Bengal government blaming Governor to hide its lapses: BJP

Kolkata, July 6 (IANS) Stating that no one should doubt West Bengal Governor Keshari Nath Tripathi's potential and scholarship, BJP's National General Secretary Kailash Vijayvargiya on Thursday accused the state government of attacking the Governor to divert people's attention from its administrative failure to maintain law and order.

"The state administration is attacking the Governor to divert people's attention from their own failure in maintaining law and order in the state. We strongly condemn this," Vijayvargiya told reporters here.

"He has been a minister in Uttar Pradesh and the Speaker of the legislative assembly there. His rulings in the Vidhan Sabha during his tenure were appreciated by the High Court and the Supreme Court. There can be no questions about his scholarship," he said.

Claiming that law and order in the state was in tatters, the Bharatiya Janata Party leader accused the Mamata Banerjee government of attempting to fire from the Governor's shoulder out of their disdain and desperation to hide the failure.

"The state government is doing this out of disdain and desperation. The law and order situation in the state is completely in tatters. I think they are trying to fire the gun from the Governor's shoulder to hide their failure," he added.

The clash between the Governor and the state's ruling Trinamool Congress came to the fore after Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee on Tuesday accused Tripathi of threatening and humiliating her during a telephonic conversation while her party leaders termed him as "BJP cadre".

Tripathi, however, maintained there was nothing threatening or humiliating in whatever he told the Chief Minister.

On Wednesday, Trinamool leader and state Rural Development Minister Subrata Mukherjee strongly criticised the Governor's role in the whole controversy and called him "BJP's parrot".