The Trinamul Congress’s mouthpiece Jago Bangla on Monday printed an editorial that underscored Bengal governor C.V. Ananda Bose’s past as a BJP cadre and questioned the Raj Bhavan’s communiqué that had on Sunday come down heavily on the attack on the convoy of Union minister of state for home Nisith Pramanik.

The editorial titled “Proshnouthbei (Questions would certainly emerge)” accused Bose of trying in haste to follow in his predecessor Jagdeep Dhankhar’s footsteps. “That a governor is in reality a representative to ensure the realisation of the BJP’s secret agenda was proven by Jagdeep Dhankhar. The current governor is now in a competition to quickly follow the path of the former governor,” alleged the editorial.

The paper has drawn parallels between Bose, with whom the state’s ruling dispensation shared seemingly exemplary ties till a few weeks ago, and Vice-President Dhankhar, whose tenure as the governor was the nadir of Nabanna-Raj Bhavan relations.

The Raj Bhavan statement had said Bose had conducted a “confidential enquiry” into the “dastardly attack” on the convoy of Pramanik and he would not be “a mute witness to any deterioration of law and order anywhere, anytime in the state”. The statement also said the governor had sought an action-taken report from police on the attack.

Expressing displeasure over the communiqué, the editorial asked why the governor was issuing statements heeding only the BJP’s version. “What did he mean by confidential inquiry? Did he arrive at a decision solely on the basis of a conversation with Nisith Pramanik? Should he not speak to the state administration? Would he not find out what the reality of the situation was?” asked the editorial.

It asserted that the people of Bengal wanted the governor to behave impartially as the constitutional head of the state. “Naturally, therefore, questions arise over how the governor, if he is anxious over the Saturday incident, can hold meetings with the Narada-Saradha-accused leader of the Opposition (SuvenduAdhikari)?” it asked.

“The BSF murdered an innocent youth with 180 pellets. Where is the statement on that? The BSF’s senior official raped a colleague. Why is the governor silent?” it added. “It must be remembered, the governor was a BJP cadre.”

Till Bose’s recent trip to Delhi and the Raj Bhavan’s removal of Nandini Chakraborty as his principal secretary, there was little indication that he would tread the saffron path of rubbing the Trinamul-led government the wrong way.

Jago Bangla is largely handled by Trinamul state general-secretary Kunal Ghosh and overseen by national general-secretary Abhishek Banerjee’s office.