A “stunned” chief minister Mamata Banerjee has conveyed her “shock” to governor C.V. Ananda Bose at Raj Bhavan’s decision to observe “the State Foundation Day of West Bengal” on June 20 and suggested that she has secured an assurance that the governor would not proceed with the programme.

“I am stunned and shocked to know that you have decided to organise a programme… commemorating what you have peculiarly chosen to describe as ‘the State Foundation Day of West Bengal’,” Mamata wrote in a letter she sent the governor on Monday.

“In this regard, kindly refer to our telephonic discussions today when you had admitted that unilateral and non-consultative decision to declare a particular day as the Foundation Day of the State of West Bengal is not warranted. You were kind enough to assure that you would not proceed to hold the programme,” she added.

Raj Bhavan had not made any public statement on the fate of the programme till Monday night.

At least since 2020, the saffron camp has been trying to mark such occasions. On June 20, 1947, the Bengal Assembly had passed a resolution on dividing the Bengal province.

Mamata mentioned in her letter that West Bengal was carved out of the undivided state of Bengal in 1947 through a “most painful and traumatic process”. The process had led to the uprooting of millions of people, and the death and displacement of innumerable families.

The previous governor — now India’s Vice-President — Jagdeep Dhankhar, had tried celebrating the occasion last year, but it was a low-key affair. “But this time, Raj Bhavan wanted to make it a widely publicised event. That is why the chief minister objected to it,” said a source.