West Bengal passes another bill curtailing Governor's powers

Kolkata, Jun 14: The West Bengal Private Universities Law Amendment Bill, 2022, was passed without voting as the principal opposition Bharatiya Janata Party staged a walkout from the state assembly. The bill aims to replace the Governor with the state's Education Minister as a visitor to Private universities.

 

 

 

 

The bill has further intensified the unprecedented face-off between Governor Jagdeep Dhankar with Chief Minister Mamta Banerjee. This comes a day after the West Bengal Legislative Assembly passed the West Bengal University Laws Amendment Bill 2022, which sought to replace Governor Jagdeep Dhankar with WB CM Mamta Banerjee as the chancellor of all state-run univerisities.

 

 

 

 

 

The bill was passed in the legislative assembly on Monday (Jun 13) after 182 members voted in favor of the legislation and 40 against it in the 294 member assembly. Dhankar has been a vocal critic of the Mamta Banerjee govt over several issues, especially law and order. These bills are being seen as an attempt to curb the governor's powers.

 

The WB govt after a cabinet meeting earlier this month, gave a nod to replace Governor and appoint Chief Minister as the Chancellor of all state run universities under different departments of Health, Agriculture, Animal Husbandry and Minority Affairs.