West Bengal Governor Jagdeep Dhankhar on Saturday said Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee had invited him and his wife to her home in Kolkata for Kali Puja, PTI reported. The governor said he was “eagerly waiting” to be part of the celebrations.

“I had written to Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee that I and my wife wanted to be at her residence on the occasion of Bhai Dooj,” Dhankhar told reporters in Kolkata. “The chief minister, after coming back from her North Bengal tour, wrote back inviting me and the First Lady to be a part of Kali Puja at her residence. We are very happy to get her invitation and are eagerly waiting to attend the puja. Hopefully, I don’t need to answer any other questions.”

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The relations between the ruling party and the governor have been strained. A controversy had erupted on Friday when Trinamool Congress leader Sunil Mukherjee, the chairperson of Barasat municipality, stepped down from his post in protest against a Barasat club’s decision to invite Dhankhar as chief guest, The Indian Express reported. Mukherjee said he took the decision as he believed Dhankhar was biased against the state.

Dhankhar, who was appointed to the post on July 30, has been at loggerheads with the state government over several matters. On October 22, the governor wondered if there was some kind of censorship in the state after district authorities refused to meet him due to Banerjee’s administrative tour of North Bengal.

The developments came over a week after Dhankhar said he felt “insulted and deeply pained” at a Durga Puja event hosted by Banerjee. He alleged that the Trinamool Congress made him sit on a separate stage during the programme on October 11, which went on for four hours.

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Last month, the Trinamool Congress had expressed its unhappiness after the governor went to Jadavpur University to escort out Union minister Babul Supriyo, who was allegedly heckled by protesting students.

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