TMC govt turned WB into police state, will act if Constitution not protected: Governor

Governor Jagdeep Dhankhar on Monday claimed that the TMC government has turned West Bengal into a "police state" and said he would be forced to "look at" Article 154 of the Constitution, as his office has been ignored for long by the ruling dispensation.
Article 154 of the Constitution mandates that the executive power of the state shall be vested in the Governor and shall be exercised by him either directly or through officers subordinates to him.

Criticising DGP Virendra for "being irresponsible and callous" in his response to a letter, Dhankhar said police personnel are working as "cadres" of the ruling TMC.

"If the Constitution is not protected, I have to act. The office of the governor has been ignored for long. I will be forced to look at Article 154 of the Constitution," he said at a press meet here.

The governor also said that "electronic surveillance by the TMC government" has forced him to communicate over WhatsApp voice calls.

"West Bengal has been turned into a police state...Police state and democracy cannot go hand in hand. Law and order has collapsed in the state. Maoist insurgency is raising its head. Terror modules are also operating from this state," the governor added.

Dhankhar, who has been at loggerheads with the TMC government since he assumed office in July 2019, had written to DGP Virendra earlier this month, expressing concern over the law and order situation in the state.

Following the DGP's two-line reply, he had asked the state police chief to meet him by September 26.

Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee, in a letter to the governor on September 26, urged him to "act within the mandates of the Constitution", expressing anguish over his letter to the DGP.