KOLKATA: The State Election Commission is likely to amend the civic poll plan it had submitted to the Calcutta High Court after the West Bengal governor tweeted that he didn’t give assent to the Howrah Municipal Corporation (Amendment) Bill, 2021, proposing separation of the 16 wards of Bally from HMC.
Chief minister Mamata Banerjee will call on assembly Speaker Biman Banerjee on Monday, sparking speculation that the latter might drop the bill without waiting for Governor Jagdeep Dhankhar’s assent “indefinitely”. The governor had hinted that he might reserve the bill for the President’s consideration under Article 200 of the Constitution.
Dhankhar also criticized education minister Bratya Basu following his comment that the state government was exploring legal options to make the CM chancellor of universities.
The CM might also discuss with the speaker some changes in the rules of business of the assembly in an attempt to enhance powers of the assembly secretariat.
The SEC, in the backdrop of confusion over the Howrah bill, might announce polls to four municipal corporations — Bidhannagar, Asansol, Siliguri and Chandernagore — instead of five, leaving out Howrah after Dhankhar contradicted the Bengal advocate general’s submission to the HC stating that the bill had got the governor’s assent.
On Sunday, state election commissioner Sourav Das said: “We can hold the Howrah and Bally polls if we get clearance from the state government.” Das further said the notification was not likely to be issued on Monday.
The commissioner will hold a press conference on Monday to announce details of the election programme for the remaining 109 civic bodies.
The Howrah bill, passed in the assembly in November, sparked a row between the speaker and the governor, who sought clarifications from the state government over the grounds for delinking the 16 Bally wards from HMC when the same government had proposed their merger in 2015.
Dhankhar came down heavily on the speaker, saying he was “crossing his limit” after Banerjee said the governor was sitting on the bill passed by the assembly.
Trinamool Congress MP Saugata Roy said the governor should “understand his limitations” and refrain from “insulting” the speaker. “Banerjee is an MLA and speaker of the West Bengal assembly. The governor is only the Centre’s appointee. Any insult to the speaker won’t be tolerated.”
