After the West Bengal assembly on Thursday passed a resolution to observe Poila Baisakh or Bengali New Year Day as West Bengal Foundation Day, the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), led by its leader Suvendu Adhikari met Governor CV Ananda Bose and opposed the move. Speaking to reporters after his meeting with the governor, Adhikari said that the resolution is a "challenge to the Constitution" and is all about "appeasement".
"This is high appeasement and challenge to the Constitution. The governor clearly stated that President of India Droupadi Murmu had already tweeted and extended her wishes on June 20 - West Bengal Day," Adhikari was quoted as saying by news agency ANI.
The resolution was passed in the assembly with 167 members voting in favour of it. Sixty-two MLAs of the BJP, which wanted to observe June 20, the day the Bengal assembly voted in favour of partition as the state day, voted against it.
Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee has said that April 15 will be observed as Bengal Day regardless of the approval of Governor CV Ananda Bose. Banerjee has also backed the proposal to make Rabindranath Tagore's 'Banglar Mati, Banglar Jol' the state song.
Speaking at a Teacher's Day function, Banerjee accused the Governor of trying to paralyse the state administration by holding back Bills.
"The governor's actions are an attempt to paralyse the state administration. He is not returning a single bill passed by the assembly. There is a provision that if a bill is sent to him he has to return it. If a bill is returned twice, it becomes an act. He is not returning a single bill," said the Chief Minister.