The special session of the Bengal Assembly on Monday could not pass two bills on raising the salaries of the ministers and MLAs by Rs 40,000 a month because governor C.V. Ananda Bose has not yet given his consent.

"The bills were just introduced in the House. They could not be tabled or passed because we did not get the required consent from the governor. They will be tabled again for discussion in the next session of the Assembly," said Sovandeb Chattopadhyay, the state parliamentary affairs minister.

A leader said the bills were put on hold till December 4, when the Assembly will sit for the winter session.

During the last session, chief minister Mamata Banerjee announced a hike of Rs 40,000 a month in salaries of 294 MLAs, including ministers of her cabinet, that drew criticism from various corners as a section of government employees are accusing the state government of not releasing their due dearness allowance.

A Trinamul leader said the one-day special session of the Assembly was called only to pass two bills so that the MLAs could get their hiked salaries before the festive season. However, repeated pleas to the governor for his consent went in vain.

The BJP MLAs led by the leader of the Opposition, Suvendu Adhikari, opposed and tore up copies of the bills in the Assembly claiming that they had been brought without the governor’s consent and it was not legal.

“It was completely illegal to bring the bill in the Assembly without the governor’s consent,” said Adhikari. Trinamul, however, claimed there was no illegality in introducing the bills and it could not be passed only for the lack of governor’s consent.

At a time when the governor refused his consent to the bills, Kunal Ghosh, a Trinamul general secretary met him at Raj Bhavan and held a meeting. A source said Ghosh was sent to governor C.V. Ananda Bose with important messages to improve ties between Raj Bhavan and the state government.

Ghosh did not disclose the subject of the meeting and claimed it was a courtesy meeting. “I can’t reveal what I discussed with the governor. It was actually a courtesy meeting, but I met him after getting consent from my two top leaders (Mamata Banerjee and Abhishek Banerjee),” said Ghosh.