Chief minister Mamata Banerjee on Saturday issued a detailed rebuttal of governor Jagdeep Dhankhar’s responses to her April 23 missive, urging him to “desist from intensifying your efforts to usurp powers”.

“I would challenge anyone, repeat anyone, to produce such correspondence and such oral statements from any governor to any CM in any part of India at any point of time since our Constitution came into force in 1950,” Mamata wrote.

“I beseech you to desist from intensifying your efforts to usurp powers, especially during the humongous crisis which the nation and WB is grappling with. Supremely ironically, you are doing so in the name of Covid!” she added.

“Please do not destroy the singularity of the real executive organ of the state and please do not dream of a diarchy in the state…. Your conduct, statements and letters from Day 1 remind the people of Bengal of those dark days of diarchy in Bengal’s 18th century (colonial) history,” the chief minister wrote.

Mamata had, in her five-page April 23 missive, reminded Dhankhar that she was the elected head while he had been nominated to the “ornamental” position.

Dhankhar suggested on Saturday that Mamata should “focus on the grim situation” and not “bicker”, adding that he would respond to the chief minister’s latest missive.