Source: File Photo - Internet
Bengal Governor Jagdeep Dhankar sparks new controversy after he tweets the number of rape cases filed in the state. Dhankar claims that the TMC government has just converted the state of West Bengal into a “police state”. He warns he would be compelled to take a closer look at Article 154 of the Constitution. He says his office has been ignored for quite some time now by the ruling party in the state.
KOLKATA 6 OCT: Governor Jagdeep Dhankhar and West Bengal government has locked horns, yet again. This followed after the Governor tweeted a report of the number of rape cases registered in the state of West Bengal.
According to the recent National Crime Record Bureau(NCRB) data, which was released in 2019, 14 cases of alleged sexual assault under Section 376 of IPC were recorded in Kolkata in the year. Though, there were no cases of attempt to commit rape under Section 376 read with 511 of the IPC.
Dhankhar tweeted a report on Tuesday, claiming that in August 2020, 223 rape cases were reported in the state. There were 639 kidnappings reported, which indicates a worrisome state of crime against women. Dhankar says it is a grave cause of concern.
Here is Dhankhar’s tweet on this regard
Minutes after his tweet, the Home Department, Government of West Bengal tweeted a swift response. The tweet said that the Rajbhavan dissemination of West Bengal ‘statistics’ on rape and kidnapping is not based on any official report, credible data or information. The allegations are baseless, ill-founded and misguiding, totally incongruous with lacking authentic facts and figures.
Here is a tweet from Home department , West Bengal government.
Soon after, Dhankhar tweeted back claiming that chief minister Mamata Banerjee should apologise as the reports did come in from authentic sources.
Here is Dhankhar’s tweet on this regard.
He has also warned to take a look at Article 154 of the Constitution. Article 154 of the Constitution states that the executive power of the state shall be vested compulsorily in the Governor. And shall be exercised by him either directly or through officials who are subordinates to him.
Dhankhar on Mamata : In a Series of Tweets
Governor Jagdeep Dhankhar has pulled up the state government on various occasions. He used twitter to voice out his grievances against the state government. In the recent past, Dhankhar called out the state government for not furnishing the amount of investment that was disbursed to Bengal post the Bengal Business Summit. Even he pointed out the DG, and the home secretary for not coming to Raj Bhavan despite his summons over Manish Shukla’s death.
Furthermore, Dhankar also criticises DGP Virendra. He called him “irresponsible and callous” in his response to a letter. He had written to the DGP earlier this month talking about his growing concern over the administration situation in the state. The Governor further claims that the police of the state are working as aides of the ruling party.
It may be mentioned that Dhankar has been at loggerheads with the TMC government since the time he came into power in July 2019.
TMC’s side of the coin
Senior Trinamool Congress leaders think that the Governor has become a spokesperson of BJP. They believe that instead of using the Governor’s chair to voice out his opinion against the government, he should rather join BJP to voice now.
Partha Chatterjee, state parliamentary affairs minister, said, “We feel that the Governor should look at the authentic reports and then comment on the situation.”
Senior TMC leaders feel that the Governor has not spoken a single word against the grave Hathras incident. However, he is leaving no stones unturned to criticise the Bengal government on every possible occasion.
Meanwhile, Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee, in a letter to the Governor, on September 26, had urged him to only act within the mandates of the Constitution.
BJP’s Chandra Kumar Bose to Dhankar
Dhankar’s tweet received a comment from BJP leader Chandra Kumar Bose. Bose is the grand nephew of Netaji Subhas Chandra Bose. He claimed that undoubtedly, the Mamata Banerjee-led government has failed to contain crime against women in Bengal. He also wrote in his tweets that there is no need of just singling out Bengal. There are rising crimes in the states of Uttar Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh and Rajasthan.
Here is Bose’s comment