Governor Jagdeep Dhankhar visits Assam shelter, TMC blames ‘partial’ role

SILIGURI/KOLKATA: Governor Jagdeep Dhankhar on Friday drew a contrast between Bengal’s and Assam’s administrative response during his visit to violence-hit Sitalkuchi in Cooch Behar and Rangpagli camp in Dhubri. The Assam government had set up the Rangpagli shelter for people who had to flee their homes after the assembly election results were announced on May 2.
“While at Coochbehar the DM and the SP remained non-responsive and incommunicado, at Rangpagli the divisional commissioner, special DGP, DM and SP were all present,” the governor tweeted. Dhankhar had to take the road from Cooch Behar to Dhubri and was accompanied by BJP MP Nisith Pramanik. He urged the Mamata Banerjee government to “give up the confrontationist approach” and take the “cooperative and constitutional” stance to restore the rule of law.
Trinamool Congress’ Rajya Sabha MP Sukhendu Sekhar Roy accused Dhankhar of being partial for not visiting the homes of Sitalkuchi firing victims or those of TMC workers killed in violence in Cooch Behar. “The governor is trying to instigate unrest when the situation in Bengal has been peaceful since May 9,” Roy said, adding that Dhankhar was unfit for his post. “He should be immediately removed.”
Roy further said that it was about time BJP leaders learned to accept the popular mandate, which was in favour of the Trinamool in Bengal.
Dhankhar, at a news meet in Siliguri later in the day, said hundreds of people had to leave their homes. “Why did these people take shelter in other places? They did so because they felt the (Bengal) administration couldn’t protect them. If less than 10 people can stop the governor’s car, how can the common man bank on the administration? As a ‘sevak’ of the people, it is a shame on me too,” he said.
Sharing the “agony of victim families” at Rangpagli camp, Dinhata and Sitalkuchi, the governor held that the Cooch Behar district administration could have prevented violence through effective area domination. “The rogues took away all belongings of these families. They chopped off the legs of a father of two daughters. It is an open secret who all did it and who were the victims,” he said.