The Trinamul Congress plans to bring a substantive motion against Bengal governor Jagdeep Dhankhar in the Rajya Sabha in the ensuing budget session and the party MPs in both Houses of Parliament will protest against the Union government’s plan to amend the IAS (Cadre) Rules, 1954, said a Trinamul MP.
These decisions were taken at a Trinamul meeting on Thursday. Mamata Banerjee addressed all party MPs at the meeting.
Trinamul’s member of the Rajya Sabha, Sukhendu Sekhar Roy, has been asked to look into the prospects of bringing the substantive motion against Dhankhar in the Upper House, sources in the party said.
A substantive motion only discusses the “conduct of persons in high authority” and Trinamul will seek Dhankhar’s immediate removal.
“What the governor is doing tantamount to criminal activities. Since he is constitutionally immune from criminal proceedings, we might bring a substantive motion against him and seek his immediate removal in the coming budget session,” Ray told this newspaper.
The development comes two days after Dhankhar’s public outburst against the government, the chief minister and Speaker Biman Banerjee on Tuesday on the premises of the Assembly.
That Mamata took offence of Dhankhar’s actions was evident during the Republic Day celebrations organised by the state government on Wednesday. The chief minister kept a stone cold face and elusive approach towards the governor every time the latter tried to communicate with her. However, Mamata did return Dhankhar’s salutations every time.
Speaking on the possibility of bringing a substantive motion, Ray said no legal provision allows the governor to sit on the bills to appoint the Lokayukt, the human rights commissioner and the information commissioner.
“He is abusing the chief minister and other constitutional posts, he is not giving his consent to bills, he is acting at the behest of the party in power at the Centre and is disrespecting the 8 crore people of Bengal who have elected us to power,” Ray alleged.
The substantive motion is a long-drawn process, Ray said, but what is important is to register the state’s protest against Dhankhar’s actions.
Another MP present at the meeting said all the members in both the Houses had been asked to raise their voices against the proposed amendment to the IAS (Cadre) Rules, 1954, which would allow New Delhi to post any officer on central deputation immediately bypassing reservations from states.
Mamata was the first to write to the Prime Minister Narendra Modi urging him to drop the amendment as it would hurt the federal structure of the nation. She had written two letters in this regard.
Similar reservations have been raised by other states as well, with Tamil Nadu and Kerala Chief Ministers also writing to the PMO.
A total of 9 states have so far opposed the proposed amendment. Odisha, Maharashtra, Jharkhand, Chhattisgarh, Telangana and Rajasthan have voiced their opposition apart from Bengal, Tamil Nadu and Kerala.
