‘Not allowed to enter assembly’: Bengal governor hits out at Mamata Banerjee govt

Bengal governor Jagdeep Dhankhar, who is involved in a power tussle with chief minister Mamata Banerjee, on Thursday alleged that he was stopped from entering the state assembly.

Later he entered the Assembly premises through Gate no 4, meant for media persons and officials.

The incident, he said, has put the country’s democratic history to “shame”, reports news agency.

Dhankhar said that gate no. 3, meant for the governor entry and exit, was closed despite prior intimation by him.

“Why is the gate no 3 closed? Despite my prior intimation, the gate is closed. The Assembly being adjourned does not mean it is closed.

“The



governor’s gate being locked has put our democratic history to shame,” the governor later told reporters.

On Wednesday, the governor had written to Speaker Biman Banerjee, saying he would be going to the assembly to look into its facilities and also visit the library. Earlier in the day, he took a dig at the ruling party, which blamed him for delaying clearance of pending bills leading to the adjournment. Dhankhar said he was following the Constitution and was not a “rubber stamp”.

The speaker had abruptly adjourned the House for two days till December 5 as the bills which were scheduled to be placed could not be tabled as they were yet to receive the nod of the governor, the speaker had said in the Assembly on Tuesday.