West Bengal Governor Jagdeep Dhankhar on Sunday alleged that the State government was not providing him with information on a host of issues and added that the denial reveals worrisome state of Right to Information ( RTI) Act.
“Right & Duty of Governor to seek information @MamataOfficial be [it] political violence, Bengal Global Business Summit, PDS, Amphan relief corruption etc,” Mr. Dhankhar said. The Governor in a series of tweets during the day said “sharing information is a deterrent to corruption”.
“Why is information not provided? What is there to hide? Government must clarify. For sake of accountability and transparency, responsibility be fixed on those @MamataOfficial who defaulted in giving information. Opacity would breed scams and add skeletons to cupboards,” he said.
Low RTI applications
Only a day ago, Mr. Dhankhar had raised questions at the Bengal Global Business Summit. On Sunday, he raised the issue of low RTI applications. “I had earlier cautioned Chief Information Officer at low RTI applicants — for fear of police knock and repression if they seek information.”
Raising questions on the rule of law and democracy, Governor Dhankhar also inquired about the Trinamool Congress stand that the Governor is “politically motivated”.
The Trinamool leadership responded to the allegations of the Governor. Party MP Kalyan Banerjee said he should ‘learn’ about constitutional provisions regarding the role of the Governor and his limitations of interference in government’s work. “@jdhankhar1 first you learn the constitutional provisions regarding [the] role of Governor and his limitations of interference of government’s work, then you ask questions. Suggesting you, do not become @BJP4Bengal’s cadre. Abhi to gentleman ban jao eis umar me [Behave like a gentleman at this age],” Mr. Banerjee, MP from Hooghly district and prominent lawyer at the Calcutta High Court, said. The MP also alleges that he is a “super specialist to protect @BJP4Bengal goons”.
A new low
The relationship between the Governor, the State government and the ruling party has touched a new low over the past few weeks. Several TMC leaders have been unsparing in criticism of Mr. Dhankhar on social media. The Governor has also raised questions on the functioning of the State government almost publicly on a daily basis. After meeting Union Home Minister Amit Shah last month, Mr. Dhankhar had remarked about the “alarming cliff edge governance situation in the State”.
