Bengal Guv refers to 'Hamlet', minister hits back with 'Macbeth' jibe

Kolkata, May 9 The Raj Bhavan and the state secretariat in West Bengal seem to be entering into a war of rhetorics involving English playwright William Shakespeare and the popular characters in his plays.

Just a day after Governor C.B. Ananda Bose said at a public function that he will not remain silent like 'Hamlet' in case there is a constitutional crisis in West Bengal, state Education Minister Bratya Basu on Tuesday hurled a 'Macbeth' and 'Caesar' jibe at the constitutional head of the state.

"Rather, I feel the Governor is behaving more like Macbeth or Julius Caesar. He is trying to grab and monopolise authority. It is the state government which has always made attempts to move ahead through discussions," Basu told mediapersons on Tuesday.

Basu said that while the state education department is always open for discussions with the Governor on the issue of recruitment of vice-chancellors in state universities, the Governor has refused to engage in any kind of dialogue on this issue.

"In several cases, he is trying to appoint vice-chancellors who do not have teaching experience of 10 years. He is breaking the rules. Our Chief Minister has already said that the Governor is trying to monopolise his authority and control over the state universities by bypassing the state education department. This is not the behaviour of Hamlet. Rather this is somewhat like the tragic character of Macbeth, who was brutally ambitious," Basu said.

The minister also drew the reference of Julius Caesar.

"The manner in which the Governor is always surrounded by the followers of BJP is somewhat like that of Julius Caesar," he said.

After Bose assumed charge as Governor last year, the relationship between the Raj Bhavan and the state secretariat was quite amicable initially.

However, as days passed, differences started to surface on many issues such as recruitment of vice-chancellors in state universities, personal slanders against a judge of the Calcutta High Court, and the recent clashes over Ram Navami processions in certain pockets of West Bengal, among others.

The state government had also taken exception to the Governor's recent visits to the different state universities without informing the state secretariat in advance.