‘Ahistorical, unconstitutional, unilateral’: Mamata objects to Raj Bhavan’s decision to celebrate Bengal’s ‘Foundation Day’

Amid discord between the West Bengal Government and Governor C V Ananda Bose over a number of issues, Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee has now strongly objected to the Raj Bhavan’s decision to ‘celebrate’ the state’s Foundation Day on Tuesday.

Banerjee shot off a letter to the Governor on Monday night expressing “shock” at his decision to organise a programme on June 20 (today) commemorating what he has “peculiarly chosen to describe as the State Foundation Day of West Bengal”.

West Bengal CM Mamata Banerjee writes to Governor CV Ananda Bose objecting to the State Foundation Day event to be organized at Raj Bhavan on June 20 pic.twitter.com/JNdmSD76Ii

— ANI (@ANI) June 19, 2023

She pointed out that West Bengal was carved out of the undivided ‘State of Bengal’ in 1947 through a traumatic process of Partition. “The process involved uprooting of millions of people across the border and death and displacement of innumerable families. The economy of Bengal was destroyed and devastated and the truncated State of West Bengal suffered a sudden disruption of communication and infrastructure too.”

She stated that people born and brought up in the state have never commemorated any State Foundation Day for the above mentioned reasons. “This may at best be a programme of a political party, driven by political vendetta, but not of the people or its government.”

She argued that the decision to hold such a programme is an “unprecedented step” which has been taken “unilaterally” by the governor without following any procedure of obtaining necessary consent of the state cabinet and the state legislature. “This act on your part would hurt the sentiments of the people and insult and defame the millions of people in West Bengal today,” Banerjee added.

Terming the decision “ahistorical”, “unconstitutional”, and “unilateral”, she requested Bose to not go ahead with “any such programme which will rekindle the bitter memories of crores of people in West Bengal and re-incite undesirable forces”.

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The relation between the Bengal government and the Governor, that started off on a friendly note, turned sour in past few months over a host of issues including appointment of vice chancellors in state government universities and violence in several districts ahead of Panchayat elections in the state.