THE RAJ BHAVAN STAND-OFF

The true dimensions of the present can only be understood when measured against the past.

- Arkamoy Datta Majumdar

Biman Banerjee, Speaker of the West Bengal assembly, looks back almost wistfully at the tenure of the previous governor. Before his nomination as India’s vice-president in July 2022, Jagdeep Dhankhar had had a rancorous three-year run at Kolkata Raj Bhavan—relations with the state government had deteriorated to such an extent that chief minister Mamata Banerjee had blocked him on Twitter. But compared to how things are now, Speaker Banerjee finds that phase “still acceptable”. Governor C.V. Ananda Bose, in office since November 18, 2022, finds himself entangled in a bitter war with the Trinamool Congress (TMC) regime that’s gone well beyond the usual standoffs about assent being withheld to bills. The hostilities have attained another scale, with the gubernatorial office entrapped in an unprecedented web of litigation—sexual harassment charges against Bose have now led to the Supreme Court examining the legal immunity afforded to governors. Toss into that boiling pot a defamation case against Mamata, and it was a perfect recipe for high constitutional drama.

How raw the feelings are on both sides was visible when even an innocuous protocol event—the swearing-in of two TMC MLAs—devolved into an unlovely tug of war. This is how that panned out: in bypolls held on June 4, actress Sayantika Banerjee and Reyat Hossain Sarkar were elected from Baranagar and Bhagawangola respectively. On June 21, Sayantika received an invitation from Raj Bhavan to be sworn in on June 26. Reyat received a similar letter on June 25. Both wrote to the Governor that they wanted their oaths to be administered at the assembly by the Speaker, not at Raj Bhavan.