Ruckus in Calcutta High court: It was unprecedented and shocking, says Governor Dhankhar

Referring to the protest outside the courtroom of Justice Abhijit Gangopadhyay, who is hearing the School Service Commission (SSC) recruitment scam case, by a section of lawyers, Dhankhar said, “Whatever happened in the High Court was unprecedented and shocking. If access to justice is obstructed, where’s the democracy then? It is
unacceptable.”

The governor, who was speaking on the sidelines of a function to mark the birth anniversary of BR Ambedkar, said he was am concerned over the disturbing events that have taken place in the state in the last few days. Criminal activities are on the rise in the state, said Dhankhar, flanked by Vidhan Sabha speaker Biman Bandopadhyay who appealed to him not to turn the function into a press conference.

“This is not a press conference and I will request the governor not to turn into one,” said Bandopadhyay.

Dhankhar, however, chose to respond to questions of the mediapersons. “Another cause of concern at this stage is the quality of criminal investigation. We need to focus on independent, impartial, technologically superior investigation so that the people’s faith in the institutions remains intact,” he added.

It gets very difficult for him when people say Bengal is a den of corruption. Now we see more incidents of crime against women, he alleged.

“We can’t have a state that is known only for violence and crimes against women, where bureaucracy is politicised and the preamble of the Constitution is disregarded,” said Dhankhar.

He also questioned as why Trinamool Congress’s Birbhum district president Anubrata Mondal was allowed to use a red beacon on his vehicle. “I have informed the DGP about it. Mondal was seen using a red light vehicle in Kolkata last week. I told the DGP if a person can travel from Birbhum with a red beacon it is not a good sign,” he said.

Cabinet Minister Firhad Hakim said the people of Bengal have chosen Mamata Banerjee to run the state.

“So, as per the Constitution, the governor has not been given extra-constitutional power. We will keep him informed and can take his suggestions,” said Hakim.