"Misuse Of Power By Governors": Mamata Banerjee, MK Stalin Plan Meeting

Chief Ministers of opposition-ruled states will soon meet in Delhi to discuss the "Constitutional overstepping and brazen misuse of power by the Governors", Tamil Nadu Chief Minister MK Stalin tweeted today. The matter, he added, was flagged by Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee, who had suggested the meeting.

"Beloved Didi @MamataOfficial telephoned me to share her concern and anguish on the Constitutional overstepping and brazen misuse of power by the Governors of non-BJP ruled states. She suggested for a meeting of Opposition CMs," read Mr Stalin's tweet.

"I assured her of DMK's commitment to uphold State autonomy. Convention of Opposition CMs will soon happen out of Delhi!" added a second post.

Mr Stalin's tweet came soon after a heated Twitter exchange with West Bengal Governor Jagdeep Dhankhar, who had prorogued the state Assembly from Saturday based on the state government's recommendation.

"The act of #WestBengal Governor to prorogue the WB Assembly Session is without any propriety expected from the exalted post and goes against the established norms and conventions," Mr Stalin had said. Governor Dhankhar then hit out at the Tamil Nadu Chief Minister saying that "his extremely harsh hurtful observations are not in the least in conformity with facts".

"Find it unusually expedient to respectfully invite indulgent attention of TN CM @mkstalin that his extremely harsh hurtful observations are not in the least in conformity with facts- attached order. Assembly was prorogued at express request @MamataOfficial @rajbhavan_tn.," Governor Dhankhar said, and also posted an official communication in this connection.

Trinamool Congress spokesperson Kunal Ghosh had clarified, "The governor did not take the decision on his own initiative. He has prorogued the Assembly following the recommendation of the Cabinet. There is no confusion in it."

The friction between Governors and Lieutenant Governors and Chief Ministers in Delhi, Chhattisgarh and in Goa during the Congress rule, have made headlines.  Ms Banerjee's Bengal has led the field, with the Governor and Chief Minister locked in acrimony over multiple issues.

In Tamil Nadu, Mr Stalin has accused Governor R N Ravi blocking the state's anti-NEET Bill to the Centre which is meant to bypass the national medical entrance exam. Mr Stalin and a few other like-minded parties have decided to send again the Bill to the Governor again, demanding that it be forwarded to President Ram Nath Kovind for his assent.

Ms Banerjee's Trinamool Congress has declared that it would bring a "resolution" against Governor Jagdeep Dhankhar in the current budget session of the assembly, accusing him transgressing constitutional limits.

The Chief Minister had blocked the Governor on Twitter after he said the state had become "a gas chamber for democracy". She also said that she had requested Prime Minister Narendra Modi in writing several times, requesting for his removal, but no action has been taken.

Telangana Chief Minister K Chandrashekhar Rao in a press conference on Sunday said that he will meet Uddhav Thackeray in Mumbai and Mamata Banerjee also plans to visit him in Hyderabad soon. He is reportedly in touch with several opposition parties in an attempt to forge a non-BJP, non-Congress coalition.

In Delhi, after years of running feud between Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal and the Lieutenant Governor, the Centre passed a controversial bill last year, giving more powers to the Centre's representative compared to the city's elected government.

The law came after the Supreme Court, in 2018, decided that the Lieutenant Governor does not have independent decision-making powers and the real power must lie with the elected government.

"A balanced federal structure mandates that the union does not usurp all powers and the states enjoy freedom without any unsolicited interference from the centre," the court said, adding that there is "no room for absolutism and there is no room for anarchism also".