Issue :   
February 2020 Edition of Power Politics is updated.
Issue:Feb' 2020

WAR OF WORDS

Is Bengal heading towards
President's rule?

Subhrangsu Gupta from Kolkata

Mamata Banerjee and Narendra Modi

JP Nadda In the wake of West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee's virulent tirade against the Narendra Modi government and the Trinamool Congress nation-wide stir against the NRC, CAA, NRP, etc, BJP leaders, visiting Kolkata , often talk about the application of Article 356 and imposition of President's rule on West Bengal.
BJP working president JP Nadda alleged that Mamata was behaving in an unruly manner, violating all the norms and decency shown to a constitutional head of a democratic set-up and, accordingly, she herself had been inviting President' rule in the state.

Kailash Vijay Bargia Mukul Roy and Dilip Ghosh Kailash Vijay Bargia, the party's general secretary-in-charge, West Bengal, asserted that the imposition of President's rule was imminent if "Didi" did not mend her ways forthwith.
TMC deserter and Sarada chit fund scam accused Mukul Roy, now in the BJP, and the party's state president Dilip Ghosh demanded immediate application of Article 356 and the imposition of President's rule in Bengal in the interest of the people.
They alleged that Mamata had been acting like a dictator by violating all norms associated with a democratic head of government.

Mamata says she is aware that a conspiracy has been hatched by the Modi government at the behest of Home Minister Amit Shah for dissolving the democratically elected Bengal Assembly since the TMC is against all the wrong doings of the BJP.

Amit Shah “However, we will not bow down. Let Amit Shah dare impose President's rule in Bengal and the state people will rightly respond,” the Chief Minister says.
BJP leaders and their fellow cadres in the state are now spreading the information that the Prime Minister and the Home Minister have finally agreed on the application of Article 356 and imposition of President's rule in Bengal. Accordingly, they are waiting for the suitable opportunity. Governor Jagdeep Dhankar is also regularly sending reports to the Home Minister in this regard.
Dhankar, an RSS activist, is also often hinting that Raj Bhavan has not been sitting idle. “We are watching and noting down all the misdeeds and undemocratic action of the Chief Minister and her government,” he stated.

Modi and Amit Shah visited the state more than once for campaigning for the NRC, CAA and NRP. They also put forward their explanation stating that these would benefit millions of homeless minorities in the country and abroad, particularly those from Pakistan, Afghanistan and Bangladesh.

The BJP has intensified its activities in Bengal through campaign and propaganda against Mamata and other antiBJP parties for gaining public support in their favour.

Modi and Amit Shah visited the state more than once for campaigning for the NRC, CAA and NRP. They also put forward their explanation stating that these would benefit millions of homeless minorities in the country and abroad, particularly those from Pakistan, Afghanistan and Bangladesh.

The BJP has a political agenda of capturing power in Bengal which Amit Shah has also spelt out. He said they "were firm in winning at least 196 of 245 seats in the 2021 Assembly polls in the state. The votes of the displaced Hindu minorities will help the party ensure the victory.”

The BJP now has acquired the strength both in the Lok Sabha and the Rajya Sabha for passing a resolution for the imposition of President's rule in Bengal. But it is doubtful if the BJP will move in this direction because of the prevailing virulent anti-BJP wave in every state.

As it is, Modi's popularity has also eroded to a large extent by this time following his several wrong decisions. His advisers convinced him that nowadays Article 356 could not be used as a weapon against the enemy parties so easily. After the Supreme Court's historic judgment in the SR Bommai vs Union government in 1994, the use of Article 356 is much restricted.

Earlier, Article 356 had been frequently used as weapon by the ruling party against the opposition for teaching them a lesson. During 1966 and 1977, Indira Gandhi used Article 356 for imposing President's rule in several states, altogether 39 times. The Janata Party which came to power after the Emergency also promulgated President's rule in nine Congressruled states.

Modi's popularity has also eroded to a large extent by this time following his several wrong decisions. His advisers convinced him that nowadays Article 356 could not be used as a weapon against the enemy parties so easily. After the Supreme Court's historic judgment in the SR Bommai vs Union government in 1994, the use of Article 356 was much restricted.

After the adoption of the Constitution in 1950, President's rule was first imposed on June 20, 1951, in Punjab. On July 31, 1959, it was then imposed in Kerala which dissolved the first elected CPM government led by E M S Namoodiripad.

Afterwards President's rule had been imposed on different occasions mostly on political consideration in the states like West Bengal, Andhra Pradesh, Bihar, Gujarat, Manipur, Arunachal Pradesh, Uttarakhand, Odisha and Uttar Pradesh. In Maharashtra, President's rule was imposed for the third time on November 12, 2019.

So, there is the least possibility of imposition of President's rule again in West Bengal.