Trinamool Congress MP Mahua Moitra levelled unsubstantiated charges of ‘nepotism’ against West Bengal Governor Jagdeep Dhankar and dared him to take her to court for defamation.
Dhankar rubbished charges levelled against him by Moitra that he had appointed ‘close relatives’ as officers on special duty (OSD) in Kolkata Raj Bhavan. “Assertion @MahuaMoitra in tweet & Media that six coterminous appointee OSDs in personal staff are relatives is FACTUALLY WRONG. OSDs are from three states and belong to four different castes. None of them is part of close family. Four of them are not from my caste or state,” Jagdeep Dhankhar tweeted.
Marshalling facts, the Governor denied the charges as “factually incorrect”. Bengal BJP has also lashed out at Mahua for leveling allegations against the Governor. BJP leader Sayantan Basu said Trinamool Congress MP had furnished a ‘pack of lies’. Responding to this Mahua said: “Why is BJP rising to his defence? Is he a BJP functionary or a Governor? Can’t he defend himself?”
Mahua is known for making wild allegations. She shared a document on Sunday and claimed that Abbhudoy Singh Sekhawat, Governor’s OSD, is his brother-in-law’s son. Akhil Chowdhury, who is the OSD coordination, has some close family relationship with the Governor. OSD administration Ruchi Dubey is the wife of Major Gorang Diksit, ex-ADC (aides-de-camp) to the Governor, while the Major’s brother Prasant Diksit is the OSD (protocol). OSD IT Koustav S Valikar is the brother-in-law of Dhankhar’s present ADC Srikant Janardan Rao, IPS. And Kishan Dhankhar, a newly appointed OSD of the Governor, is also his close relative, the document said.
Moitra challenged Jagdeep Dhankar to take her to court over her remarks and tweets on the issue. “I dare him to sue me for defamation,” Moitra said.
She told journalists that if the BJP had won, the state would be full of such appointments from other parts of the country.
“We in Bengal are not parochial, but someone who gets a job here should be worth it. He or she should not get it just because they have a saffron uncle here to do their bidding,” Maitra said.
She said Bengal taxpayers should not be asked to foot the bill for the OSDs appointed by Governor Dhankar at Kolkata Raj Bhavan.
“Having failed to deliver Bengal to the BJP, Uncleji (Dhankar) must seek out a job in Delhi. He is running around raising hell over the state’s law and order, so BJP should rehabilitate him somewhere, she said, quipping: “Don’t forget to take your extended family with you.”
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