KOLKATA: The West Bengal Assembly on Monday passed a bill seeking appointment of chief minister Mamata Banerjee as the chancellor of 17 state universities replacing governor Jagdeep Dhankhar. As many as 182 legislators voted in favour of the bill while 40 opposition members opposed it in the House of 294.
Bengal is the first state to propose such legislation even though the governor’s assent is needed for it. Gujarat and Tamil Nadu passed legislation empowering the state governments to appoint vice-chancellors of state universities. Gujarat passed the legislation in 2015 while Tamil Nadu did so in April this year.
Opposition leader Suvendu Adhikari and six other BJP MLAs could not participate in voting as they are barred from attending Assembly proceedings on disciplinary grounds.
Following defection to the ruling Trinamool Congress, BJP’s strength in the Assembly has been reduced to 70 from 77.
"Even though the TMC has managed to pass the bill because of its strength in the Assembly, the governor will surely send it to the Centre since education is a subject on the concurrent list," said Adhikari.
Last month, the Bengal governor called the state government’s move to replace her as a ploy to divert attention from a school recruitment scam being probed by the CBI. In a statement, he had said he would examine the bill and take a call.
"The proposal and approval of the cabinet is nothing but a ploy to divert attention from the pressing problems of the state. I am not concerned about what the government does unless the papers reach me. When the papers will be placed before me, I will take a call according to constitutional provisions," Dhankhar had said.
Sources in the state government said if the governor doesn’t give a nod, an ordinance will be promulgated to amend the changes replacing the governor.
The face-off between the state government and the constitutional head of the state broke out when Dhankhar alleged that the Bengal government had recruited vice-chancellors without his approval.