KOLKATA: West Bengal Governor CV Anand Bose receiving the book ‘Baranaparichay’ from West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee during ‘Hate Khari’ event at Raj Bhavan in Kolkata, Thursday, Jan. 26, 2023. Photo Credit: PTI
West Bengal Governor CV Anand Bose’s participation in ‘Hate Khori’, a ceremony to learn the Bengali alphabet as part of Saraswati Puja in the presence of Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee, has triggered a political storm in the state with the Bharatiya Janata Party. The leadership is missing this event.
The camaraderie between the Raj Bhavan and the West Bengal government, with the chief minister describing the governor as a ‘gentleman’, has been a cause of unease among BJP workers in the state. Recently, Rajya Sabha MP Swapan Dasgupta questioned the functioning of Governor Bose.
Leader of the Opposition Shubhendu Adhikari of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leadership immediately criticized the ceremony. “It seems that the incident has been planned and engineered by the discredited state government to act as a glossy cover on a pornographic book. Thus, in my view today’s program…does not elevate the chair of Hon’ble Governor and does not glorify the dignity of Raj Bhavan,” he said.
political tricks
Further, he raised the issue of the arrest of Trinamool Congress leaders and state government officials in the teachers’ recruitment scam, saying it was a “smartly orchestrated” incident to “wash away the stain”.
The Trinamool Congress has reacted sharply to the BJP’s criticism of the Governor’s ‘Hate Khori’. Trinamool spokesperson Kunal Ghosh described Mr. Adhikari’s remarks as a ‘rude jealous mind’.
Shri Ghosh referred to the functioning of the Raj Bhavan during the tenure of Jagdeep Dhankhar and accused the BJP of political interference. “The governor wants to learn Bengali. Bengalis and Bengali speaking people should congratulate him. Only the traitors of Bengal can politicize it.
The governor, on the other hand, seemed to enjoy the ceremony where a young girl dressed in a traditional yellow dress taught him to write the first letter of the Bengali alphabet. The Governor also presented ‘Guru Dakshina’ to his young teacher. “I am learning Bengali. It is a great language,” he said before raising slogans of ‘Joy Bangla’ and ‘Jai Hind’.