'WB Guv acting more dangerously than BJP mouthpiece': CM Mamata Banerjee

West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee on Thursday said Governor Jagdeep Dhankhar was acting "more dangerously" than a BJP mouthpiece and it doesn't suit someone holding a constitutional post, hours after he criticised the state's education system.

Dismissing Dhankhar's charge against the government of being incommunicado, Banerjee said it seemed "we are servants".

"We are in regular touch with the governor. I have spoken to him four times on Wednesday... It's as if we are servants and work taking salaries and we will have to answer (him) every moment," Banerjee said at a press conference in state secretariat 'Nabanna'.

She also showed a bunch of official communications with the governor, saying, "What will the (state) government do -- tackle COVID or continue answering his queries?" The chief minister also assured the vice-chancellors of state-run universities that they do not have to worry after Dhankhar warned of action for skipping a meet he had called.

"The vice-chancellors should not worry. All of them are respected and they will continue to work in the manner they have been working. We are with them. They have our 100 per cent support," she said.

"I told him (governor) yesterday that if the vice- chancellors have collectively written to him that they cannot do it (attend the meeting), then it's absolutely their freedom of choice... Governor can definitely send them his advise through the (education) department... But I told him that remember if anything vindictive is done against them (the VCs), entire Bengal will roar," Banerjee said.

The chief minister also criticised the governor, saying his claim that money is changing hands for admission to colleges is not true as the process was made online two years back.

"In Bengal, we have made the admission process online. He should look at Uttar Pradesh, Bihar and other states," she said.

She also raised the episodes at Jamia Millia Islamia and Jawaharlal Nehru University in Delhi to train her guns at the governor, and the BJP-led government at the Centre at large.

"Tell me how many times I have been to Calcutta University. How many times did I go to Jadavpur University (JU) to show them my influence," she said, referring to the chaos on the JU campus last September when students blocked the governor's vehicle when he reached there to rescue Union minister Babul Supriyo who was held up by some pupils.

She also pointed to the exit of Nobel laureate Amartya Sen from the Nalanda University as she took on the Dhankhar and the BJP in one breath.

Banerjee reiterated that the state government was against the University Grants Commission's advisory of holding final exams at colleges and universities by September 30.

She also took potshots at the governor, who is the chancellor of state-run universities, for issuing a show-cause notice to the vice-chancellor of Cooch Behar Panchanan Barma University.

She said it was an insult to the Rajbangshi community and the people of the northern region of the state.

Banerjee's comments came hours after the governor said the education system in West Bengal is "politically caged".

The chief minister also criticised the governor for his claim that the death of BJP leader and Hemtabad MLA Debendra Nath Roy was a political murder.

"I will wait till the probe is over. I do not agree with him. I think he either has to prove that it's a political murder or he has no credibility to stay in the chair. I think the governor is acting more dangerously than a BJP mouthpiece," she said.

In a dig, Banerjee said the governor should take care of himself during this ongoing pandemic and should not take any stress since elections are not happening in the near future.

"I think he should take care of himself amid this COVID-19 pandemic. I want him to eat properly and stay healthy, do yoga and should not take mental stress as elections will take some time," she said.

Further, the chief minister questioned Air India's move to send certain employees on leave without pay for up to five years.

"What's happening? I've never heard of this. Will not the Constitution come into play in this case," she said. 

Image Credits: PTI