Bengal governor R.N. Ravi on Sunday said Bengal had witnessed a beautiful dawn after a long period of darkness, apparently referring to the change in power in the recently concluded Assembly elections, and called for the restoration of the state’s lost glory.

“In Bengal, we saw, after a long time, a long period of darkness, a beautiful dawn,” the governor said while speaking at a felicitation ceremony organised by the RSS’s Viswa Samad Kendra (VSK) Dakshinbanga at Sisir Mancha here.

“We have an added responsibility to restore the glory of Bengal. Bengal, which was the light of the whole Bharat, was the intellectual and spiritual centre of gravity of the whole Bharat. It deserves to be the place which belongs to it and once again lead Bharat. For this, we need to build the positive morale of the people of Bengal,” Ravi said.

“It is a time to be positive. Because it is only then, and then alone, that we will be able to restore the glory of Bengal. I am very confident, as the people of Bengal have already demonstrated by bringing about change. And I am very confident they will take them to the heights to which Bengal belongs. Because when Bengal rises, the whole of Bharat rises,” the governor added.

VSK Dakshinbanga on Sunday celebrated Narada Jayanti and conferred the Narada Samman on six veteran journalists — Rathindra Mohan Bandopadhyay, Bijoy Addhyo, Swapan Dasgupta, Bhajanlal Gangopadhyay, Rabindranath Dutta and Ranjit Roy.

In addition to them, 11 young journalists were felicitated at the event.

Besides the governor, the state’s information technology and electronics minister Kalyan Chakraborty, RSS Purba Kshetra Prachar Pramukh Jisnu Basu, RSS Dakshinbanga Prant Prachar Pramukh Biplab Roy and Organiser editor Prafulla Ketkar were present on the dais during the ceremony.

Chakraborty also carries the portfolios of science and technology, biotechnology, food processing and horticulture departments.

Governor Ravi also strongly opposed taking the anti-Special Intensive Revision (SIR) movement to the streets.

He said that people should have faith in constitutional bodies such as the Election Commission of India and the judiciary.

“Look at the noise that has remained against SIR. You challenged it before the court, perfectly fine. The court gave its verdict that conducting the SIR is the legitimate constitutional responsibility of the Election Commission of India. They have to ensure that only genuine Indian voters cast their votes,” the governor said.

“When you lost there, you went to the streets. This is wrong. You are creating anarchy; you are trying to create chaos in society. Now this is our biggest challenge,” he added during his nearly hour-long speech, which focused on the country’s achievements in different sectors and on how a section of people spreads negativity and questions constitutional bodies whenever decisions go against them.

Though Ravi did not name any political party, sources said his remarks were clearly aimed at the Trinamool Congress’s protests and campaign rallies against the SIR. During the election campaign, several top TMC leaders, including Mamata Banerjee, had sharply attacked the Election Commission over the exercise, alleging that it was working in favour of the BJP.

He also criticised what he described as attempts by people holding responsible positions to undermine constitutional institutions such as the Election Commission and the judiciary.

“Look at what some people occupying responsible positions are doing. Their 24-hour job is to discredit (institutions). If you win the election, it is right. The moment you lose, it becomes vote chori ho gaye (the votes have been stolen). When you get a favourable order from the court, you remain quiet. The moment the order goes against you, the judiciary is compromised,” the governor said.

“A society or a country does not run merely on laws and the Constitution. It runs on people’s confidence and trust. The people of Bharat have faith in their institutions. We have a judiciary which is fair; we have an Election Commission which is fair; we have the CAG, which is fair,” he added.

Narada Jayanti was held in May first week, but because of elections then, it was observed on Sunday, sources said.