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Meeting held significance as the panchayat election in the state is likely to be held in May
West Bengal Governor Dr CV Ananda Bose met Union Home Minister Amit Shah at the Parliament on Friday, March 17, ahead of the crucial panchayat election in the state.
Sources told The New Indian that Dr Bose handed over a report on the law and order situation in West Bengal to HM Shah.
Interestingly, Governor Dr Bose visited Delhi last month, when he met Vice President Jagdeep Dhankar, who was his predecessor. However, Bose could not meet HM Shah during that visit.
“I cannot exactly pinpoint topics they discussed, but the law and order situation in Bengal, especially before the panchayat election, perhaps came up in their conversation,” Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) vice-president Dilip Ghosh told The New Indian.
Dr Bose’s meeting with HM Shah lasted for half an hour. Sources said that apart from the law and order situation, they also discussed various other topics related to the state.
During his Delhi visit, Governor Dr Bose also met with Union Defence minister Rajnath Singh. Sources told The New Indian that Singh and Dr Bose discussed the long-standing issue of the Border Security Force (BSF)’s increased jurisdiction in the state.
The meeting between HM Shah and Governor Dr Bose held immense significance, as the central government will be looking to ensure the panchayat election is conducted peacefully. The panchayat election in the state is expected to be held in May.
Central government will also like to see that the violence that gripped the state following the assembly election is not repeated. BJP workers were primarily targeted by alleged Trinamool Congress (TMC) workers in the post-poll violence in 2021. Congress and the CPI (M) also allege that even their workers were targeted by the TMC workers.
Interestingly, Dr Bose came under fire from the BJP for his increasingly cordial relationship with the TMC. So much so that Bengal CM Mamata Banerjee referred to him as “a perfect gentleman”.
The West Bengal unit of the BJP has approached the state Governor several times in the last few months over the law and order situation in the state. They had also submitted a memorandum regarding the same.
A day after BJP state president Sukanta Majumdar met with the Governor at Raj Bhawan in February, a statement was released from Raj Bhawan stating, “As far as corruption is concerned, there will be a zero-tolerance policy. Nobody will be allowed to take the law into their own hands.”
“Law and order will be scrupulously maintained and at the appropriate time, an effective and proactive intervention will be done. Violence has no place in elections and free and fair polls will be ensured in the upcoming panchayat elections,” it further added.
In a flurry of movement, the very next day after the statement, Raj Bhawan relieved its principal secretary, Nandini Chakravorty, of her duties. Interestingly, the 1994-batch IAS officer is considered close to the ruling party in West Bengal.
The Governor also sought a report from the state government on the incident of attack on the convoy of Union Minister of State for Home Nisith Pramanik.
