Kolkata: West Bengal Governor Jagdeep Dhankhar on Saturday prorogued the state Legislative Assembly with immediate effect after exercising power vested with him under Article 174 of the Constitution. Notably, to prorogue a session means to discontinue it for a period of time without dissolving it.
Posting the official order on Twitter, he wrote, “In exercise of the powers conferred upon me by sub-clause (a) of clause (2) of article 174 of the Constitution, I, Jagdeep Dhankhar, Governor of the State of West Bengal, hereby prorogue the West Bengal Legislative Assembly with effect from 12 February, 2022″.
Prorogation is discontinuing a session of the Parliament or a legislative assembly without dissolving it.
The Governor also clarified that his decision comes after a recommendation from the state government. “In view of inappropriate reporting in a section of media it is indicated that taking note of govt recommendation seeking proroguing of assembly, Guv in exercise of the powers conferred upon him by article 174 (2)(a) the Constitution has prorogued WBLA w.e.f. Feb 12,2022,” he said in another tweet.
WB Guv:
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In exercise of the powers conferred upon me by sub-clause (a) of clause (2) of article 174 of the Constitution, I, Jagdeep Dhankhar, Governor of the State of West Bengal, hereby prorogue the West Bengal Legislative Assembly with effect from 12 February, 2022. pic.twitter.com/dtdHMivIup
— Governor West Bengal Jagdeep Dhankhar (@jdhankhar1) February 12, 2022
Following this, the state government will have to take permission from the Governor to commence the next session of the Assembly and it would have to begin with a speech by him.
The Budget session of the Assembly was scheduled to commence either in February or March in view of the ongoing civic body polls in the state. The TMC was contemplating on bringing a motion against West Bengal Governor Jagdeep Dhankhar during the upcoming session, accusing him of interfering in the day-to-today activities of the state government.
On Friday, TMC Rajya Sabha MP Sukhendu Sekhar Ray had submitted a Substantive Motion under Rule 170 in the Rajya Sabha, urging President Ram Nath Kovind to remove Jagdeep Dhankhar as West Bengal Governor.
The prolonged tussle between the TMC-ruled state government and the Raj Bhawan reached a flashpoint after Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee recently blocked the Governor on Twitter for purportedly tagging her in all of his posts, criticising her administration. The Governor has been targeting the state government over a host of issues and seeking information and reports regarding appointments to various posts.