W.B. Governor meets President says law and order in the State is being strangulated

West Bengal Governor C.V. Ananda Bose who on Wednesday (October 8, 2025) called on President Droupadi Murmu at the Rashtrapati Bhavan said that law and order in the State is being strangulated by the protectors of the law themselves.

The Governor’s visit to the national capital comes two days after a Bharatiya Janata Party MP and party MLA were attacked at Nagrakata in north Bengal while visiting flood affected areas. BJP MP Khagen Murmu sustained serious injuries in the attack while MLA Sankar Ghosh was also admitted to the hospital.

“In Bengal, law and order is being strangulated by the protectors of law and order — the police themselves…It appears those who are supposed to control the situation need to be controlled by others. This situation cannot continue in a democratic setup. This kind of anarchy, near-anarchy, cannot continue even in an isolated pocket of Bengal. Bengal deserves better policing,” the Governor said.

Speaking to media persons in Delhi, Dr. Bose evaded questions on the imposition of President Rule under Article 356 in West Bengal. However, the Governor added the Constitution of India has enough provisions to deal with the situation. He also added that he has cordial relations with the Chief Minister and had reached out to her over the attack.

Dr. Bose had on Tuesday (October 7, 2025) said that the State government should arrest those behind the attack on the MP and the MLA within 24 hours. Asked that 24 hours have already passed and no arrests have been made, the Governor said that people will now see action.

The Governor used strong words to target the Trinamool Congress government and said that ‘Gundaraj (rule of the goons) is evident in many places of the State”. “Bengal has to protect its people under the Constitution of India. Right to life is a fundamental right. But people are scared. They are scared of gundas. There is a kind of gundaraj in many places in Bengal. That is something which I have been observing the last three years when I was Governor there,” the Governor said.

Mr. Bose also added that the situation cannot go on and strict action needs to be taken. The attack on the BJP MP has triggered strong reactions from the BJP rank and file and evoked strong reactions from Prime Minister Narendra Modi.

The Prime Minister took to social media and said that the incident “highlights the insensitivity of the TMC as well as the absolutely pathetic law and order situation in the State”. The Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee who on Tuesday met Mr. Murmu at a hospital on Monday (October 6) said that it was “unfortunate and deeply concerning that the Prime Minister of India has chosen to politicise a natural disaster without waiting for a proper investigation..”.

The Governor also added that he will send a report to the high Constitutional offices including the President of India but refused to reveal the contents of the reports.

In May 2025, after communal riots had rocked Murshidabad, Governor Bose in a report to the Union Government had suggested that the Centre consider “constitutional options not only to put a check on the current situation but also to generate confidence of people in the rule of law”.