West Bengal Governor Jageep Dhankhar (L) met Parliamentary Affairs Minister Partha Chatterjee (R) for an hour on Sunday.

State Parliamentary Affairs Minister Partha Chatterjee on Sunday met Governor Jagdeep Dhankhar at Raj Bhavan and held an hour-long “courtesy” meeting with him ahead of the Budget Session starting February 7.

This comes a day after Dhankhar invited Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee for talks , saying he “cannot afford confrontation with an elected government.”

Speaking to reporters after the meeting, Chatterjee said, “Yes, I had gone to meet the Governor and apprised him of several issues and spoke to him on various matters. But I won’t discuss it with the media. I also informed him about the upcoming state Budget Session. It was my duty as parliamentary affairs minister to apprise him of the Budget Session. It was a courtesy visit.”

A senior TMC leader said, “It is possible that discussions were held on the Governor’s speech which, according to rules, is read out by him during the budget session. There has been a rift between both the parties, therefore, it is better if it is discussed beforehand.”

On Saturday, speaking on the sidelines of an event, Dhankhar said: “With folded hands, I appeal to the honourable chief minister…. please seriously look into the situation that we both have to work under the Constitution. We have our separate duties and obligations and we must work in harmony. There should not be any confrontation. I can’t afford confrontation with a government that is elected.”

The relation between the state government and the governor had hit a new low after Assembly Speaker Biman Banerjee adjourned the House for two days in December last year as Bills slated to be placed in the Assembly were to receive the Governor’s nod — the claim was refuted by the Raj Bhavan.

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