Birbhum arson: Mamata Banerjee slams Governor, says ‘Ladsahab' making statements against Bengal

Amid a political controversy after the Birbhum arson incident, West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee on Wednesday slammed Governor Jagdeep Dhankhar terming him as ‘one ladsahab’ who has been making negative statements against the state. 

Chief Minister Banerjee on Wednesday termed the Birbhum incident "unfortunate" and said that her government will take action in a `fair` manner. Eight people were burnt to death in the Rampurhat area after a mob allegedly set houses on fire following the killing of Trinamool Congress leader Bhadu Shaikh.

Mamata, who will visit Rampurhat tomorrow, said she is concerned about people in our state."The government is ours, we are concerned about people in our state. We would never want anyone to suffer. The Birbhum, Rampurhat incident is unfortunate. I have immediately dismissed the OC, SDPO. I will go to Rampurhat tomorrow," said Banerjee. 

Attacking the Governor, the chief minister said, "One ladsahab is sitting here and making statements everytime that the situation in West Bengal is bad." This comes after West Bengal Governor Jagdeep Dhankhar on Wednesday slammed Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee over the Birbhum violence and said that it is high time to revisit confrontational unconstitutional stance so that democratic values and human rights get restored and people get a reprieve from repressive `fear` and suffering.

Dhankhar`s comments came in reply to Banerjee`s letter in which she urged Governor "to refrain from making unwarranted statements and allow the administration to conduct an impartial probe into the Birbhum violence.The Governor alleged that Banerjee is adopting diversionary tactics and is labelling his reaction as a "sweeping and uncalled for statement."

In the face of such enormity, I cannot `fiddle` in Raj Bhawan and be a mute spectator. That would be an unpardonable abdication of my constitutional duty," he said. "Every time flagging of the issue at this end leads to unleashing your apparatus against the Governor," he added. 

The Chief Minister further said that such kinds of incidents have happened in Gujarat and Rajasthan too. "I am not justifying the incident in Rampurhat. We will take action in a fair manner," she added.

DGP Malaviya said that 11 arrests have been made in the case so far. He further informed that Bhadu Shaikh`s murder was reported last night, an hour after which 7-8 houses nearby had caught fire. A special investigation team has been formed to probe the matter. 

Meanwhile, Leader of Opposition in the state Assembly Suvendu Adhikari on Tuesday called for President's rule in West Bengal. Further, BJP demanded the resignation of Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee.