Yes, you could point a finger towards Maharashtra, where there is a governor-chief minister duo, who don’t see eye to eye, and then wag the same finger towards West Bengal, where there’s the classic case of a governor losing his cool and then imploding with a self-righteous, “Hey you, Miss CM, you are playing with fire!”

Oops, Guv Jagdeep Dhankhar failed to mention the little matter as to who started the fire, who fanned it and who’s now shouting ‘Burnol, Burnol’? Yes, political fingers do get burned. Especially, when the chief minister and governor happen to carry the flags of two different political parties and there’s an all-important election round the corner. Then, it’s ‘fire, fire burning bright.’

Come to think of it, if you look at the both of them, there cannot be two different political personalities than Jagdeep Dhankhar and Mamata Banerjee. One towers over the other physically while the other’s political stature is bigger than what’s on display to the bare eye! Governor Dhankhar wouldn’t win a dogcatcher’s election in a city where dog is delicacy while it’s common knowledge that Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee cut her wisdom tooth on winning elections.

‘Don’t go by Mamata’s demure’ should have been the lesson for Guv Dhankar. But, apparently, Governor Dhankhar hasn’t learned. That could be because Guv Dhankhar has a ‘godfather’ who’s in the habit of para-dropping into Kolkata and other West Bengal cities and towns every now and then. And then there’s hell to pay. But, Mamata Banerjee, for all her keen eyes, hasn’t been able to identify Guv Dhankar’s ‘godfather.’

Seems like Guv Dhankhar’s ‘godfather’ every time he ‘drops in’, he comes disguised in various shapes and sizes and it’s hard to pin him down! In fact, Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee put it in the right context and description: “They (BJP) has no other work. At times Home Minister is here, other times it's Chaddha, Nadda, Fadda, Bhaddha is here. When they have no audience, they call their workers for doing nautanki!"

You can take that ‘nautanki’ to the temple, to the mosque and to the girijaghar. And if to none of these places, to the stage set at the village chaupal and town square. For, what’s being enacted these days in West Bengal, in the closing days of 2020, is a several-act play featuring “Chaddha, Nadda, Fadda, Bhaddha” and you would know with a single glance as to who is interloper and who is alleged “trouble-maker,” who is ‘outsider’ and who is ‘insider.’

The breadth of the girth of BJP President JP Nadda is unmistakable. Ditto that of Home Minister Amit Shah, who, too, is a frequent visitor. Both of them are also easily recognizable because there’s always nearby, at their beck and call, Governor Jagdeep Dhankhar! To tell the unalloyed truth, there’s no other Governor on the face of the subcontinent who cuts a more solitary – if not sorry – figure than West Bengal Governor JagdeepDhankhar.

Governor Dhankhar condemned Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee's comments after JP Nadda's car-convoy was attacked with stones and all kinds of things miscreants throw. "Madam, please don't play with fire," Dhankhar thundered. He also forwarded a report to the Centre on the "deteriorating" law and order in West Bengal. Of course, the next step was to summon the police chief and Chief Secretary.

Dhankhar addressed the media. "The leader of a national political party was blatantly attacked. State actors were involved. Violators worked with the protection and immunity of the administration and the police. This is like a death-knell to democracy. I have written so in my feedback," he said, adding that some BJP leaders were injured and cars damaged.

The BJP has blamed the Trinamool Congress and pointed out that the attack took place in Diamond Harbour, which is the LokSabha constituency of Mamata Banerjee’s nephew Abhishek Banerjee. BJP leaders Kailash Vijayvargiya and Mukul Roy allegedly sustained injuries in the attack. "The events that happened yesterday are most unfortunate," Guv Dhankhar told the media.

The “attack” gave Guv Dhankhar the excuse to summon the police chief and Chief Secretary. The two came but allegedly without any report. “I asked them to prepare a detailed report and report to me. They came without any report, without any inputs. It is shameful. They are bureaucrats. They have a moral duty. I was shocked, and I was ashamed. It was an extremely painful moment for Constitutional duty.”

It was then that Mamata Banerjee took over and went all out against Nadda and Dhankhar, asking if the attack wasn’t “staged” for maximum political advantage ahead of 2021 assembly elections. And she spoke of “Chaddha, Nadda, Fadda, Bhaddha” and the nautanki!

That got Guv Dhankhar’s goat and he took “serious note” of the Chief Minister’s “statement”, asking himself, “How can a responsible chief minister, believing in rule of law, believing in Constitution, and believing in rich Bengali culture, talk the way she did?” Then, to the surprise of one and all, he went out of character!

Governor Jagdeep Dhankhar became all goody-goody, nice and proper: “I appeal to her - madam, please reflect, please maintain some dignity and grace, and take back those words." To nobody’s surprise, he left everybody wondering with “Madam Chief Minister, India is one, Indians are one, please do not play with or fan this kind of fire. You are under oath of the Constitution, please respect it. Who is an outsider, who is an insider, please do not indulge in these kinds of statements.”

Last heard, the people of West Bengal are waiting for the next episode of the Governor-Chief Minister soap opera which going by the status of Governor Jagdeep Dhankhar wouldn’t take long to come. For, like Mamata said to Jagdeep: “The BJP has no other work. At times Home Minister is here, other times it's Chaddha, Nadda, Fadda, Bhaddha is here. When they have no audience, they call their workers for doing nautanki!" (IPA Service)