Published 12:03 IST, November 20th 2019
Governor of West Bengal Jagdeep Dhankhar's request for helicopter rejected by govt again
The West Bengal Government has turned down Governor Jagdeep Dhankhar's request for a helicopter for district visit. He will now have to travel 500km by road
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The West Bengal Government has turned down Governor Jagdeep Dhankhar's request for a helicopter for district visit, stated Raj Bhawan. Following which he will have to cover a total journey of 500 kilometres by road. The refusal of granting a chopper that would take him to Murshidabad's Domkal was the third such instance where Raj Bhawan's request didn't get cleared by the West Bengal Government. The Governor will now travel to Domkal in Murshidabad on Wednesday, November 20, by road to inaugurate a newly constructed educational building at the Domkal Girl's College.
Request denied again
The Governor left Kolkata at 6 a.m. on Wednesday from Raj Bhawan to attend the function at Domkal Girls' College. He has been invited to inaugurate the college building by former State Minister and present CPI-M MLA Anisur Rahman.
"There was a request made to the State Government to provide a helicopter for this visit, which involves travel of about 500 km either way. However, the response from the State Government has been that the helicopter would not be available and in that situation, the Governor will be visiting the place by road", said Manab Banerjee, Press Secretary, Raj Bhawan.
Not the first instance where a request from Raj Bhawan was turned down by the State Government. This was the second time his request was not accepted within a week when the State Govt sat on a chopper request. Governor Dhankhar was a chief guest for a programme at an educational institute in Murshidabad’s Farakka, nearly 300 km from Kolkata, on November 15, for which he had requested a helicopter, which didn't see the day's light.
Ever since the Governor visited Jadavpur University in September during a protest in which cabinet minister Babul Supriyo was present, he has been at loggerheads with the Mamata Banerjee Govt. The senior Trinamool Congress leadership has constantly questioned his motives, especially in regard to the Governor travelling all throughout the state and meeting Govt official. Calling his job one that has high constitutional morality, the Governor has been vocal that he would like to go to every corner of State of West Bengal.
"The Chief Minister uses a helicopter too. I heard that she came to Domkol using a helicopter. It's being said that I'm running a parallel Govt. Please don't politicize things. It doesn't look nice. Doesn't matter to me if SP or DM don't come to receive me", said the Governor on Wednesday. This comes on a day when both the Constitutional head and elected head of the state are touring the district of Murshidabad.
11:31 IST, November 20th 2019