As West Bengal Governor C V Ananda Bose arrived in New Delhi on Friday amid criticism from state BJP leaders over an event at the Raj Bhavan attended by Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee the day before, sources close to the Governor scotched rumours that he had been “summoned” to the national capital. They said Bose was in Delhi to attend a wedding in a BJP leader’s family and during the day he attended a programme at a Bengali school. Sources in the BJP said the talk about the Governor being summoned to Delhi reflects the “deepening differences” in the state unit of the BJP. A section of the Bengal BJP that supported Bose’s predecessor Jagdeep Dhankhar, now the Vice President of India, and his run-ins with the Trinamool Congress (TMC)-led government does not appreciate the new Governor's “friendly approach” to the ruling party. Bose, in an attempt to start learning Bengali, organised a “Haathe Khori (initiation with a chalk)” ceremony at the Raj Bhavan on Thursday on the occasion of Republic Day. In Bengali families, the ritual is organised to mark the formal beginning of a child's education. While Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee attended the event, Leader of Opposition Suvendu Adhikari boycotted it. Adhikari has alleged that the event was part of the state government’s attempt to “wash off the stain” of the alleged teacher recruitment scam, while his party colleagues Dilip Ghosh, who is the BJP national vice president, and Rajya Sabha MP Swapan Dasgupta have also criticised it. “The rumours and the reports that the Governor was summoned to Delhi were created because of the deepening differences among state BJP leaders. While some leaders have taken serious objections to Bose's style of functioning, others feel that his moves have the backing of Delhi. Many in the state unit want the Governor to take on the TMC, which is lashing out its hostile stance with the BJP workers and leaders in the state ” said a BJP leader who is familiar with the affairs of the state unit. BJP sources in Delhi said state BJP president Sukanta Majumdar had been urged to clear the air about the rumours about Bose's visit to Delhi. The party insiders said the central leadership had so far not taken up any objections with the Governor. Bonohomie with TMC The ties between the Raj Bhavan and the TMC government were strained during Dhankhar’s tenure because of his regular criticism of the functioning of the state administration. But things have improved ever since Bose took charge on November 23. Last month, Banerjee called the Governor a "perfect gentleman" after meeting him at the Raj Bhavan. On January 17, after a meeting with Bose and vice-chancellors of all universities in the state, state Education Minister Bratya Basu said the Raj Bhavan and the state secretariat would work together for the development of the education sector. At the “Haathe Khori” event on Thursday, Bose, who is from Kerala, was initiated into learning Bengali by three children and he then delivered a short message in Bengali. In return, Banerjee complimented the Governor’s initiative in an address in Malayalam. She also presented Bose with the two-part Barna Parichay, a Bengali primer written by Ishwar Chandra Vidyasagar. Lashing out at the government, Suvendu Adhikari tweeted on Thursday, "At a time when the image of the education department of the state government has been tarnished due to the gigantic ‘cash for jobs’ teacher recruitment scam and the former education minister, along with most of the important office bearers, is languishing in prison, the state government has cunningly orchestrated this event to wash off the stain.” BJP Rajya Sabha MP Swapan Dasgupta criticised the Raj Bhawan event as “nothing but a gimmick”. BJP national vice-president Dilip Ghosh described the entire event as a “drama”. Ghosh on Friday said, “We know that ‘haathe khori’ is done to introduce someone to the world of education. But how can this be organised for a learned person? He is an educated person. It does not behove a Governor to do such a drama. He is clearly guided by someone else. The post of a Governor has constitutional dignity. He should stay away from such frivolities. A person can learn multiple languages. But there is no need to organise an event for that.” State BJP insiders said the party was keen to see the Governor in an active role like Dhankhar. The TMC hit back at the Opposition party, alleging that the BJP-led Central government was trying to pressure Bose to toe its line. TMC Rajya Sabha MP Santanu Sen said, “The BJP wants a Governor to toe its line and constantly criticise the government in an Opposition-ruled state. This is how a Governor should work. As per the BJP, a Governor should always criticise the Chief Minister of an Opposition state, turn Raj Bhavan into a BJP party office and work at the instruction of BJP leaders. They want to see a Governor function just like in Tamil Nadu, Kerala and Maharashtra. BJP leaders cannot tolerate a Governor willing to learn Bengali and love the state. They want to see a Governor like Jagdeep Dhankhar.” TMC state spokesperson Kunal Ghosh said Bose’s Delhi trip was pre-scheduled. "The BJP is trying to put pressure on the Governor to toe their line. His visit to Delhi is pre-scheduled. It is being politicised by the BJP,” said Ghosh. The state BJP had also expressed resentment about former Governor La Ganesan's cordial ties with Banerjee and the state government. Ganesan, the Governor of Manipur, had been given additional charge of West Bengal till Bose’s appointment.
