West Bengal Governor Jagdeep Dhanker has done a U-Turn and appears to have softened his stance towards Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee. On Wednesday he said that that it is the Governor’s duty to stand shoulder to shoulder with the Chief Minister.
“In the last 15 days I had three phone conversations with the Chief Minister. It is my duty to stand shoulder to shoulder. She gave me some good suggestions. I know the challenge standing before the state is gigantic. Positive thing is testing is increasing. The Chief Minister is working very hard,” said Governor Jagdeep Dhanker while also saying that the state at the moment is deeply stressed due to the COVID-19, migrant workers and Cyclone Amphan, which is a severe fury of nature that has had a devastating impact.
The Governor also condoled the death of people during cyclone Amphan and also said that this is the time for those who love the state to come forward and contribute to the state fund.
“This is the time for Centre-State partnership at these times. It is time for cooperative federalism,” added the Governor who has time and again lashed out at Mamata and the state machinery.
Meanwhile Mamata addressed the media on Wednesday and expressed concern over the state’s reopening amidst lockdown relaxations.
“The government has brought in a huge number of buses. Precautionary measures have to be taken for the drivers and conductors,” said Mamata who also mentioned that two drivers at the state secretariat Nabanna tested positive for COVID-19.
“In villages people follow the lockdown strictly. But in the city, when we go to markets, we see that people are pushing around,” added Mamata.
The state is grappling with economic losses amidst the COVID-19 pandemic with more than 5000 cases and cyclone Amphan has left the state in shambles. As the state is limping back to normalcy, the Governor and Mamata working hand in to work towards welfare of people is the need of the hour. However, despite assurances by the Governor, the reality is far from the bonhomie that is being projected. The Governor and Mamata’s spat over several issues is well known and the blame game seems far from over.
