West Bengal: Mamata Banerjee’s Govt To Submit Proposal In Assembly To Form State Legislative Council

West Bengal CM Mamata Banerjee announced that the eminent people and veteran leaders who were not nominated for the assembly elections would be made members of the Vidhan Parishad.

File Photo

Kolkata: It is expected to be a big day at the West Bengal legislative assembly on Tuesday. West Bengal CM Mamata Banerjee will submit a proposal to form a State Legislative Council in assembly.

On 18th May, barely 12 days after being sworn-in as the chief minister of West Bengal for the third time, Mamata Banerjee cleared a cabinet decision to form Vidhan Parishad, or the Upper House legislative council of the state assembly, which she promised before the polls.

Banerjee announced that the eminent people and veteran leaders who were not nominated for the assembly elections would be made members of the Vidhan Parishad.

The CM had even vowed to give seats to those who were part of her campaign in Nandigram and Singur, after the 2011 Vidhan Sabha elections.

Given that several party stalwarts such as incumbent Finance Minister Amit Mitra, Purnendu Bose couldn’t be accommodated in the Vidhan Sabha, the decision to set up a Vidhan Parishad has been taken.

The move is now being viewed as a strategy devised by Mamata Banerjee, who lost to her rival candidate Suvendu Adhikari, to bypass the election process.

Only 6 states in India have a Legislative Council, namely, Bihar, Andhra Pradesh, Telangana, Uttar Pradesh, Maharashtra, and Karnataka.

West Bengal has 294 assembly seats. Since the strength of a Vidhan Parishad cannot be more than a third of the Vidhan Sabha, or legislative assembly, Bengal can have 98 members in the legislative council.

Dr. Bidhan Chandra Roy, Bengal’s first chief minister after Independence, formed the Vidhan Parishad in 1952 and it continued till 1969 when the second United Front government abolished the Upper House by passing a Bill. Dr. Bidhan Chandra Roy, Bengal’s first chief minister after Independence, formed the Vidhan Parishad in 1952 and it continued till 1969 when the second United Front government abolished the Upper House by passing a Bill.

A Legislative Council can be formed if Article 169 of the Indian Constitution is followed along with the necessary constitutional amendment. The Bill for the creation of Vidhan Parishad needs to be tabled before the Parliament and requires the President’s assent.

The Vidhan Parishad must not have more than 1/3rd of the total seats in the Vidhan Sabha. As such, the Council can have a maximum of 98 seats. 1/3rd of the members will be elected by the MLAs, while another 1/3rd will be elected by the civic bodies, Zila Parishad, and other local bodies. There will also be provisions to nominate members to the Council by the government. Just like Rajya Sabha, a Chairman and a Vice-Chairman will be dominated. Members must be at least 30 years of age and will have a tenure of 6 years.

Vidhan Parishad members are elected by civic body members and elected legislators. The governor can nominate some members as well. Bengal’s last Vidhan Parishad had 75 members, of whom nine were nominated by the governor.

The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), which has only 75 MLAs in the Bengal assembly against the TMC’s 213, did not react to the development. The Left parties, which, like the Congress, did not win any seat, opposed the idea.

Forward Bloc, the party freedom fighter Subhas Chandra Bose formed in 1939 after quitting the Congress and which is a part of the Left Front, is opposed to the formation of the Vidhan Parishad right now. But the challenge is not placing it in the West Bengal Legislative Assembly but to get it passed and approved in both the Houses of Parliament of India.

With BJP holding the majority in the central government this might hit a roadblock due to political rivalry between BJP and TMC