A fresh tussle between the Raj Bhavan and the state secretariat in West Bengal has erupted and this time it is over the date of commencement of the forthcoming monsoon session of the Assembly.
Sources said the state government this week had sent a file to the Raj Bhavan, seeking clearance from the Governor, C.V. Ananda Bose to begin the monsoon session of the Assembly from July 24.
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However, the Governor refused to clear the file on grounds that the session had been called at such a short notice. The governor also summoned the state Parliamentary affairs minister Sovandeb Chattopadhay for explanation on this count.
However, the minister, sources added, pleaded inability to go to Raj Bhavan on Wednesday because of his prior engagements outside the city and instead proposed to send his departmental secretary to the Governor’s House.
However, a communication was sent back to the minister from the Raj Bhavan that in absence of the minister at least the state chief secretary H.K. Dwivedi should turn up. However, the latter also did not turn up on Wednesday and it is not yet clear whether he will go to the Governor’s House at all in the matter.
The development has posed great uncertainty over the date of commencement of the monsoon session since a session of the House cannot commence without the formal approval from the Governor.
Recently, the tussle between the Raj Bhavan and the state secretariat reached its peak over the massive violence and bloodbath over the just concluded elections for the three- tier panchayat system, where the death toll has already crossed 50. The Governor’s decision to open a ‘Peace Room’ within the Raj Bhavan premises and his frequent tours to the different violence- ridden pockets in the state attracted scathing criticisms from the ruling Trinamool Congress leadership.
Earlier, the tussle between the Governor’s House and the state government brewed over the Governor’s decision to appoint interim vice- chancellors for 11 state universities with the consultation or concurrence of the state education department.
