Governor Dhankhar prorogues Assembly

Kolkata: West Bengal Governor Jagdeep Dhankhar on Saturday prorogued the Assembly from Saturday. Prorogation is discontinuing a session of Parliament or a legislative Assembly without dissolving it. Dhankhar, who is tussling with the Mamata Banerjee-government since he assumed the chair of the Governor, in a tweet said that he has prorogued the Assembly from 12 February. “In exercise of the powers conferred upon me by sub-clause (a) of clause (2) of article 174 of the Constitution, I, Jagdeep Dhankhar, Governor of the State of West Bengal, hereby prorogue the West Bengal Legislative Assembly with effect from 12 February, 2022,” he tweeted.
This has triggered a debate over the governor’s “unprecedented decision”. However, Governor Dhankhar made it clear that the decision was taken in consultation with the state cabinet. Analysts say that the governor cannot announce the decision by tweeting like this. The development comes in the midst of rising tussle between the Mamata Banerjee-government and Dhankar. Assembly Speaker Biman Bandyopadhyay said, “The Governor cannot announce such an administrative decision by tweeting.” Trinamool state secretary Kunal Ghosh said, “It has become the Governor’s habit to tweet. If anything, start tweeting. The Governor has done a job without full authority. What has been discussed with our parliamentary minister about this? ” Political analysts say that the Governor’s tweet is not desirable. As important as the approval of the Governor is, so is the call and decision of the state government in case of a session of the Legislative Assembly. Analysts say that the “sudden announcement” of the Governor will give rise to further conflict.
Sources said the budget for the West Bengal Legislative Assembly may be presented in March. In the last few years, the budget session of the state government took place before or after the central budget. Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman presented the Union Budget on 1 February. Although about six days have passed since then, it has not been announced yet when the budget session of the state assembly will be held. In this situation, the governor’s decision is considered unprecedented.
In fact, the state-governor conflict is nothing new. Recently, Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee mocked the Governor as a “horse herd”. The Chief Minister even blocked him on Twitter. On 26 January, Governor Dhankar attacked the Speaker while he was standing in the Assembly premises. After that, the state took strict action. “If the Governor wants to come to the Assembly on his own initiative, he will be asked the reason,” said Speaker Biman Bandyopadhyay. Governor Dhankhar has been embroiled in controversy with the state over the Howrah Purbil controversy, from the appointment of vice-chancellors in state universities to pre-poll atmosphere to post-election violence.
Analysts believe that the Raj Bhavan-Nabanna clash has escalated afresh with Governor Dhankhar proroguing the Assembly from Saturday.