Citing “preoccupations”, West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee will not attend an all-party meeting called by Governor Jagdeep Dhankhar on Friday to discuss issues pertaining to two bills, a Raj Bhavan official said. The Chief Minister’s Office informed the Governor’s Secretariat that on account of preoccupations on Friday, it will not be possible for Banerjee to attend the meeting, the Raj Bhavan said in a statement on Thursday.
Dhankhar has been engaged in a face-off with the West Bengal government over a host of issues since assuming charge as the governor of the state, the most recent being the protests against Citizenship Amendment Act and National Register of Citizens.
The meeting on Friday was called by the governor to discuss two bills passed by the Assembly, which are awaiting his assent.
.@MamataOfficial. I have invited leaders of the Legislature Parties in the Legislative Assembly on 17.1.2020 at 12 noon at Raj Bhavan, Kolkata as regards pendency of West Bengal (Prevention of Lynching) Bill, 2019 and West Bengal State Commission for SC and ST Bill, 2019. pic.twitter.com/Hn95UhlsZ4
— Jagdeep Dhankhar (@jdhankhar1) January 13, 2020
The statement said that “on account of there being no inputs from the state government and the state Legislative Assembly in spite of repeated efforts” with regard to the pendency of ‘The West Bengal (Prevention of Lynching) Bill, 2019’ and ‘West Bengal State Commission for Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes Bill, 2019’, the meeting had been convened by the governor.
“The Governor has urged the Chief Minister to give priority to this matter and spare time at the earliest for a meeting on these issues,” it said.
Leader of the Opposition in the West Bengal Assembly Abdul Mannan, and Left Front Legislature Party leader Sujan Chakraborty have requested that the meeting be held on January 21, the statement said, adding that it will be scheduled on that date. The Raj Bhavan has also been informed that the Leader of Gorkha Janmukti Morcha, Rohit Sharma, is currently bedridden, it said.