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West Bengal Governor C V Ananda Bose on Wednesday inaugurated an anti-corruption cell' at the Raj Bhavan here, triggering a war of words with Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee terming the move an attempt to interfere in the state administration's functioning.
Banerjee alleged that the Governor "working under instructions of the BJP" was trying to go beyond his constitutionally mandated responsibilities, while Bose contended that the cell would not infringe on the state's turf but help common people forward their complaints to the competent authorities.
"At the anti-corruption cell, we are trying to give voice to the voiceless. In the days of violence, Raj Bhavan is trying to be a friend of the unfriended poor. When the 'Peace Room' was set up, there were apprehensions. We will not try to infringe on the turf of others. We will certainly try to confine ourselves within the Lakshman Rekha," Bose said.
The governor had opened a 'Peace Room' at the Raj Bhavan to address violence-related complaints from people in districts during the recently held panchayat elections.
"Do not give money to anyone. We will not allow that. If someone wants money, take his picture and send it to me. This was said in Cooch Behar by my constitutional colleague CM of West Bengal. This is precisely what we are trying to implement," the governor said, referring to the chief minister's recent remarks at a rally.
Banerjee, however, said this is not the job of the Raj Bhavan and he is unnecessarily interfering with the state's rights.
"I can see that he (Bose) is wearing a mask and working under the instructions of the BJP," she told reporters.
Accusing the Governor of “overstepping his boundaries”, Banerjee said that the Governor's responsibilities have been specified in the Constitution.
“The Governor is merely parroting the BJP's diktat. I am not blaming the Governor. I am blaming the Centre because these actions are being done at the Centre's behest," Banerjee said.
The chief minister alleged that Bose had appointed a person from his home state Kerala as vice chancellor of a university in West Bengal, though he had no experience in the field of education.
"When (Jagdeep) Dhankhar was the Governor, we had several controversies but he never did this. He (Bose) has appointed one person from Kerala as the vice chancellor of Aliah University.
That is not the rule. The state proposes a name that gets the Governor's approval,” she said.
Dhankhar who was the Governor of West Bengal between July 2019 and July 2022 was later elected as the Vice-President of the country.
The BJP backed the Governor in the duel between the Raj Bhavan and the state secretariat Nabanna.
"The TMC government is neck-deep in corruption. It is quite obvious that those who themselves are corrupt would not take action against others. That is why the Governor has decided to combat corruption in the state," BJP West Bengal president Sukanta Majumdar said.
Senior CPI(M) leader Sujan Chakraborty wondered if the Governor and the BJP are serious about combating corruption, then why the central agencies have gone slow on various graft cases in the state.