West Bengal Governor Threatened Me, Alleges Mamata Banerjee

The communal riots in West Bengal’s North 24 Parganas district on Tuesday night over a Facebook post have resonated in Raj Bhavan.

West Bengal chief minister Mamata Banerjee said Governor Keshari Nath Tripathi in a meeting in Raj Bhavan had “threatened” her over the communal clashes and described his behaviour like “a BJP block president” and not as governor. Tripathi, a former BJP veteran, served as Speaker of Uttar Pradesh Assembly and was appointed West Bengal governor in 2014.

The Raj Bhawan in its explanation said, “the Hon’ble Governor cannot remain a mute spectator of the affairs in the state.” It added further saying, “The talks between the Hon’ble chief minister and the Hon’ble governor were confidential in nature and none is expected to disclose it.”

Baduria in Basirhat sub-division of West Bengal’s North 24 Parganas district witnessed a mob fury over the arrest of a person. Shops in Keosha market, Banshtala, Ramchandrapur and Tentulia markets were shut down over the clashes, the police said.

However, after her meeting with the governor, Mamata said she felt offended that “I once even thought of leaving (quitting as chief minister)”. She told media: “Someone had posted something objectionable on Facebook. He was arrested. Where is the fault of my government.”

“I told police to stop it. They should have blocked the Facebook account. But, how many Facebook accounts can be blocked? If the police had opened fire, 200 people would have been killed.”