File photo of West Bengal Governor KN Tripathi.
Describing the Raj Bhawan as the BJP's "virtual state headquarters", West Bengal's ruling Trinamool Congress today accused Governor KN Tripathi of "needling" the Mamata Banerjee led state government.
"Under Tripathi, Raj Bhawan has become a hotbed of intrigue and virtually the state headquarters of the BJP. Almost every day, party leaders and ideologues seem to meet here to discuss new ways of needling the Mamata Banerjee government," Trinamool spokesperson Derek O'Brien said on a Facebook post.
"The latest excuse is the unfortunately and condemnable violence, limited to a few pockets, that accompanied municipal polls last week," said the Rajya Sabha member, a day after Mr Tripathi denouncing the violence surrounding the October 3 civic polls, called for the state election commission to initiate action.
"The Trinamool denounces such incidents. The police are investigating and doing their job. The guilty will be punished. If it is found that a few of the trouble-makers have a link with the ruling party, it will not matter. As I write this, three people have already been arrested. But it is not for the BJP pracharak cum governor to poke his nose and play judge, jury and executioner," he said.
Charging the Narendra Modi-led central government of continuing the Congress' trend of "misusing governors", Mr O'Brien said in Mr Tripathi, the "BJP has finally found its leader in West Bengal and its face for the 2016 assembly election".
"The active politician who's going to front for the party and in effect handle its campaign is Kesrinath Tripathi," he said.
"We are not a trigger-happy political party that provokes riots to win elections. Tripathi and his political colleagues may be familiar with such practices but Trinamool is not and abhors such conduct.
"Tripathi is an honoured guest in West Bengal. He can be a guiding figure for our state. But he has to decide whether he is West Bengal's elder statesman or Delhi's Viceroy. He cannot be both. The Raj Bhawan shakha must stop," added Mr O'Brien.
Mr O'Brien's comments comes days after Ms Banerjee, also the Trinamool supremo, accused the central government of running a parallel government in states through governors, and creating a communal charged atmosphere.