'Being minister does not give you right to say everything': Bengal Minister on setting limits for cabinet members

Kolkata: West Bengal Parliamentary Affairs and Tourism Minister, Dr Shankar Ghosh, made a meaningful social media post in which he indirectly set limits about “rights and knowledge of any cabinet member to speak on anything”.

“Being a minister does not give you the right to say everything, nor does it give you knowledge," Ghosh observed in the post that he made on his social media handle on the intervening night of Saturday and Sunday

However, from the post, it was not clear initially whether Ghosh was trying to target anyone or was it for self-introspection only.

Ghosh, whether as the Chief Whip of the BJP’s Legislative Party in the West Bengal Assembly from 2024-26 or as the current heavyweight member of the West Bengal, has always been identified as a person who prefers maintaining a low profile and avoiding controversial statements.

In such a situation, his meaningful social media post has become a matter of discussion in the political circles. The social media post made by Ghosh also carries his picture.

However, Ghosh himself later explained to the media persons this morning that his observation was not meant to target any individual and should be viewed as an expression of self-introspection. "My observation should be viewed as self-introspection. I always follow this principle,” he said.

This morning, the West Bengal Panchayat Affairs & Rural Development Minister and BJP’s former Dilip Ghosh aired his support for what Shankar Ghosh had observed in his social media post.

“This principle should be followed not just by any minister but by every individual. Of course, the responsibility of any minister to follow this principle is greater, since people have greater expectations from any minister. If a minister does not remain within the Constitutional limits, questions are bound to surface,” said Dilip Ghosh, also the former state president of the BJP in West Bengal.

He also said that not just any minister but every individual should be aware of this while making any statement which might hurt others' sentiments. “Again, the responsibility of a minister in such matters is much more,” he added.

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