Kolkata, Jul 6 (IANS): With West Bengal Governor C.V. Ananda Bose continuing to fire salvos against the State Election Commission (SEC) and the state government over the violent clashes in the run-up to the July 8 panchayat elections, Assembly Speaker Biman Bandopadhyay hinted on Thursday that Bose’s predecessor and current Vice President Jagdeep Dhankhar was a better alternative as the constitutional head of the state.
“The previous Governor of West Bengal is now the Vice President. He at least personally attended telephone calls. But the current Governor does not even do that. His officer on special duty (OSD) attends calls on his behalf,” Bandopadhyay told mediapersons.
To recall, the tiff between the Raj Bhavan and the state government during Dhankhar’s tenure reached such a stage the Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee even blocked the then Governor on her official Twitter handle.
Bandopadhyay also said that the Governor’s movement throughout the state is beyond his authority.
“He should not make a display of his actions. This is not his work. Only he knows why he is doing this. Why is he not making a single statement on Manipur, which is burning? Why is he not questioning the Prime Minister over his silence in the matter?”
Bandopadhyay also ridiculed the Governor’s decision to open a 'Peace Room' within the Raj Bhavan premises.
“I have nothing to say on this. It seems the Governor himself needs peace of mind and that is why he has opened a ‘Peace Room’ in Raj Bhavan. Let him meditate there and have peace of mind," Bandopadhyay said.
While the Speaker launched a scathing attack against the Governor, the latter held a parallel press conference to fire salvos at State Election Commissioner Rajiva Sinha.
Claiming that Sinha has disappointed the people of the state, Bose asked the State Election Commissioner to perform his duties neutrally.
“We put up fence to guard crops. What do we do when the fence itself eats up the crops? If democracy is dying in the run-up to the panchayat elections, who is the killer? Will the State Election Commissioner please raise his hand? You should know who the killer is,” Bose said.