After a spate of speeches that have hit out at West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee on various issues of law and order and the Citizenship Amendment Act(CAA), Governor Jagdeep Dhankar appears to have softened his stand.
During the opening speech of the State budget in the Assembly on Friday, the Governor read out the exact speech handed over to him earlier this week by the Trinamool Congress government which spoke of fear in the country in the wake of the newly amended citizenship law that includes the CAA, National Register of Citizenship(NRC) and National Register of Citizenship(NPR).
Two ministers of the Mamata cabinet along with the Chief Secretary met the Governor too and spent considerable amount of time speaking on various issues pertaining to the welfare of the State. On Thursday the Governor had said he would make changes to the opening speech of the State budget if he deemed necessary.
The speech came as a surprise considering that there were no changes made in the speech as the Governor read it out in the State Assembly. “At present our country is at a critical juncture, the basic values and principles are under threat,” said the Governor.
“There is a general air of intolerance, bigotry and hatred in the country. People must be taken into confidence before adopting any drastic measure,” added the Governor. He also made a mention of the people who lost their lives in the anti-CAA, NRC and NPR protests across the country.
The Governor has appeared to be talking in favour of Prime Minister Narendra Modi and the BJP-led Centre while being open on his views against Mamata on the other hand on various issues. TMC leaders too have lashed out at the Governor after his comments which have upset Mamata and her party leaders.
For the first time, TMC Ministers were seen showering the Governor with flowers outside the Assembly building following his speech.