The Trinamool Congress (TMC) has accused West Bengal Governor C.V. Ananda Bose of working on behalf of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) after he sent two sealed letters to the Centre and the state government on Saturday midnight. The TMC said that the governor's letters were "unconstitutional" and "an attempt to interfere in the state's affairs". The party also accused him of "trying to create a political crisis in the state". TMC Rajya Sabha MP Santanu Sen accused the governor of West Bengal of sending confidential letters at midnight in a bid to curry favour with the BJP and secure a plum posting in New Delhi.
"The governor is destroying the state's higher education sector by violating all rules, statutes and constitutional provisions. Despite the state pointing out the anomalies in his action, he appears nonchalant and has adopted a confrontationist stance because of the support of BJP," Sen said.
Sen's accusations come after the governor sent a series of letters to the state government, demanding that it take action against several TMC leaders. The governor has also been critical of the state government's handling of the COVID-19 pandemic.
The BJP has denied Sen's accusations, saying that the governor is simply carrying out his constitutional duties. The party has also accused the TMC of trying to divert attention from its own misdeeds.
BJP state president Sukanta Majumdar said, "The governor is trying to clean up the mess created by TMC in the higher education sector in the last one decade. He is working overtime to end the era of politicisation, intimidation and threat on campuses of state universities."
"The ruling party is humiliating the governor in most unsavoury manner as it does not like his initiative for improving the education sector. It is not concerned about the fate of students who suffer due to the chaotic situation in several state universities which remain headless owing to the TMC's blatant partisan policy to put its own candidates in the VC's post," Majumdar told reporters.
The governor's letters are reportedly related to the state's education system and the appointment of vice-chancellors of state universities. The TMC has alleged that the governor is trying to interfere in the state's education system by bypassing the state government.
The BJP, on the other hand, has defended the governor, saying that he is only doing his job. The party said that the governor is entitled to send letters to the Centre and the state government if he has any concerns.
The governor's letters have further strained the relations between the TMC and the BJP in West Bengal. The two parties have been at loggerheads for some time now, and the governor's letters are seen as a further escalation of the conflict.
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