Mamata Banerjee criticised Jagdeep Dhankar for attacking the education system in Bengal.
West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee on Thursday accused the Bengal Governor of being a mouth piece for the BJP who expected the elected government in the state at his beck and call "as if we are paid servants and not elected representatives."
The Bengal chief minister's outburst came on a day Governor Jagdeep Dhankar said education in the state was "politically caged and politically controlled" and that the "political grip was frightening." The comments came after 23 vice chancellors of universities failed to show up for a video conference on Wednesday. The governor suggested that the no-show was prompted by the government.
Mr Dhankar's tweets on the Hemtabad MLA found hanging in a marketplace earlier this week was also a cause for her outrage. He had tweeted saying it was a case of political murder that the police was trying to cover up.
The Bengal chief minister said so far she knew, the death was, on the face of it, a case of suicide and the governor should not have rushed to claim it was murder without any evidence. "He is talking like a politician. He has claimed the MLA's death was a political killing. He should prove it. Otherwise I don't think he is fit for the chair he is occupying."
Ms Banerjee also criticised Mr Dhankar for attacking the education system in Bengal. "Don't compare anyone with West Bengal. How many Nobel laureates has Bengal got? What they are doing in Nalanda University? Amartya Sen is out? What about Jamia, JNU? Even PTI, you know also, what message they are giving to you because you have done a critical report? What music are you facing now? We will not take any lesson from them."
Elaborating on the showdown over the vice chancellors meeting that did not take place, Ms Banerjee said the governor has threatened them with all kinds of dire consequence. "But I will warn him that if he does anything against all these highly respected, Bengal will rise up against him," she added.
The government always responded to the governor's multiple queries, but in the middle of the pandemic it was difficult, Ms Banerjee said. "If I had the time I would go and touch his feet every day," Ms Banerjee mocked. "After all we are paid servants who take a salary and not elected representatives."
The chief minister and the governor have clashed frequently in the last few months. But Thursday's face off was easily the most bitter by all yardsticks. The governor held a press meet at 1:30 PM to attack the government. The chief minister spoke from 4 to 5:30 this evening. The governor is not known to have publicly responded to the chief ministers' counterattack yet.