Bengal Guv opens Peace & Harmony committee

Kolkata, July 5: The Raj Bhavan in West Bengal seems to be heading for yet another confrontation with the state secretariat, with the Governor’s House on Wednesday evening announcing the formation of a ‘Peace & Harmony’ committee which would be headed by former Chief Justice of the Karnataka High Court, Subhro Kamal Mukherjee.
The development is being viewed as an extension of the ‘Peace Room’ that had been opened at the insistence of Governor C.V. Ananda Bose within the Raj Bhavan premises, where the victims of violence and clashes over the forthcoming panchayat polls can directly report about their cases to be monitored by the staff of the office of the governor.
Earlier, the Governor’s decision to open the ‘Peace Room’ had attracted scathing criticism from the ruling Trinamool Congress, which accused Bose of being biased towards the opposition, in particular the BJP. Political observers now feel that the fresh move by the Governor’s House to form the Peace & Harmony committee will result in another slug-fest between the Raj Bhavan and the state secretariat.
Governor C.V. Ananda Bose has expressed his concerns regarding the gory violent incidents in different parts of the state during the pre-rural polls period which has already taken 15 tolls. He has personally visited the homes of the victims of political violence to convey his condolences and mitigate their breavement.
Justice Mukherjee (retired) started his judicial career as a permanent judge with the Calcutta High Court. In April 2015, he was transferred to the Karnataka High Court. He became the acting Chief Justice of Karnataka High Court in June 2016. In February 2016, he became the Chief Justice of the same court. (IANS)