3 min readKolkataJul 18, 2024 10:53 AM IST
First published on: Jul 18, 2024 at 04:06 AM IST
Among the eight pending Bills, which have become a bone of contention between the Raj Bhavan and West Bengal government, and the issue has now reached the Supreme Court, seven deal with the appointment of vice-chancellors to the state universities. In one of the pending Bills, passed by the Assembly, the chief minister replaces the Governor as the chancellor of state universities and the state education minister takes the role of “visitor” to private varsities, replacing the Governor.
While the TMC government has claimed that several Bills are waiting for the Governor’s assent and moved the Supreme Court, Raj Bhavan officials deny any pending Bill. According to Raj Bhavan, “no Bill is pending” as the Governor is “waiting for the state government’s response on clarifications sought”.
According to the state government, the eight Bills pending with the Raj Bhavan are
The West Bengal Private University Laws (Amendment) Bill, passed by the Assembly in June 2022
- The West Bengal Krishi Viswavidyalaya Laws (Second Amendment) Bill, passed by the Assembly in June 2022
- The West Bengal University of Health Sciences (Amendment) Bill, passed by the Assembly in June 2022
- The Aliah University (Amendment) Bill, passed by the Assembly in June 2022
- The West Bengal Town and Country (Planning and Development) (Amendment) Bill, passed by the Assembly in July 2023
- The West Bengal University Laws (Amendment) Bill, passed by the Assembly in August 2023.
Six of these Bills were passed in June 2022 when Jagdeep Dhankhar was the Governor of Bengal, and two others when CV Ananda Bose stepped into Raj Bhavan.
Sources in the Raj Bhavan said that out of the eight Bills listed above, six were reserved for the consideration of President Droupadi Murmu.
A senior Raj Bhavan official said: “The West Bengal University Laws (Amendment) Bill, 2023, relating to the selection of vice-chancellors is sub-judice. Regarding the eight Bill — West Bengal Town and Country (Planning & Development) (Amendment) Bill — no representative of the state government turned up at the Raj Bhavan despite being called for clarifications,” said the official.
The ruling TMC, meanwhile, accused the Governor of “putting up roadblocks” in the functioning of the state government.
“It is a Constitutional mandate for the Governor to cooperate with the elected government of the day… It is a deliberate act of political vendetta meted out by the Centre where the Governor has become the agent of a political party. The Raj Bhavan under the present Governor and its predecessor has tried to derail the process of the governance and development carried out by Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee,” said TMC state vice-president Jay Prakash Majumdar.
Governor CV Ananda Bose 
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