Didi vs Dhankhar again: Mamata asks police not to allow BSF enter villages, Governor slams her

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Mamata vs Jagdeep Dhankhar Latest News: West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee and state Governor Jagdeep Dhankhar are engaged in a fresh duel over the ambit of the Border Security Force (BSF). Governor Dhankhar, in a letter, has slammed Mamata over her recent direction to the state police asking it not to allow the BSF enter villages outside its jurisdiction. 

The Centre had recently amended the BSF Act to authorize the force to undertake search, seizure and arrest within a larger 50 km stretch, instead of 15 km, from the international border in Punjab, West Bengal and Assam. The West Bengal Assembly had last month passed a resolution against the Centre's decision.

In a letter to the chief minister, Dhankhar urged Banerjee to take appropriate steps urgently and address the issue in public and national interests and revise her stance to generate an environment of harmony and cooperation.

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"Deeply concerned at your directives concerning BSF including 'BSF is allowed for 15 km that too with the permission of state  olice' to state apparatus during the course of the official administrative meeting at Ganga Rampur on December 7. These are not in sync with law or the recent Union Home Ministry notification increasing the jurisdiction of the BSF in the state from 15 km to 50 km. Your stance has sent disturbing signals and is potentially alarming for federal polity and national security," Dhankhar said in the letter which he shared on Twitter.

He said there is need to generate "bonhomie and not confrontation" between the central security agencies and the state police.

"This imperatively calls for, in public and national interest, that your directives, instructions as also stance regarding functioning of BSF in the state be revisited so as to generate an environ of harmony and cooperation," the letter read.

BJP vs TMC 

Echoing Dhankhar, the opposition BJP accused Mamata Banerjee of driving a wedge between BSF and the state police despite taking the oath to have allegiance to the Constitution.

"I wonder how, the Chief Minister of a State, bound by the oath taken by her, to bear true faith and allegiance towards the Constitution of India & supposed to uphold the sovereignty and integrity of India; could repeatedly malign @BSF_India, who are assigned to do just that," BJP leader Suvendu Adhikari tweeted.

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He drew the attention of Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Union Home Minister Amit Shah and Governor Dhankhar on the issue and requested the Raj Bhawan to inform the Rashtrapati Bhawan about it.

"She is a repeat offender, wilfully trying to drive a wedge between @BSF_India & @WBPolice. Kindly request @PMOIndia, @HMOIndia, @DefenceMinIndia to take this into cognizance. WB Governor @jdhankhar1 Ji, please apprise Hon'ble @rashtrapatibhvn regarding this matter," he said in a series of tweets.

'Governor behaving like BJP spokesperson'

Reacting to the Governor's letter, Trinamool Congress state general secretary Kunal Ghosh said Dhankhar should stop behaving like a "BJP spokesperson".

"The Governor should maintain the dignity of his office. He should stop behaving like a BJP spokesperson. He is talking about federal polity and national security. We would like to know his stance on the demand by a BJP MLA on the separation of Darjeeling hills from West Bengal. Why is he silent on it ? Ghosh said.

Senior Trinamool Congress leader and party's Deputy Leader in Rajya Sabha, Sukhendu Sekhar Roy, said the chief minister is well within her rights about alerting the police and flagging the issue of BSF atrocities against villagers in many border villages.

"Anyone is free to take up the matter with whoever he likes. Why doesn't he (Adhikari) move the United Nations?," he mocked.

(With PTI inputs)