Mamata Banerjee's Stance Is An Assault On The Constitution

Q/ You recently went to North Bengal and had a meeting with the Darjeeling district magistrate. He was transferred the following day.

- Rabi Banerjee

A/ Unfortunately, the police and administration in West Bengal are heavily politicised and are virtually an extension of the ruling dispensation. Governance has been distanced from constitutional parameters and the rule of law. The situation is so alarming, like in the example you have given, that political and even human rights activities are permissible only if one has bonhomie with the ruling party.

Q/ You have met Home Minister Amit Shah three times since becoming governor. Did you tell him about these observations?

A/ Yes, as governor, [I have to] regularly give inputs to the Central government; the details cannot be shared in the public domain.

Q/BJP president J.P. Nadda's convoy was attacked in Diamond Harbour. You summoned the officers. Did they satisfy your queries?

A/ The incident was unfortunate. That it happened in spite of my warning to the chief secretary and the DGP several hours prior to it is worrisome. Such an act is antithetical to democratic governance. It points towards total lawlessness and anarchy.

Q/So you had the input prior to the event.

A/ I have repeatedly cautioned the police and the administration that public servants cannot engage in political activity and, if they do so there will be severe consequences, apart from their conduct being criminally culpable. Both the chief secretary and the DGP called on me on the day of the incident, but failed to impart any details. Such emasculation of top bureaucrats is a threat to the democratic process and points to the fact that public servants are political workers paid by the exchequer.

Q/ Are these instances of the constitutional machinery collapsing?