Chief minister Mamata Banerjee on Monday denied any knowledge of the purported report with the mention of Article 356 as an option for Bengal from governor C.V. Ananda Bose to home minister Amit Shah.
Instead, she said the governor was unwell and everyone should pray for his speedy recovery.
“I have no information about such a report to the Union home ministry. Please understand, we have no such information,” she told journalists after news of the report on Sunday set the proverbial cat among the pigeons in Bengal politics.
The purported mention of Article 356 in Bose’s report pushed the Bengal BJP on the defensive, forcing its leadership to clarify it did not want President’s rule in the state. It also spotlighted the rift in the state BJP unit, as leader of the Opposition Suvendu Adhikari, whose hardline faction has been demanding that the Assembly polls be held under President’s rule, said he “welcomed” Bose’s report.
“The governor is not okay. He was in the hospital. Let us all pray to god for his speedy recovery,” said Mamata on Monday, referring to cardiac complications that necessitated his hospitalisation not long after his April 18-19 Murshidabad visit.
“Nothing more,” she added.
After his visit, Bose filed the purported report that mentioned Article 356 as an option without appearing to directly recommend it. The Article 356 aspect united the TMC, CPM and the Congress against the BJP’s alleged attempts to sabotage non-NDA state governments.
Sources in her party said Mamata was “almost amused”, knowing how near-impossible it is for the BJP-led Centre to implement Article 356 in Bengal with only a year left for the polls.
“Let’s hypothetically consider the possibility. It will get heavily struck down by the Supreme Court because there isn’t adequate ground for it, and the BJP bosses in Delhi know it well. It also needs to be ratified by both Houses of Parliament (by a simple majority vote),” said a TMC veteran, referring to the two-month deadline for parliamentary approval for such a provision — loosely called a State Emergency. “The BJP needs the backing of JDU and TDP in the Lok Sabha to get this passed. They are unlikely to oblige,” he added.
A senior member of the Mamata cabinet said Article 356 would elevate her to “saintly martyrdom” and could backfire on the saffron camp. “If we were going to win 220 (of the Assembly’s 294) seats, Article 356 could take us past 250 or even 270,” he said. “She wasn’t thrilled when told about the report. But it’s so ludicrous that she was almost amused."
BJP sources from outside the Adhikari-led faction have admitted in private to the likelihood of the high-risk manoeuvre blowing up in the party’s face.