West Bengal Governor Jagdeep Dhankhar on Tuesday said it is an insult to the Constitution and the people of the state the District Magistrate's move asking him to seek permission from the state government to meet with district officials.
"This is not an insult to me but to the Constitution and the people of West Bengal but not doing it and sitting over it is a sign of inefficiency," Dhankar said at a press conference here.
"For four days nothing was done and then late evening yesterday, this was forwarded to me. I find this act in principle to be unconstitutional and very objectionable. The District Magistrate can take guidance from the state government, but it could have done on October 17 or later on," Dhankhar added.
Taking a jibe at the reply of District Magistrate (DM) of North 24 Parganas, Chaitali Chakrabarti, the Governor said while it was true that Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee had moved to the northern region with many officials, it did not mean that all ongoing work in the rest of the state would stop.
"The communication states that the chief minister has gone to North Bengal and senior officials have gone with her. But according to the DM, nothing is likely to happen as the government has shifted there. There is nothing wrong in the Chief Minister visiting the northern region of the state, but the Secretariat in Kolkata does not close when she is not there," Dhankhar said.
Earlier, Chakrabarti had asked the Governor to seek permission from the state government in order to hold a meeting with district officials.
The meeting was scheduled to be held at the Zilla Parishad Guest House in Dhamakhali of North 24 Parganas district today.
According to a letter addressed to the Governor, the DM of North 24 Parganas district wrote on Monday, "This is to kindly inform you that permission of the West Bengal government is required for the undersigned to request the invitees to attend the interactive session scheduled to be held at Zilla Parishad Guest House, Dhamakhali, North 24 Parganas on October 22, 2019."
"All necessary action will be taken as desired from this end after the receipt of the said permission from the state. It may be added here that all senior government functionaries will be in North Bengal from 21st to 23rd October 2019 for an administrative review meeting of the Chief Minister," the letter said.
Expressing dismay, Governor Dhanker had earlier told reporters, "My visit was notified to the district administration on October 17. The DM replied that action can be taken after permission from the state government."
The Governor, however, at the press conference clarified that he will continue with his tour of the districts as per the plan.
( With inputs from ANI )