Bose-Mamata ‘bonhomie’ irks state BJP: Guv left for Delhi shortly after celebrating Saraswati Puja and Republic Day at Raj Bhavan

Guv left for Delhi shortly after celebrating Saraswati Puja and Republic Day at Raj Bhavan 

Chief minister Mamata Banerjee and governor CV Ananda Bose during the haathe kkhori programme at the Raj Bhavan in Calcutta on Thursday Picture by Gautam Bose 

Arkamoy Datta Majumdar | TT  |  Calcutta |  28.01.23:  A section of Bengal BJP leaders has expressed in private their disappointment with the conduct of governor C.V. Ananda Bose and complained against him to the party’s top brass in Delhi, but he seems to be ensconced at the Raj Bhavan as of now. 

Bose left for Delhi on Thursday evening shortly after celebrating Saraswati Puja and the Republic Day at the Raj Bhavan. Chief minister Mamata Banerjee was present at the programmes.

Some of the BJP leaders had thought Bose had been summoned by the Union home ministry and would be reprimanded for his proximity to the Trinamul Congress dispensation. However, that was not the case.

On Friday, the governor was present at the Raisina Bengali School at Mandir Marg in Delhi to participate in the online interactive session of Pariksha Pe Charcha, addressed by Prime Minister Narendra Modi.

“Our leaders behave as if the Raj Bhavan must mandatorily function like a BJP office,” a BJP source said. “If we have to depend on the governor for our political prosperity, we should be ashamed as a political party.”

During a closed-door BJP meeting in Delhi on December 19, Opposition leader Suvendu Adhikari had first complained to national president J.P. Nadda about Bose’s bonhomie with the state’s ruling establishment.

Recently, former MP and BJP national executive member Swapan Dasgupta had been publicly critical of Bose. Adhikari and Bengal BJP chief Sukanta Majumdar skipped Thursday’s events at the Raj Bhavan.

“All this drama is spoiling the dignity of the Raj Bhavan,” said BJP’s national vice-president Dilip Ghosh on Friday. He was referring to the celebration of mother tongues and the governor’s initiation into learning Bengali (haathe kkhori) at an event in the Raj Bhavan on Thursday. 

Bose assumed the role of the governor on November 2022. He had been briefly preceded by La. Ganesan. However, before Ganesan, the seat was occupied by Jagdeep Dhankhar, the current Vice-President of India. 

Dhankhar’s tenure from July 2019 to July 2022 was punctuated by extreme conflicts between him and the state government. While Dhankhar had publicly criticised the functioning of the state government, sat on important bills passed by the Assembly, sided with the saffron camp on allegations of post-poll violence on BJP supporters, held a news conference on the lawns of the Raj Bhavan along with BJP MLAs, he has been at the receiving end of constant attack from Trinamul leaders, ministers, and MPs.

Dhankhar’s ways have been favourable to BJP. His statements were often lauded by the state unit of the party. In return, Dhankhar has been blocked entry to the Assembly on several occasions and even shown black flags. He was even removed from the post of chancellor of the state universities. The relationship between the Raj Bhavan and Nabanna, the state secretariat, has been so strenuous that the chief minister had often publicly demanded Dhankhar’s removal. 

Bose, for the Trinamul, is a “neutral governor” unlike Dhankhar. Trinamul’s state secretary Kunal Ghosh has criticised the BJP’s stand in a series of tweets on Thursday itself. Debunking theories of the BJP that Bose had been summoned to Delhi, he said the governor’s visit was a prescheduled programme.

“No one can actually say whether the governor is in Delhi to be chastised. It is only the wishful thinking of our leaders,” a state BJP office-bearer said.