West Bengal Governor Jagdeep Dhankar satisfied the way Bengal dealing with Coronavirus

'I am happy to note that things are being looked after in the right sense from the point of urgency and emergency,' the governor told UNI in an exclusive interview at the Raj Bhawan here.

'I salute the dedication of the health workers, doctors, nurses, para-medical staff. They are working 24X7 and rendering a great service. Even today you would have seen a notification has been issued by the government, and very rightly, under the West Bengal Epidemic Disease Covid-19, 2020,' he said.

'Everyone is alert,' Mr Dhankar said, commenting on the fact that West Bengal is a thickly populated state.

Bengal has had only one confirmed case till now.

The governor, who has had tiffs with the Mamata Banerjee led Trinamool Congress dispensation, however, appreciated the fact that there were now 'working dialogues' between the Raj Bhawan and the government.

'That is good for the government, good for the Raj Bhawan, good for the system. I am optimistic, I look forward to interaction mode,' he said with a smile.

He, however, expressed concern over the "lack of press freedom" in the state.

'There was total blackout of the governor's speech in the assembly. No newspaper carried an editorial. The press is not independent,' he remarked.

'There is insurgency, anarchy, no rule of law in Bengal,' he opined.

'I feel that the State Election Commission must be impartial and elections must be held in a free and fearless manner,' the state's first citizen stressed.

West Bengal goes to assembly polls next year.

On education Mr Dhankar said universities all over the world are autonomous.

'I was happy and delighted when there was peaceful (students union) election in Jadavpur (University),' he said.

On September 19 last year, the governor rushed to the prestigious varsity when Union Minister Babul Supriyo was gheraoed by students there.

Praising the standards of universities and the faculties in Bengal, he said, 'I do not want institutions/universities to be politically caged. That can happen only when there is minimal interfacing between the government and universities.'

'I would want institutions to be free from both the Raj Bhawan and Nabanna. They must be autonomous,' Mr Dhankhar observed.

'I am sure things will look up. There are some issues. As Chancellor I am looking into these. The government, in haste, brought some rules on December 9, 2019, which are counter-productive, dead weight,' he observed.

The new rule stipulates that "every communication proposed to be made by the Chancellor to any state-aided university shall be routed through the (higher education) department".

'Where are we heading? Globally, nationally we are cutting down steps. Everywhere there is less government and more governance. Here we have avoidable, useless (issues). I don't want to go into the legality of it,' he pointed out.

'But I am optimistic. I believe in dialogues. I am firmly of the view that things will look up,' Mr Dhankhar signed off.