West Bengal CM Mamata Banerjee, Governor Jagdeep Dhankhar Trade Charges

KOLKATA: The war of words between West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee and Governor Jagdeep Dhankhar reached a flash-point on Monday after the CM alleged that the Governor was named in the 1996 Hawala Jain case.

Strongly refuting the charges, Dhankhar said that he did not expect the Chief Minister to engage in "sensation premised on misrepresentation and untruth".

"This Governor's name figured in the Jain Hawala case. But they have gone to court and cleared it. There is a PIL which is pending. The Governor is a totally corrupt person. He was named in the Jain Hawala charge-sheet. He had moved the court and got his name removed. But one writ petition is still pending which has his name," Banerjee said on Monday, adding that she has written three letters to the President seeking the removal of the Governor.

Banerjee was speaking in the backdrop of the Governor's recent demand for a special audit in the Gorkhaland Territorial Administration on charges of corruption. He made the demand on the day a BJP delegation met him in Darjeeling and demanded an audit of the GTA's expenses.

"I am shocked to hear something from a leader of her stature. This is an effort to create sensation and spread misinformation and misrepresentation. The entire world knows that no one has been convicted in the Hawala Jain case. It is in the public domain who are the people who have been charge-sheeted," Dhankhar said.

"Ajit Panja was charge-sheeted in the Hawala case and he was acquitted. Your Governor was not even charge-sheeted. There is no such document. This is far from the truth. This is plain and simple untruth. This is misinformation. I did not expect this from a seasoned politician," he added.

Taking a dig at the media, Dhankhar said, "I was surprised to see the media in a shyness mode. Why no questions have been asked about the people who have been charge-sheeted. I have come to know about the pathetic state of affairs of the media," Dhankhar said. (IANS)

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