Raj Bhavan is in a commotion once again, as West Bengal Governor Jagdeep Dhankhar has complained that proceedings from the state Legislative Assembly were not being made available to him, as he sought proceedings from the previous session of the house, in particular, the resolution against extension of the jurisdiction area of the Border Security Force (BSF).
Dhankar also sought information regarding the privilege motion against two senior officers, one each from the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) and Enforcement Directorate (ED).
On November 18, a government proposal was brought in the state Assembly to oppose the increase in the jurisdiction of the BSF. There were 112 votes in favour of the proposal and 63 against. The Trinamool government has claimed that increasing the BSF’s jurisdiction would lead to opposition to the Constitution.
“WB Governor Shri Jagdeep Dhankhar has sought West Bengal Legislative Assembly Proceedings as regards passing @MamataOfficial as regards extension of jurisdiction area @BSF_India and Breach of Privilege Motion against CBI and ED officials @dir_ED,” Governor’s office tweeted on Friday, sharing a picture of the Governor’s letter.
In this context, Partha Chatterjee, leader of the Legislative Assembly, said that the power of BSF is being increased in non-border areas also. In the words of Chatterjee, “It is the job of the BSF to ensure border protection. But they are gradually entering non-border areas. The role of the state police is being reduced as a result of increasing the jurisdiction.”
If it is implemented, a total of 11 districts will come under the control of the border guards, he said. He added, “The lion’s share of North Bengal, 36 per cent of Bengal will be controlled by the Central government. In other words, we are opposing the hint of the Central government in the notification through the back door.”
Governor Jagdeep Dhankhar wants to see and know all the information regarding this proposal. In other words, he wants to know how many votes were passed in this proposal, what was said in the proposal, who were the speakers, and what their statements were.
On the other hand, Deputy Chief Whip of the Legislative Assembly, Tapas Roy had brought charges against ED-CBI for violating the rights of the legislature. Satyendra Singh and Rathin Biswas, two CBI and ED officials, were summoned by Assembly Speaker Biman Banerjee. But they have avoided appearing in front of the Speaker. Tapas Roy, deputy chief whip of the ruling party, alleged that the dignity of the Speaker was being tarnished. That is why DSP CBI Satyendra Singh and Assistant Director Rathin Biswas were accused of violating the powers of the Legislative Assembly. The Governor also wants to know the details regarding this.