West Bengal Governor Jagdeep Dhankar on Tuesday said he felt “insulted and deeply pained” at a Durga Puja event hosted by Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee, The Indian Express reported. He alleged that the ruling Trinamool Congress made him sit on a separate stage during the programme on October 11, which went on for four hours.

“Why was such treatment meted out to me?” the governor asked while speaking to reporters at a programme in Kolkata’s National Library. “For four hours I was there, not for a second was I shown [on TV]. The first servant was blacked out. You cannot have that kind of intolerance.”

Dhankar said he was told that this was like the censorship imposed during Emergency. “The governor was put in a place where he could not see a single live programme without being blocked by 20 to 25 people,” he added.

The governor said nothing would deter him from performing his constitutional duties, PTI reported. “The insult was not to me but to every people of West Bengal,” he added. “They will never digest such as insult.”

The Bharatiya Janata Party supported Dhankar, and said intolerance was spreading because of the ruling Trinamool Congress. “Governor’s statement shows that an emergency is going on in West Bengal,” said state BJP Secretary Sayantan Basu. “There is no respect for constitutional positions. Intolerance is speaking in the state.”

The ruling party dismissed Dhankar’s comments, calling them unfortunate. Trinamool Congress legislative party leader Tapas Roy pointed out that a separate stage was dedicated to the governor. “His statements are unbecoming of the high position he holds,” Roy added.

Dhankar is a vocal critic of the Mamata Banerjee government. Last month, the ruling party expressed it unhappiness after he went to Jadavpur University to escort out Union minister Babul Supriyo, who was allegedly heckled by protesting students. The Trinamool Congress described Dhankhar’s visit to the university on September 19 as “most unfortunate and shocking”.

The governor also criticised the law-and-order situation in the state after the Murshidabad triple murder case.

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