Indicating a thaw in the relations between Raj Bhawan, Kolkata and West Bengal government, Governor C. V. Ananda Bose on Monday (February 10, 2025) delivered his customary address to the State Assembly, lauding the “visionary and dynamic leadership” of Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee.
The BJP legislators, however, tried to disrupt the Governor speech on various issues including the absence of any mention of the R G Kar rape and murder in the speech.
Last year in 2024, there was no Governor’s address to the West Bengal Assembly because of the strained ties between the West Bengal government and the Raj Bhawan.
Leader of Opposition Suvendu Adhikari raised slogans of R G Kar R G Kar during the speech by Governor. Mr. Adhikari also took objection to the fact that the Governor spoke about the “Jal Swapna” scheme and said that the State government has changed the name of the Central government’s Jal Jeevan Mission.
“The West Bengal government had given an undertaking that they would not change the name of the scheme and then funds were released. I will again write to the Centre and ensure that funds are stopped,” the Leader of Opposition said.
Earlier in the day, Mr. Adhikari said that the Governor had returned the first draft of the address sent by the West Bengal government as it contained criticism of the State government. The Leader of Opposition also wrote a letter to the Governor raising questions on the oath of two Trinamool Congress MLAs who were administered oath without the consent of the Governor in 2024.
During his address the Governor lauded various initiatives of West Bengal government including the recently concluded Bengal Global Business Summit, calling it an “overwhelming success”. The Governor also expressed confidence that the proposed investments, once implemented, would boost economic activity and create employment opportunities for Bengal’s youth.
The Governor also noted that one third of the total expenditure made on the development is on the empowerment of women and referred to schemes like ‘Lakshmir Bhandar’ ‘Kanyashree’ and ‘Rupashree”.
The relations between Raj Bhawan and West Bengal government had hit a low in May 2024, when a woman employee of Raj Bhawan lodged a complaint of sexual harassment against the Governor and the Kolkata Police started probe by registering a complaint.
The ice between Raj Bhawan and the West Bengal government started melting in December 2024 when the Governor visited the West Bengal Legislative Assembly and administered oaths to six MLAs of Trinamool Congress who were elected during by-polls held earlier . This was followed by a visit by the Chief Minister to Raj Bhawan on December 9, where she met the Governor.
Published - February 10, 2025 04:45 pm IST
