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.<\/p>\n
\u201cRight & Duty of Governor to seek information @MamataOfficial be [it] political violence, Bengal Global Business Summit, PDS, Amphan relief corruption etc,\u201d Mr. Dhankhar said. The Governor in a series of tweets during the day said \u201csharing information is a deterrent to corruption\u201d.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhy 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,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
Low RTI applications<\/h2>\n
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. \u201cI had earlier cautioned Chief Information Officer at low RTI applicants \u2014 for fear of police knock and repression if they seek information.\u201d <\/p>\n
Raising questions on the rule of law and democracy, Governor Dhankhar also inquired about the Trinamool Congress stand that the Governor is \u201cpolitically motivated\u201d.<\/p>\n
The Trinamool leadership responded to the allegations of the Governor. Party MP Kalyan Banerjee said he should \u2018learn\u2019 about constitutional provisions regarding the role of the Governor and his limitations of interference in government\u2019s work. \u201c@jdhankhar1 first you learn the constitutional provisions regarding [the] role of Governor and his limitations of interference of government\u2019s work, then you ask questions. Suggesting you, do not become @BJP4Bengal\u2019s cadre. Abhi to gentleman ban jao eis umar me [Behave like a gentleman at this age],\u201d Mr. Banerjee, MP from Hooghly district and prominent lawyer at the Calcutta High Court, said. The MP also alleges that he is a \u201csuper specialist to protect @BJP4Bengal goons\u201d. <\/p>\n
A new low<\/h2>\n
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 \u201calarming cliff edge governance situation in the State\u201d.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n