Bengal Assembly passes Bill to curtail Governor’s power
Kolkata (West Bengal) [India], June 14: The West Bengal Private University Laws Amendment Bill, 2022, was passed without voting as the principal opposition Bharatiya Janata Party staged a walkout from the state Assembly.
The bill aims to replace the Governor with the state's Education Minister as a 'Visitor' to private universities, intensifying the unprecedented face-off between Governor Jagdeep Dhankhar and Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee.
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The Bill, on Monday, was passed in the legislative assembly after 182 members voted in favour of the legislation and 40 against it in the 294-member Assembly.
Dhankhar has been a vocal critic of the Mamata Banerjee government over several issues, especially law and order. These bills are being seen as an attempt to curb the Governor's powers.
Earlier this month, the West Bengal Government after a Cabinet meeting, gave its nod to replace Governor and appoint Chief Minister as the Chancellor of all state-run universities under different departments like Health, Agriculture, Animal Husbandry and Minority Affairs Department.
The move drew criticism from the BJP with the Leader of the Opposition in West Bengal Assembly Suvendu Adhikari saying that he will take up this issue during his meeting with the Governor.
Reacting to this, state Education Minister Bratya Basu said, "About the opposition, I have nothing to say. We have brought a Bill to change our Governor from the post of the chancellor only. We offered and suggested that Chief Minister will be the chancellor and the whole house accepted it. Now we are sending it to Governor."
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According to the opposition, appointing the chief minister as chancellor would lead to direct "political interference" in the state's higher education system.
-PTC News
