Article 356 becomes most debated subject in Bengal

No one is directly speaking about imposing Article 356 in West Bengal, but it seems there is a clandestine attempt to put the state government under pressure, according to political observers.

Kolkata:Article 356 of the Indian Constitution is the most debated subject in West Bengal’s political circles right at this moment. Making the issue of post-poll violence in the state as the base, state Governor Jagdeep Dhankar and leader of opposition in West Bengal are hinting about the application of Article 356 in West Bengal. Although none of them is directly speaking about imposing it, but it seems there is a clandestine attempt to put the state government under pressure using this Article as a weapon.

It might be recalled that the current West Bengal Chief Minister, Mamata Banerjee often spoke about Article 356 when she was in the Opposition but it was mainly a pressure tactic. But this time this game of pressure tactics has taken a different magnitude, feel political observers. They feel that the manner in which the BJP became desperate to end the Trinamool Congress regime in the state in the recently concluded elections, this repetitive mention about Article 356 cannot be viewed as a mere pressure tactics game.

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Trinamool Congress leadership claim that these repeated mentions are nothing but the frustration of BJP and the governor following the humiliating defeat in the state assembly elections and hence they are constantly trying to create ruckus over the issue. According to them, this is nothing but a ploy to topple a duly elected government. On this issue senior advocate and Congress leader, Arunava Ghosh has criticized the governor and the leader of the opposition. According to him, the entire process is thoroughly ultra-vires to the Constitution of India.

“The governor and the leader of the opposition are trying to ruin the democracy in the state. This is true that Trinamool Congress supporters are resorting to violence in many pockets of the state but this cannot be a reason for imposing Article 356. The governor is acting like an illiterate person. Even the educated section in BJP does not believe in democracy. They try to gain everything by force because of which they were punished by the people in the recent polls. So imposing Article 356 right at this moment will be unethical and undemocratic. The constitution does have some provision on this count. But those provisions are not applicable for West Bengal now. So it can be easily challenged in the court and that will result in an embarrassment for the ruling party and the Union government,” Ghosh said.

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On Suvendu Adhikari’s demand, he said that every political leader has the right to raise demands. “The constitution does not bar him from doing so. But those who have studied the Constitution of India feel that a democratically elected state government cannot be toppled in such a manner within months of its election,” he said. Leading advocate, CPI(M) leader and former Kolkata mayor, Bikash Ranjan Bhattacharya too holds a somewhat similar opinion. According to him, although it cannot be denied that the law and order situation in West Bengal is currently in a horrific state, that cannot be the only reason to impose President’s rule in the state.

“Both the Governor as well as the leader of the opposition should understand that. The ruling party activists are indeed resorting to violence against the opposition party workers since the election results have been announced. But this cannot be the reason to attract Article 356, especially against the government which has come to power recently with a huge mandate. A government can be worthless but it has to be given some time to put things in order. No one can misuse the constitutional power that he or she enjoys,” Bhattacharya said.

Meanwhile, political circles in the state think that even the Union Home Minister, Amit Shah is well aware that the current situation in West Bengal does not call for imposing Article 356, since there are examples before where the Union government’s decision to impose Article 356 has been rejected by the court.

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“So the Union government should tread cautiously since the current state government in West Bengal enjoys a huge mandate and is not that much riddled by political or economic tensions currently. So mere political violence cannot be the only ground for attracting President’s rule. So I feel that the governor and the leader of the opposition are referring to Article 356 just to boost the morale of the BJP workers in the state,” said a political observer.

At the same time, he said, after the results were declared a tendency among BJP leaders and workers to quit the party has become evident. “So as the leader of the opposition, Adhikari has to resort to something to boost the morale of his party workers. Otherwise, the cracks within the state BJP will widen further,” he added.