Trinamul MLAs on Tuesday demonstrated against governor Jagdeep Dhankhar below a statue of B.R. Ambedkar in the Assembly complex, accusing him of “withholding” a bill on forming a state commission for SCs and STs.

“Why is he (Dhankhar) delaying his nod to the bill? He should give his assent or just go away,” Trinamul MLA Manas Majumdar said during the protest.

In New Delhi, Trinamul members walked out the Rajya Sabha demanding Dhankhar’s removal. “This is humiliating for Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes in the state,” Trinamul leader Derek O’Brien, said, accusing Dhankhar of running the Raj Bhavan like an “RSS shakha”.

In Calcutta, where the Assembly’s session was adjourned sine die on Tuesday, state parliamentary affairs minister Partha Chatterjee rejected Dhankhar’s claims that the government had not provided clarifications and said the House could have sat for a few more days had Dhankhar cleared several bills.

Last week, Speaker Biman Banerjee had ordered an unprecedented mid-session break in the session over the delay. Dhankhar wrote to the Speaker on Tuesday denying any delay but Banerjee had by then adjourned the House sine die.

“He is asking about the very necessity of a state commission for SCs and STs, saying a national commission already exists. We have the state human rights and women’s commissions despite the presence of the national bodies,” Chatterjee added.

Later on Tuesday, Dhankhar said: “It is not my fault if the government moves at a snail’s pace in answering queries. They cannot evade their responsibilities by blaming me.”