West Bengal Governor Jagdeep Dhankhar on Monday expressed serious concern over the law and order situation in the state, post a meeting with a delegation of the Opposition led by BJP leader Suvendu Adhikari.
Evoking Rabindranath Tagore, Governor Dhankhar quoted his lines, "where mind is without fear and head is held high", and said that no one's mind is free from fear in Bengal.
About 50 MLAs of Opposition including Suvendu Adhikari handed over a memorandum to Governor Dhankhar, highlighting four issues including anti-defection law and incidents of Tiljala and Chandan Nagar.
"With folded hands, I want to appeal to all - we don't want blood-soaked Bengal. There is no place for violence in this land. Rabindranath Tagore had said - 'where mind is without fear and head is held high'. I know no one's mind is free from fear here," Governor Dhankhar said.
He said that the fear quotient was so high in Bengal that the democracy was "breathing its last."
"I request government officials and CM -- it is vital for us that democracy thrives. I hope CM will take necessary steps and government will adopt a positive approach. We can't allow Bengal to be on fire," he said.
Being the constitutional head of the state, let me make it clear that anti-defection law is applicable in full force in Bengal. It's as much applicable here as in other parts of the country," Dhankhar reminded.
BJP MLA and Leader of Opposition in the West Bengal Assembly Suvendu Adhikari met Prime Minister Narendra Modi last week and discussed with him several political issues relating to the state. Adhikari met Modi at his residence a day after meeting the BJP's top brass, including its president JP Nadda and Union Home Minister Amit Shah.
This was the first meeting of Adhikari with the top leaders of the BJP after becoming the leader of opposition in the West Bengal Assembly. Adhikari had defeated Trinamool Congress (TMC) supremo and West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee in a closely contested election in the Nandigram assembly segment.
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