West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee recently lashed out at Governor Keshari Nath Tripathi after the latter called her up to take stock of the situation in Basirhat, which is currently witnessing communal riots over a Facebook post insulting Prophet Mohammed.
She accused the governor of "threatening" and "insulting" her and also said that she felt so humiliated that she "wanted to resign." She added that Tripathi was behaving like a "block president of BJP."
Here are five other instances of a tussle between a chief minister and a governor in India:
Arvind Kejriwal VS Najeeb Jung (Delhi)
Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal was involved in a feud with former Lieutenant Governor (L-G) Najeeb Jung soon after he came to power in December 2013. It was also speculated that the reason behind Jung's resignation in December 2016 was the fight with Kejriwal.
The government was involved in a major battle with the former L-G over issues ranging from appointments to bureaucratic positions, clearance of files, transfer of officials and control over Delhi Police.
When Kejriwal directed Jung to route all files on police, public order and land through him, the former L-G rejected the order saying that he was not obligated to do so. When Kejriwal made appointments to the Anti-Corruption Bureau (ACB), Jung rejected them saying that he was in-charge of the ACB.
The fight reached the Delhi High Court with the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) alleged that Jung transferred officials, who were in charge of Mohalla clinics and education reforms. However, the HC ruled that the L-G was the final authority when it came to administrative matters in the city.
During the dengue outbreak in Delhi, Jung asked Delhi Deputy CM Manish Sisodia to return to the city from Finland. The Delhi government took offence to this as well with Health Minister Satyendra Jain alleging that Jung was acting at the behest of the Centre and trying to discredit the city government.
Kiran Bedi VS V Narayanasamy (Puducherry)
The tussle between Puducherry L-G Kiran Bedi and CM V Narayanasamy is still going on with the latter accusing Bedi of "interfering in the day-to-day administration of the government."
Narayanasamy is miffed with Bedi's surprise visits to constituencies without informing the concerned minister or the CM and then talking about local problems, which, according to him, is the job of the elected government and the MLAs.
Narayanasamy also alleged that Bedi has not returned the files that he sent pertaining to waiver of cooperative loans, free education for Dalit students, increasing the pension of freedom fighters and providing free electricity to farmers.
Narayanasamy also met PM Modi, President Pranab Mukherjee and Union Home Minister Rajnath Singh and complained to them about Bedi's "overreach." He accused Bedi of being an "agent of the BJP" after she nominated three BJP members as MLAs without consulting the CM or the Council of Ministers.
Bedi responded to the allegation by saying that she was an "agent of the law."
Jayalalithaa VS Channa Reddy (Tamil Nadu)
The battle between late Tamil Nadu CM Jayalalithaa and former Governor Marri Channa Reddy was a very public one with the latter trying to assert his authority and the former trying to undermine it.
When Jayalalithaa suggested names of vice chancellors for appointment, Reddy did not consider them much to the dismay of the former CM. She retaliated by asking those working under her to not cooperate with Reddy while conducting official functions.
The two leaders also issued several press releases against each other before Jayalalithaa tried to strip Reddy of some of his powers. Then Speaker Sedapatti Muthiah convened the Tamil Nadu Assembly without the customary New Year address by the Governor. The assembly also deprived Reddy of his chancellorship by passing a bill to bring all universities under the purview of the CM.
Reddy was upset after Jayalalithaa did not bother to inform him about the bomb blasts that happened at the RSS office in Madras in August 1993. Meanwhile, Jayalalithaa was miffed with Reddy for criticising the functioning of her government and also analysing every information before giving clearance to a file.
Jayalalithaa had also requested then prime minister Narasimha Rao to withdraw Reddy as the governor of Tamil Nadu.
Narendra Modi VS Kamla Beniwal (Gujarat)
Prime Minister Narendra Modi, who was the then chief minister of Gujarat, was also involved in a long-standing feud with then Gujarat Governor Kamla Beniwal after she rejected the proposed Gujarat Lokayukta Commission Bill and sent it back to the state Assembly.
She sent back the proposed bill because it would give the Gujarat CM all the powers when it came to appointing the state Lokayukta, thus putting an end to the role of the state governor and the chief justice of the Gujarat High Court in appointing the ombudsman.
When Beniwal appointed Retired Justice RA Mehta as the Lokayukta without the consent of Modi in 2011, the latter wrote to then Prime Minister Manmohan Singh requesting him to recall Beniwal as the state governor and also repeal the appointment of the Lokayukta for Gujarat.
The state government also accused Beniwal of sitting over legislations passed by the Gujarat Assembly, including the one which provided for 50 percent reservation for women in local bodies.
When Modi became the prime minister in 2014, Beniwal was transferred to Mizoram and made governor. However, she was sacked as the governor of Mizoram by the BJP government two months before the end of her actual tenure.
HR Bharadwaj VS BS Yeddyurappa (Karnataka)
The tussle between former Karnataka Chief Minister BS Yeddyurappa and former governor HR Bharadwaj broke out after the latter took objection to the former's inaction against Bellary Reddy brothers, who were ministers in the state government.
The fight intensified after Bhardwaj submitted a report to the Centre seeking the dismissal of the BJP-led government in Karnataka. He also sought the imposition of the President's Rule in the state, which Yeddyurappa dismissed as an "undemocratic move" saying that any attempt to dismiss it "would amount to subverting the democratic process and should not be encouraged."
The former governor also accused the Yeddyurappa of "manipulating constitutional provisions." The state government also met with then PM Manmohan Singh to discuss the matter and seek the immediate removal of the governor.
Bhardwaj had also sanctioned the prosecution of Yeddyurappa by the Karnataka Lokayukta under the Prevention of Corruption Act, 1988, for his alleged involvement in the illegal mining of iron ore in the State. The move received sharp criticism from the BJP.
