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A week after row, Bengal Guv now summons key assembly session at 2 pm
On February 24, in an unprecedented development the Governor had summoned the budget session of the state Legislative Assembly at 2 am on March 7.
West Bengal Governor Jagdeep Dhankhar on Thursday summoned the state Legislative Assembly at 2 pm on March 7, putting an end to the week-long controversy in which he had earlier summoned the Budget Session of the assembly at 2.00 am.
The ruling-Trinamool Congress is likely to move a motion, condemning Dhankhar’s actions, at the budget session of the state assembly in March.
“Taking an expedient prudent call, as also on the personal assurance of the chief secretary that there will be Constitutional compliance of all pending issues not later than a fortnight, in exercise of the powers conferred by clause (1) of article 74 of the Constitution, the West Bengal Legislative Assembly has been summoned to meet on Monday, the 7th of March 2022 at 2 pm,” Dhankhar tweeted.
On February 24, in an unprecedented development the Governor had summoned the budget session of the state Legislative Assembly at 2 am on March 7.
Dhankhar had claimed that he had summoned the Assembly after midnight while accepting the decision of Mamata Banerjee’s cabinet, but Speaker of the state legislative assembly Biman Banerjee had said it was a typographical error and the Governor could have ignored it.
Later the state’s chief secretary requested the Governor to summon the Assembly at 2 pm as it was a typographical error. The Governor, however, returned the request saying that it was a cabinet decision that the Assembly session be called at 2 am and hence could not be changed on the request of the chief secretary.
West Bengal chief minister Mamata Banerjee had to call a cabinet meeting on February 28 to pass a fresh proposal, which had to be sent to the Governor requesting him to summon the Assembly at 2 pm on March 7.
The Governor, however, directed the chief secretary to respond to some issues which he had flagged with the Mamata Banerjee-administration.
“I expect the chief secretary will abide by his assurances in all earnestness,” the Governor tweeted.
Even though the face-off between the TMC-government and the Governor began in 2019, months after the latter took charge, the relation nosedived to an all-time low in recent months. Chief minister Mamata Banerjee has even blocked Dhankhar on her social media account.
