The governor of West Bengal, C. V. Ananda Bose, has been accused of running a parallel government by the state’s ruling Trinamool Congress (TMC) because of his decision to establish a 24-hour hotline for reporting violence prior to panchayat elections.
“The governor lacks the authority to oversee a separate government. The nominating process [between June 9 and 15] was mainly without incident. However, the governor is mum on the subject. According to TMC leader Kunal Ghosh on Monday, he is motivating the opposition parties.
Seven people died in four districts leading up to the July 8 election, including TMC employees. The opposition parties have expressed dissatisfaction about pressure put on its candidates to resign from the election. Tuesday marks the end of the nomination withdrawal period.
Before launching the Peace Room helpline on Monday, Bose visited the violently disturbed Bhangar in the South 24 Parganas district on June 16. The Peace Room was visited by some media. To manage the helpline, a Bose-deputed officer on special duty has been assigned. The helpline, which received 500 calls until Monday afternoon, is being manned by seven people.
Bose stated that the government and the state electoral commission had been informed of the allegations. Violence, he insisted, is a fact. “Some statements made by victims of the violence are true. There are grievances that many people were denied the opportunity to submit nominations. To make voting safe for the average person, we aim to bring about peace.
He claimed that since “miscreants” had opened war rooms, the Peace Room had been established. “The Peace Room will be closed once peace has been achieved and people are convinced that it is not necessary.”
He dodged a hypothetical question about whether he would report on the complaints received to the President or the Union administration. In response to the TMC’s claim that he is biassed, he claimed that he is biassed in favour of the populace. I’m not interested in filtered information. I go to the folks to listen to them because of this. I desire the position of ground-zero governor.
Asok Kumar Ganguly, a retired Supreme Court judge, claimed that the Constitution forbids a governor from operating a parallel government, but Bose had no choice in the matter. A government that has been elected controls the administration. The governor is attempting to assist the populace because this government has failed to keep the peace. Does TMC obey the Constitution, which states that it is the duty of the government to protect people’s right to vote, when it disputes the governor’s constitutional rights?
He made reference to murders and intimidation that occurred during the nomination process and claimed that the state had been ordered by the high court to use central paramilitary troops but had instead gone to the Supreme Court to contest the ruling.
Sukanta Majumdar, the state BJP chairman, said these candidates were attacked and ejected from their houses because they dared to resist the TMC and submit nominations while accompanying more than two dozen other candidates to the governor’s residence on Monday.
A complaint from the family of an Indian Secular Front (ISF) worker killed in Bhangar on June 15 led to the arrest on Monday of TMC leader Arabul Islam, his son Hakimul, and 18 other people. A person wasn’t arrested until Monday night.
On June 15, two more TMC employees died at Bhangar. According to police, seven people were detained in this matter.
The ISF lawmaker from Bhangar, Nawsad Siddique, who has accused the TMC of being responsible for the violence, said he is ready to ask his candidates to resign if chief minister Mamata Banerjee contacts him.
“The establishment of peace is crucial. Families of the deceased have been devastated. I will speak with my candidates if the chief minister requests it. For the interest of peace, I will ask them to leave,” Siddique remarked.
Workers for the BJP, Congress, Communist Party of India (Marxist), and CPI(M) have also been assassinated.
However, the Congress and CPI(M) have questioned the helpline’s usefulness. Why is the governor not calling a meeting with the government if he is so concerned? leader of the CPI(M), Md. Salim.
The helpline will be useless, according to Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury, head of the state Congress. “The Union government or the state should be consulted if the governor wants to establish the rule of law.”
