TMC MPs write to President Kovind seeking Bengal governor's removal

The row between West Bengal Governor Jagdeep Dhankhar and the ruling Trinamool Congress (TMC) has intensified with five lawmakers from th TMC writing a letter to President Ram Nath Kovind demanding the immediate removal of the governor.

TMC MPs have accused Dhankhar of political bias against the Mamata Banerjee government by siding with the BJP and for refusing to sign a number of Bills passed by the West Bengal Legislative Assembly, going to the extent of asking the Speaker for “explanations”.

MPs Sukhendu Sekhar Roy, Sudip Bandyopadhyay, Derek O’Brien, Kalyan Banerjee, and Kakoli Ghosh Dastidar have written the letter to the President alleging that the governor “has engineered to destabilise the state government machinery as a whole.”

The MPs have alleged that the governor has “transgressed” upon other authorities like the Election Commission and Comptroller and Auditor General (CAG). Dhankhar seeking an apology from Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee for the attack on BJP chief JP Nadda’s convoy, the MPs stated, was yet another transgression.

The letter states: “Interminable critical tweets and statements directed against the West Bengal Government, the Hon’ble Chief Minister, AITC — with a political bias – are likely to cause law and order problem. Besides, such tendencies and inclinations on the part of the Constitutional head of the State to openly support a political party strikes at the very root of federalism.”

The memorandum further states: “We submit that the Governor has failed to preserve, protect and defend the Constitution and repeatedly breached law declared by Supreme Court.

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The letter says: “Hon’ble Shri Dhankhar has also not spared the State Legislature. He is sitting tight and refuses to sign a number of Bills passed by the West Bengal Legislative Assembly. Not only is he not signing the bills, he is even asking for “explanations” from the Hon’ble Speaker. This is a direct insult and attack on the Sovereignty of the State Legislature,” they said.

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Meanwhile, BJP national general secretary Kailash Vijayvargiya said that the letter will not have any “impact” and that the President will go by his own understanding of what the governor’s role entails. Vijayvargiya added that Dhankhar “is acting within his constitutional parameters” and that the TMC is sending a letter as they are “scared.”

Dhankhar has made his dissatisfaction with the TMC known on several occasions.