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?
هذه القصة مأخوذة من طبعة January 03, 2021 من THE WEEK.
ابدأ النسخة التجريبية المجانية من Magzter GOLD لمدة 7 أيام للوصول إلى آلاف القصص المتميزة المنسقة وأكثر من 9,000 مجلة وصحيفة.
بالفعل مشترك ? تسجيل الدخول
هذه القصة مأخوذة من طبعة January 03, 2021 من THE WEEK.
ابدأ النسخة التجريبية المجانية من Magzter GOLD لمدة 7 أيام للوصول إلى آلاف القصص المتميزة المنسقة وأكثر من 9,000 مجلة وصحيفة.
بالفعل مشترك? تسجيل الدخول
William Dalrymple goes further back
Indian readers have long known William Dalrymple as the chronicler nonpareil of India in the early years of the British raj. His latest book, The Golden Road, is a striking departure, since it takes him to a period from about the third century BC to the 12th-13th centuries CE.
The bleat from the street
What with all the apps delivering straight to one’s doorstep, the supermarkets, the food halls and even the occasional (super-expensive) pop-up thela (cart) offering the woke from field-to-fork option, the good old veggie-market/mandi has fallen off my regular beat.
Courage and conviction
Justice A.M. Ahmadi's biography by his granddaughter brings out behind-the-scenes tension in the Supreme Court as it dealt with the Babri Masjid demolition case
EPIC ENTERPRISE
Gowri Ramnarayan's translation of Ponniyin Selvan brings a fresh perspective to her grandfather's magnum opus
Upgrade your jeans
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Garden by the sea
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RECRUITERS SPEAK
Industry requirements and selection criteria of management graduates
MORAL COMPASS
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B-SCHOOLS SHOULD UNDERSTAND THAT INDIAN ECONOMY IS GOING TO WITNESS A TREMENDOUS GROWTH
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COURSE CORRECTION
India's best b-schools are navigating tumultuous times. Hurdles include lower salaries offered to their graduates and students misusing AI
