Kolkata: West Bengal Governor Jagdeep Dhankhar has apparently taken great offence after Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee on Saturday skipped a traditional tea party at Raj Bhawan to celebrate the 74th Independence Day. In a series of tweets, he said he was "startled and stunned" by the absence of Chief Minister, adding the "vacant seat speaks volumes". After hoisting the national flag on Red Road, Kolkata, the Chief Minister had called on Governor Dhankar along with senior most officers of her government. It was an unscheduled visit, which lasted for about 90 minutes, and, according to sources, was "extremely cordial".
A couple of hours after the "at-home" tea party at Raj Bhavan, the Governor tweeted a photo of the banquet hall in which a guest, Mrs Dhankar and the Governor can be seen sitting on red velvet covered high-backed, ceremonial chairs. But on the Governor's right is a vacant chair that has a label stuck on it, which reads "Chief minister Mamata Banerjee".
In the tweet, the Governor said, "The vacant seat meant for CM at celebration of Independence Day at Raj Bhavan speaks volumes, has created an unwholesome situation that is not in sync with the rich culture and ethos of WB. There is just no rationale for this unbecoming stance. (sic). The absence of CM and officials on occasion of Independence Day celebration at Raj Bhavan has, like many, startled and stunned me. we need to rise to the occasion as respect to freedom fighters who gave their all to secure for us freedom and democracy. I am at a loss of words," one of the posts read.
According to sources, the state government was upset that the Governor was inviting many people for the tea party. Amid the Covid-19 crisis, there was a general understanding that large gatherings should be avoided. Reports in a Bengali daily claiming that Raj Bhavan had invited as many as 90 guests made up the Chief minister's mind not to attend.
Whether she conveyed that to the Governor is not clear. While coming out from Raj Bhawan on Saturday morning, Mamata told the media that she had come in, met Dhankar in the morning because she would not be able to come for his evening event. She made no mention of the number of guests.
According to sources, usually as many as 300 to 400 guests are invited to the Independence Day tea party every year. But this time, after much deliberations, around 50 invitations were sent out. Around 35 attended. Distance was maintained between guests who were seated in the banquet hall. The Governor spent about 45 minutes with them and the tea party wrapped up a little after 6 pm. Two hours later, the Governor posted a series of tweets, again triggering speculation about the worsening ties between him and the Chief Minister.
