Trinamool, Bengal Governor spar over ‘prosecution of former Ministers’
I used to be their appointing authority, says Jagdeep Dhankha; Only Speaker is competent, says ruling occasion.
West Bengal Governor Jagdeep Dhankhar on Sunday mentioned he has accorded sanction to a Central investigating company for “prosecuting Firhad Hakim, Subrata Mukherjee, Madan Mitra & Sovan Chatterjee as they were Ministers and he was their appointing authority.
“Governor accorded sanction for prosecution of Firhad Hakim, Subrata Mukherjee, Madan Mitra & Sovan Chatterjee, being appointing authority of Ministers @MamataOfficial under Article 164 & thus competent authority. Media reports that sanction was for being MLA is incorrect,” Mr. Dhankhar mentioned in a tweet, sharing an in depth press assertion issued by the Raj Bhavan.
The matter pertains to the Narada sting movies which is being probed by the CBI. The tapes had come to the fore in 2016 the place a number of Ministers and leaders of the Trinamool Congress had been purportedly seen accepting money on digital camera. The Governor mentioned the sanction was as a result of they had been Ministers and had been appointed by the Governor.
Trinamool Congress chief Sukhendu Sekhar Roy differed saying they had been MLAs, the sanction ought to have come from the Speaker.
“We believe that the sanction to a Central investigation agency should come from the Speaker as the leaders were MLAs. However, this is a matter of law and the Courts can deal with it,” the occasion spokesperson and Rajya Sabha MP instructed The Puucho.
Mr. Roy, nonetheless, questioned the timing of the tweet by the Governor and mentioned it involves the general public area only a day earlier than the Ministers of the TMC authorities are prone to be sworn in. “We have put it on record in a letter to the President that the conduct of the Governor is partisan and is to further the interests of the BJP. We stick to our stand,” he mentioned.
The press assertion by the Raj Bhavan identified that the “sanction came to be accorded by the Hon’ble Governor after CBI had made request and made available entire documentation relevant to the case to the Hon’ble Governor and he invoked his powers under Articles 163 and 164 of the Constitution to accord such sanction”.
Four of these talked about within the communication are key TMC leaders and had been elected to the Assembly. Mr. Chatterjee has since defected to the BJP. Several distinguished leaders of the TMC had been seen within the purported Narada tapes together with Suvendu Adhikari who’s now a key BJP chief.