Raj Bhavan a safety wall for opposition parties, common man: Tripathi

Kolkata: Raj Bhavan acts as a "safety wall" for opposition parties and for the public when a state government does not listen to them, outgoing West Bengal Governor Keshari Nath Tripathi said on Sunday.

Tripathi, who boarded the Kalka Mail train for his home town Allahabad from Howrah Station in the evening, told reporters that people should not consider the official residence of a governor as a "closed fort".

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"Whenever a (state) government does not listen to the opposition, or don't talk to the opposition leaders, then the Raj Bhavan acts as a safety wall for them. One thing must be made clear that the Raj Bhavan is not a closed fort.

"It's open for all and in a democracy, people have the right to approach the Raj Bhavan when they are not listened to by the government," Tripathi said.

Tripathi's successor Jagdeep Dhankar will take oath as West Bengal Governor on July 30.

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"It's not only BJP leaders who used to come to meet me, but there were also leaders of the Congress, the CPI(M) or the Forward Bloc, as well as NGOs who used to visit me. I used to listen to their complaints and forward them to the state government for necessary investigation," Tripathi said.

In an interview to PTI on Saturday, Tripathi had said Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee's "appeasement policy" is adversely affecting the social harmony of the state.

Tripathi, who has had several run-ins with Banerjee during his five-year tenure, said she has the vision and power to implement decisions, but needs to keep a check on her sentiments and exercise restraint.

The ruling Trinamool Congress hit back at him, labelling his remarks as an "attempt to score brownie points". TMC Secretary General Partha Chatterjee also said the Raj Bhavan was "turning into a BJP party office".

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