The opening of the Budget session of the West Bengal Assembly on Friday went off rather smoothly as Governor Jagdeep Dhankhar read out the opening address as drafted for him by the state government.
There was tension brewing over the matter as the ruling party, and officials kept speculating whether or not the Governor would differ on issues during his speech. Such speculation stemmed from the fact that Dhankhar has been on a collision course with the state government over various issues regarding administrative decisions.
Only weeks ago, the Governor of Kerala had stated that he didn’t agree with the state government’s view against the Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA) while reading his speech in the Assembly.
However, the Bengal Governor read out whatever was written in the speech verbatim and even read out the portions that contained the state’s resolution against CAA and the National Register of Citizens (NRC). He also read out the portions which said that the Constitution and the moral of the country was at stake which was a direct reference to the CAA and the proposed NRC. The Governor also read out criticism of the Centre for suppressing dissent in the name of nationalism.
After opening the session, Dhankhar met the Speaker in his room and spoke to chief minister Mamata Banerjee for nearly 15 minutes.
After leaving the Assembly, Dhankhar tweeted, “I delivered the address in the high traditions of Constitution. I do hope all will pay due obeisance to the Constitution. This is the only way to serve the people and enhance democratic values. I urge those in authority to desist from methodology not sanctified by Constitution.” The Governor met three principal accountant generals and the chief secretary of the state at Raj Bhawan later in the day.
Congress leader Abdul Mannan however, criticised the Governor saying that he exerted passive influence on the state government to omit those parts of his speech that criticised the Centre for its various policies.
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