BSF Jurisdiction Row: West Bengal Governor Meets DG BSF Amid War Of Words With TMC

While the TMC accused the governor of trying to create confusion among people on the issue, Dhankhar said all agencies need to work in tandem in a federal polity.

West Bengal Governor Jagdeep Dhankhar and West Bengal CM Mamata Banerjee | File Image

New Delhi: The issue of extension of the jurisdiction of the BSF in the bordering states has already generated a heated back and forth in West Bengal between Governor Jagdeep Dhankhar and the ruling Trinamool Congress (TMC), now Director General (DG) BSF meeting the governor has further fueled the fire.     

DG BSF Pankaj Kumar Singh met Governor Jagdeep Dhankhar on Monday in New Delhi.

While the TMC accused the governor of trying to create confusion among people on the issue, Dhankhar said all agencies need to work in tandem in a federal polity.

"All efforts are being made to generate seamless coordination @WBPolice @MamataOfficial & there will be due focus on its lawful role and security of borders," Dhankhar tweeted.

DG @BSF_India Shri Pankaj kumar Singh today called on Governor WB Shri Jagdeep Dhankhar at New Delhi and indicated that all efforts are being made to generate seamless coordination @WBPolice @MamataOfficial & there will be due focus on its lawful role and security of borders. pic.twitter.com/P1ac0lvoE7

— Governor West Bengal Jagdeep Dhankhar (@jdhankhar1) December 13, 2021

The governor also mentioned further in his tweet that he asked state Chief Secretary HK Dwivedi and Home Secretary BP Gopalika to take urgent steps to ensure cooperative coordination between the BSF and the West Bengal Police.

Earlier, West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee had asked state police officers of districts that share borders with Bangladesh to bar entry of BSF personnel in villages without permission.

Meanwhile, Governor Dhankhar has replied to a letter from TMC Chief Whip in Rajya Sabha Sukhendu Sekhar Ray where he accused the governor of spreading misinformation.

"You have willfully disseminated factually/legally untenable improper words relating to BSF vis-a-vis the statement made recently by the chief minister. This is perceived as less than responsible, aimed at creating confusion among people," Sukhendu Sekhar Ray said in his letter to the West Bengal governor.

In his reply to Ray, the governor wrote that in a federal polity, all agencies -- central and state -- need to engage in tandem and togetherness.

"On national security issues, there is need to yield to the primacy of national interest and security ignoring partisan considerations," he wrote.

"You are aware the issue was raised in high decibel by the hon'ble chief minister in a series of official meetings in sensitive border districts. It was at this stage that December 9 communication was sent to her calling upon her to revisit," he said.

The Centre recently amended the BSF Act to authorise the force to undertake search, seizure, and arrest within a larger 50 km stretch, instead of 15 km, from the international border in Punjab, West Bengal, and Assam.

(With PTI Inputs)