Violence outside and''lens'' inside RajBhavan: Bengal Guv Bose

The quip on 'lens' seemed a reference to his earlier complaints that he was being monitored

PTI, Kolkata, Sep 30, 2023 :  West Bengal Governor C V Ananda Bose, in a veiled attack on the TMC government, on Saturday said there is "violence outside" and "lens" inside the Raj Bhavan.

Opposition BJP said Bose's comments eloquently summed up the "real situation" in West Bengal, while the ruling TMC said the governor's statement "did not make much sense".

Bose was speaking at the swearing-in function of the newly elected TMC MLA from Dhupguri, Nirmal Chandra Roy, at the palatial Raj Bhavan, the governor's residence and office.

The governor told reporters at the gathering that "there is a lot of violence outside the Raj Bhavan and lens inside".

The quip on 'lens' seemed a reference to his earlier complaints that he was being monitored.

Bose had on Thursday written to the state government and the Union Home Ministry alleging he was being "tapped and tracked" and requested for state-of-the-art security system at Raj Bhavan, including the installation of jammers and de-bugging of the area, according to sources.

The governor had earlier visited areas where violence occurred during the panchayat polls held in the state in July this year.

Reacting to his comments, senior BJP leader Rahul Sinha told PTI, "The governor has rightly flagged the terror unleashed by TMC both inside and outside of Raj Bhavan."

"While the common people outside Raj Bhavan, including the political rivals of the ruling party, bear testimony to the terror unleashed by TMC goons, inside the Raj Bhavan, the governor is subjected to surveillance by state security agencies, which is an act of silent terror," Sinha added.

TMC deputy chief whip in the assembly, Tapas Roy said Bose's comments are not comprehensible to them and "he will be the best person to shed light on what he meant".

"Really, we cannot make out what he means by the words 'lens inside' and 'violence outside'. We believe in straight talk. We don't believe in abstract, enigmatic statements," the former minister said.

Relations between the TMC-run government led by Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee and Governor Bose had also deteriorated on his bypassing state government recommendations on university appointments and calling meetings of vice-chancellors.

TMC's newly elected MLA Nirmal Chandra Roy won the September 5 Dhupguri bypolls defeating BJP candidate Tapasi Roy by a margin of 4,309 votes. The seat was earlier held by BJP MLA Bishnupada Roy who died in July.

While the function was attended by TMC deputy chief whip Tapas Roy and a couple of family members of the newly elected MLA, Assembly Speaker Biman Banerjee did not turn up for the occasion.

The Raj Bhavan and the state government had been at loggerheads over Roy's swearing-in programme for over a week with both sides wanting to organise the event. While the state government was keen on holding the swearing-in ceremony at the Assembly, the Governor wanted it to be held at the Raj Bhavan.

Finally, it was decided that Bose would administer the swearing-in at the Raj Bhavan on Saturday.