBI summons. He raised questions on how someone could travel from Birbhum in a vehicle with a “red beacon” and get himself admitted to a government hospital in Calcutta “unchecked” and “unregulated”.

“Are some people above law?” Dhankhar later asked while speaking to journalists on the sideline of an event at the Raj Bhavan.

Reacting to the statement made by the governor, speaker Banerjee said the Constitution was what guided the activities of the Assembly. “The governor has said a lot of things. Rights and duties must be executed simultaneously. If you want to exercise your rights, you must remember your duties. Assembly, where we work, here everything is done following the Constitution,” he said.

Trinamul leader and state education minister Bratya Basu hit back at the governor, urging Dhankhar to pay attention to the state of women in other parts of the country while adding that women were still safer in Bengal.