No I-Day release for Bengal prisoners as CM-Governor ‘war’ reaches jail precincts

The state government as is the tradition had sent a list of 87 prisoners for commutation of their sentences to Governor C V Ananda Bose.

The release could not be possible this year because the governor did not clear the file sent to him by the state secretariat, alleged West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee whose relationship with Bose has soured over the past few months.

The department of correctional administration had prepared the list on the basis of the good conduct of the inmates who are not serving life terms and who are not ‘hardcore’ criminals. The list was then scrutinised by home and legal departments before forwarding it to the Raj Bhavan.

Govt didn’t cooperate, say Raj Bhavan sources

In a counter to the chief minister’s claim, Raj Bhavan sources said the list was not cleared because the state government did not give answers to the certain points raised by the governor pertaining to the list that contained names of prisoners of foreign origin.

It was the non-cooperation of the state government in clarifying its position on the release of foreigners that led to the impasse, Raj Bhavan sources claimed. The Raj Bhavan had even summoned senior state government officials for discussion on the matter, but no one turned up, claimed the sources.

Officials of the state correctional department however said that they followed the protocol and that the inclusion of foreign nationals in the list was not unusual. Last year the state had released 99 convicts, including a Bangladeshi woman on I-Day, an official pointed out.

Only those involved in terror activities, rape and sexual offences, counterfeit currency cases and other heinous crimes could not be granted remission, the official added.

He pointed out that this is not the first time the Raj Bhavan sat on a file forwarded by the state government and cited the instance of how the governor had taken unusually long time to clear the name of the former chief secretary Rajiva Sinha as the state election commissioner.

Rot runs deep

The chief minister recently accused the governor of interfering in the functioning of the state government amidst growing differences between the Raj Bhavan and Nabanna (the state secretariat) on various issues ranging from appointment of vice chancellors of the state-run universities, conduct of rural elections and corruption.

The governor recently even went to the extent of opening an anti-corruption cell in the Raj Bhavan for common people to forward complaints of irregularities directly to him.

If the governor wanted to take up the role of the chief minister, he should form a political party and win elections, Chief Minister Banerjee said recently.

Amidst the deterioration of relation between the state’s constitutional head and the secretariat, the governor and the chief minister however were seen exchanging pleasantries during a tea party at Raj Bhavan organised on the occasion of I-day.

Banerjee had skipped the tea party hosted by then governor Jagdeep Dhankhar on August 15, 2020 when their relations had hit rock bottom.