On Saturday, the Trinamool Congress (TMC) called for West Bengal Governor C.V. Ananda Bose to convene a meeting with Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee to resolve the deadlock over Bills pending with the Raj Bhavan, as per the Supreme Court’s directive in a similar case.
Referring to a similar case, the apex court had instructed Tamil Nadu Governor R.N. Ravi to meet with Chief Minister M.K. Stalin to address the impasse over pending Bills. Mr. Bose and Ms. Banerjee, like Mr. Ravi and Mr. Stalin, have had multiple confrontations over various issues.
The ruling party alleged that Mr. Bose is acting in a biased manner and causing uncertainties in various areas, including universities. “Bose has been withholding several Bills passed by the assembly, including one seeking to make the CM the chancellor of state universities instead of the Governor,” stated Parliamentary Affairs Minister Sovandeb Chattopadhyay, adding that the governor’s actions had caused an “impasse.”
Education Minister Bratya Basu stated that the Governor should communicate with the CM to resolve the matter. Meanwhile, the opposition BJP defended the Governor’s actions, stating that the situations in the two States cannot be equated and that he was “exercising caution.”
BJP State spokesperson Samik Bhattacharya added, “By using brute majority in the House, the ruling TMC attempted to subvert well-established provisions to suit its own narrow agenda. The Governor, to safeguard the Constitution, judged every Bill and either sought some clarification or returned the Bill or referred the draft to the President.”
On November 8, Mr. Bose stated that no Bill was pending with the Raj Bhavan, except those that needed clarification from the State or were “sub-judice.”