Goodness may have no place in the world of politics when directed towards perceived political opponents. Thus, two consecutive governors of West Bengal have come under criticism in the recent past. The first, La. Ganesan, the governor of Manipur, officiating as the governor of West Bengal after the election of Jagdeep Dhankar as the Vice President, did the unthinkable: He invited the West Bengal CM, Mamata Banerjee, to his family’s function, his brother’s 80th birthday celebrations. He had to leave quietly and abruptly.
The hunt was on for a new incumbent, and C.V. Ananda Bose was selected by the government. Bose is a humble and simple person. He seemed intimidated by Mamata’s charisma from day one. Every central government-appointed governor is well briefed before assuming his post. Because the BJP-Trinamool alliance is well known, Jagdeep Dhankar’s aggressive stance and frequent clashes with Didi and the state administration did not raise any eyebrows.
C.V. Ananda Bose appears to approach the state-center relationship from a different angle: with a white flag, doves, sweet gestures, and so on. He forgot something important: that he is no politician and is holding his gubernatorial office at the pleasure of the President, nee, home ministry. Therefore, today’s big tamasha of initiation for the governor into the Bengali language did not go unnoticed by Delhi. It is not uncommon for political leaders to make promises to speak or write fluently in a language with which their bread and butter is associated. Indira Gandhi and Sushma Swaraj, among many others, promised such, but the latter mastered fluent Kannada as promised.
The leader of the opposition, Subendhu Adhikari, is peeved and has boycotted the Governor’s traditional high tea invitation. He has a reason, though! He claims that the state has merely embarked on a PR exercise to erase its widespread and deep-rooted corrupt image in many sectors, in particular in the education sector in West Bengal.
Where the parties are at loggerheads and at each other’s throats, the role of the governor becomes even more critical. He cannot be a friend to anyone at all. It was free for opposition politicians to visit Governor Shri Dhankar on any day and at any time, a facility the new governor seems to have accorded to the ruling party members.
Now that the governor has been summoned to Delhi, he could return a subdued man. His inherent goodness as a good civil servant and a person cannot be supplanted by crafty politicking. He may not be the man, and the BJP may have erred in its selection and is clearly embarrassed.
Both camps are sharpening their knives, the ruling party over the undue political interference on the governor and the opposition claiming that he is being dragged into politics by murky ruling party politicians.
Republic Day has nothing to do with independence, even for the governor of a state.
Sampath Kumar
Intrépide Voix
