Kolkata: Busy juggling the telephone receivers buzzing on the first floor of West Bengal’s Raj Bhavan, Kaveri couldn’t take a lunch break Monday.
The door to her office has a sign that reads ‘Peace Room’.
The calls she has been answering aren’t coming to a regular helpline number, but one that has been set up for those allegedly facing threats and intimidation in the run up to the 8 July panchayat polls in West Bengal.
The round-the-clock helpline, which was set up Saturday by Governor Dr C.V. Ananda Bose, to enable people to reach out to him, got “over 500 calls within 48 hours” of being set up.
“Since morning, I have noted down 130 calls from various districts of West Bengal where someone is being threatened, someone’s home has been burnt down, etc,” Kaveri, who is also Kolkata Raj Bhavan’s first woman telephone operator, told ThePrint Monday.
“The one that shook me the most is a case from Cooch Behar where a seven-month pregnant woman, whose father-in-law is contesting the panchayat polls, has been threatened. The headmaster of the school where she works has been warned against allowing her to teach,” she added.
In service for the past 15 years, Kaveri said there was always a hotline at the Raj Bhavan on which anyone, including officials, could ring up the Governor. But now it has been converted to a panchayat poll helpline.
“Some people call to seek the Governor’s medical grant, while some call to seek an appointment with him. There’s always been a functional helpline but this one isn’t the same,” said Kaveri. “The Governor himself came to the room this morning and gave us instructions regarding the complaints we were receiving.”
Like Kaveri, six other Raj Bhavan officials are engaged in the ‘Peace Room’, handling three telephones by turns. Each person sits continuously for about four-five hours answering the telephone, noting down the name, number, constituency and complaint of the caller. The official who attends the calls at night is on a 12-hour shift.
“I wasn’t able to eat my lunch today. The gravity of the situation is such that there is no room to be under stress or pressure. We are all engaged to help the people who are calling us. We are taking the details from them and sending it to the Officer on Special Duty (OSD) to the Governor who is further looking into the matter,” said Kaveri.
Speaking to ThePrint, the OSD to the Governor, Sandip Kumar Singh, said that all complaints were being compiled and given to Dr Bose.
“We have received over 500 calls in the past 48 hours. The grievances are being forwarded to the State Election Commission and Chief Secretary after instructions from the Governor. We have received complaints from all the notable parties fighting the panchayat polls,” he said.
The Opposition, however, has had mixed reactions to the ‘Peace Room’, with the ruling Trinamool Congress (TMC) terming it ‘unconstitutional’ and Communist Party of India (Marxist) saying that such a helpline should have been set up by the Election Commission.
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The West Bengal Raj Bhavan had announced the helpline number, email ID and ‘Peace Room’ in a late-night communication to the media Saturday.
It stated that in view of “continuation of the frequent field visits of the Governor to violence-affected areas and in view of numerous representations received from citizens on criminal intimidation in pre-poll Bengal, a help room (Peace Room) has been opened in Raj Bhavan to respond to the grievances of the public. The Peace Room will refer the issues to the government and State Election Commissioner for appropriate action”.
Speaking to the media Monday after visiting the ‘Peace Room’, the Governor said the state authorities had been responding to the messages being forwarded by the Raj Bhavan (based on the helpline) and the complainants were happy that their problems were being resolved.
“We received many complaints, of violence, of murder, of intimidation. We will sort them out and take them up with the appropriate authorities for swift action. The complainants are happy to a large extent that prompt action is being taken by the Raj Bhavan,” Dr Bose said.
However, speaking to ThePrint, TMC MP Kalyan Banerjee said, “The Governor has no authority to open such a helpline. This is thoroughly unconstitutional.”
CPI(M) leader Sujan Chakraborty also questioned the validity of the ‘Peace Room’. “This helpline should have been set up by the Election Commission and not the Raj Bhavan. There will be questions on the legality of such a step taken for the first time by the Raj Bhavan,” he told ThePrint.
The BJP, however, welcomed the step taken by the Governor. Speaking to ThePrint, BJP MP Dilip Ghosh said: “The Bengal government thought that the Governor would be a mute spectator and simply agree with whatever reports were being sent to him. The Governor is an able administrator and people are happy with his proactive steps.”
(Edited by Nida Fatima Siddiqui)