Talk:List of chief ministers of West Bengal/Origin

ORIGIN AND GROWTH OF WEST BENGAL LEGISLATIVE ASSEMBLY
http://wbassembly.gov.in/origin_growth.aspx

The history of the West Bengal Legislature dates back from 1862 when there was one undivided Province of Bengal in British India. Under the Indian Councils Act of 1861 a Legislative Council for Bengal was established by the Governor-General of India on the 18th January, 1862 with the Lieutenant-Governor of Bengal and some nominated members. The first meeting of the Council was held on the 1st February, 1862 under the presidency of Sir John Peter Grant, Lieutenant-Governor of Bengal. The Council used to hold its sittings at Belvedere, Calcutta (i.e., the residential palace of the then Lieutenant-Governor of Bengal) for the purpose, inter alia, of "considering projects of law". The usual time of meeting of the Council was at 11 a.m. on each Saturday. The maximum number of members of this Council was only 12. In 1862 the first Rules of Procedure of the Bengal Council were framed and received assent of the Governor-General in Council. By the passing of subsequent Acts the number of members of the Council was increased and its powers and functions were gradually enlarged.

Under the Indian Councils Act of 1892, the maximum strength of membership of the Council was raised to 20 and of these 20 members, seven were to be elected. This Act also provided for the asking of questions and the discussion of the annual financial statement by the members.

Under the Indian Councils Act of 1909, the number of members of the Council was further raised to 50. It was provided that there must be a majority of non-official members in the Council, their number varying with the local conditions. Representation for minor interests and classes was also provided for through nominations. The members obtained the right to ask supplementary questions (confined to the original questioner only) and to discuss any matter of general public interest.

Under the Government of India Act of 1919, the Provincial Legislatures were given greater constitutional powers by enlarging the electorates and increasing the number of elected members in the Legislatures. The number of members of the Legislative Council was then raised to 125 of whom, it was provided, not more than twenty per cent should be official members and at least seventy per cent should be elected members. The Governor was given the power to nominate, for the purpose of any Bill introduced or proposed to be introduced in the Legislative Council, not more than two persons, having special knowledge or experience of the subject-matter of the Bill. The persons so nominated had, in relation to the Bill and for the period for which they were nominated, all the rights of members of the Council. The Act also provided for a President and a Deputy President of the Council. The President should until the expiration of a period of four years from the first meeting of the Council be a person appointed by the Governor and thereafter a member of the Council elected by the Council and approved by the Governor. The Deputy President should be a member of the Council elected by the Council and approved by the Governor. Consequently, the Governor who had so long presided over the meetings of the Council now ceased to be the Presiding Officer.

The Bengal Legislative Council constituted under the Act of 1919 was formally inaugurated on the first day of February, 1921 by His Royal Highness the Duke of Connaught. Nawab Sir Samsul Huda was appointed its first non-official President (i.e., the Presiding Officer). The hour of meeting, which had hitherto been 11 a.m., was changed to 3 p.m. by a resolution moved in the House, on the 7th February, 1921 by Mr. R. M. Watson Smyth, a member of the Council representing the Bengal Chamber of Commerce. The venue of the sittings of the Council was fixed at the Town Hall, Calcutta, instead of at Belvedere, Calcutta. This venue for the sittings of the Council was, however, changed on the 9th February, 1931 from the Town Hall to its new building known as the 'Legislative Building' which was opened by the then Governor, Sir Francis Stanley Jackson, on the same date.

The foundation stone of the present 'Legislative Building' was laid on the 9th July, 1928 by Sir Francis Stanley Jackson, the then Governor of Bengal. Thereafter, construction of the building started and the present building came up on a plot of land measuring approximately 33 bighas within a very short period of 2 years and 7 months. Mr. J. Greaves was the Chief Architect of this magnificent building and the Martin & Company, Calcutta was entrusted with the construction work. The architecture of the building shows a mixture of oriental and occidental influences and the building resembles the English alphabet 'H'.

Under the Government of India Act, 1935, two Chambers of the Bengal Legislature—a Legislative Council and a Legislative Assembly—were created. The life of the Assembly consisting of 250 members was fixed at five years unless sooner dissolved while the Council, with a membership of not less than 63 and not more than 65, was made a permanent body not subject to dissolution with the provision that one-third of the members should retire in every third year. The allocation of seats in the Legislative Assembly and the Legislative Council was as shown in the table below:

TABLE OF SEATS

Provincial Legislative Assembly 	Provincial Legislative Council

1. 	Total seats 	 .. 250 	1. 	Total of seats—not less than 63 and not more than 65

2. 	General seats (including general seats reserved for Scheduled Castes: 30) 	.. 78 	2. 	General seats 	.. 10

3. 	Mahammadan seats 	.. 117 	3. 	Mahammadan seats 	.. 17

4. 	Anglo-Indian seats 	.. 3 	4. 	European seats 	.. 3

5. 	European seats 	.. 11 	5. 	Seats to be filled by Legislative Assembly 	.. 27

6. 	Indian Christian seats 	.. 2 	6. 	Seats to be filled by Governor—not less than 6 and not more than 8

7. 	Seats for representatives of commerce, industry, mining and planning 	.. 19

8. 	Land-holders seats 	.. 5

9. 	University seats 	.. 2

10. 	Seats for representatives of labour 	.. 8

11. 	Seats for women 	.. 5

(i) General 	 	        2

(ii) Mahammadan 	 	2

(iii) Anglo-Indian 	 	1

Members were then allowed a monthly salary in addition to the allowances drawn by them earlier. The first sitting of the newly constituted Assembly was held on the 7th April 1937 on which dateSir Md. AzizulHaque was elected Speaker of the Assembly, Shri Satyendra Chandra Mitra was elected President of the Council on the 9th April, 1937. Both the Chambers of the Legislature, viz., the Assembly and the Council, got their own Rules of Procedure and Conduct of Business adopted by the respective Houses in July, 1939 on the basis of the report and recommendations of the Rule-making Committee appointed earlier by the Houses for the purpose.

The Muslim League Party with the co-operation of the KrishakProja Party and a few other smaller groups in the Legislature formed the Government in Bengal in 1937 headed by Mr. A. K. FazlulHuq while the Congress Party, which secured only 22 per cent of the total seats, acted as the main Opposition Party in the Assembly.

On the 1st December, 1941 Mr. Huq resigned owing to differences with his colleagues and on the 12th December, 1941 formed a new "Progressive Coalition" Cabinet consisting of his Muslim supporters and the Congress, Hindu Mahasabha and KrishakProja Parties. But on the 29th March, 1943, this Coalition Ministry met with its end at the resignation of Mr. A. K. FazlulHuq from the Premiership of Bengal. The Governor took over the administration of the Province on the 31st March, 1943 under section 93 of the Government of India Act, 1935, and invited Khwaja Sir Nazimuddin on the 20th April, 1943 to form a new Ministry to which request the latter agreed. On the 24th April, 1943 the Governor revoked the proclamation under section 93 of the Government of India Act, 1935, and on the 29th April, 1943 the new Ministry was formed with Khwaja Sir Nazimuddin as the Premier of Bengal.

On the 28th March, 1945, Mr. Nazimuddin's Government was defeated in the Legislative Assembly, when the agricultural budget was rejected by 106:97 votes. On the 29th March, 1945, the then Speaker, Mr. Nausher Ali, ruled, inter alia, that refusal by the House of 'Demand for Grant' made by the Ministry for a major department was a censure on the Government and that he could not allow the existing Ministry to function as such in the Legislature, and adjourned the House sine die (Annexure I).

On the 30th March, 1945, both the Houses of the Legislature were prorogued by the Governor and on the 31st March, 1945 the Governor (Mr. R. G. Casey) assumed direct administration of the Province under section 93 of the Government of India Act, 1935. The Assembly was subsequently dissolved.

The General Elections to the Provincial Legislature after its constitution in 1937 could not be held owing to the war. On the 21st August, 1945, Governor-General, Lord Wavell, announced that the elections both to the Central Legislative Assembly and in the Provinces would be held soon. The results of the polling in Bengal were out on the 1st April, 1946.

In the General Elections of 1946, out of total 250 seats in the Bengal Legislative Assembly, Muslim League won 114 seats and formed the Government headed by Mr. H. S. Suhrawardy on the 23rd April, 1946. The composition of the Bengal Legislative Assembly was as follows:

Muslim League-114, Congress-86, European-25, Independent Scheduled Castes-6, Independent Muslim-3, Communist-3, KrishakProja (Muslim)-3, Hindu Mahasabha-1, Independent Hindu-1, Others (including 2 Indian Christians)-8.

The new Ministry was sworn in on the 24th April, 1946. Mr. Nurul Amin and Mr. Tafazzal Ali were elected Speaker and Deputy Speaker respectively in the first sitting of the Assembly on the 14th May, 1946.

By this time the British Government had made up their mind to transfer power to the Indian leaders and to partition India in accordance with the Mountbatten Plan. In Bengal, on the 20th June, 1947, the members of the Bengal Legislative Assembly divided into two groups—one including representatives of the predominantly Muslim areas and the other including representatives of the predominantly non-Muslim areas—met separately and also jointly as per the procedure laid down in paragraphs 5 to 8 of the statement made by the British Government on the 3rd June, 1947 on the subject of India (Transfer of Power). The members at the joint sitting (excluding European members) decided that the province of Bengal as a whole would join a new and a separate Constituent Assembly consisting of representatives of those areas which would decide not to participate in the existing Constituent Assembly. Members of the Muslim majority districts (other than Europeans) decided on divisions against partition of Bengal and in favour of joining a new and separate Constituent Assembly while the members of areas other than Muslim majority districts (excluding Europeans) decided on divisions in favour of partition of Bengal and framing the Constitution of separate Province consisting of the non-Muslim majority areas in the existing Constituent Assembly. As one of the aforesaid two groups decided in favour of partition, the Province, as per the statement made by the British Government, was partitioned into West Bengal and East Pakistan. With the passing of the Indian Independence Bill in July, 1947, two separate Dominions—India and Pakistan—came into being on the 15th day of August that year.

After Independence the Legislative Assembly of West Bengal met for the first time on the 21st November, 1947 and elected Shri I. D. Jalan and Shri AshutoshMallick its Speaker and Deputy Speaker respectively. The number of members in the Assembly was 90, representing the constituencies that fell within the area of West Bengal. In addition there were two nominated members representing the Anglo-Indian community. The Congress Party formed the Government in the Province (as it was called then) under the leadership of Dr. P. C. Ghosh and the Opposition in the Assembly consisted of 23 members. But Dr. P. C. Ghosh having resigned, a new Congress Ministry was formed on the 23rd January, 1948 with Dr. Bidhan Chandra Roy as the Premier. Under the provisions of the Government of India Act, 1935 as adopted, the Bengal Legislative Council stood abolished. Under section 84(1) of the Government of India Act, 1935 as adopted, the Rules of Procedure as passed in 1939 were adopted for the new West Bengal Legislative Assembly.

As in the House of Commons, the first seat in the front row in the Treasury Bench used to be the traditional seat for the Leader of the House. Dr. P. C. Ghosh, the first Premier of West Bengal, occupied that seat. When Dr. Bidhan Chandra Roy became the Premier he refused to abide by the tradition and took his seat at the Speaker's end of the back row in the Treasury Bench as a mark of respect to Dr. Ghosh.

From the 26th January, 1950 the new Constitution of India came into force and under Article 382(1) of the said Constitution [now repealed by the Constitution (Seventh Amendment) Act, 1956] the West Bengal Legislative Assembly, which was functioning as the Legislature of the Province immediately before the commencement of the Constitution, became the sole House of the Legislature of the State of West Bengal exercising the powers and performing the duties conferred by the provisions of this Constitution on the Legislature of the State. It may, therefore, be noted here that this Assembly consisted of members who were originally elected in the General Elections held in 1946 before the transfer of power and they continued as such till the new House was constituted after the General Elections in 1952, under the new Constitution. The House first met under the new Constitution on the 3rd February, 1950 and the members of the Assembly, in order to mark the solemnity of the occasion, rose in their seats and remained standing in silence for two minutes. The peculiar feature was that the old House was not dissolved by any order of the Governor. It faded out and the new House faded in. The Rules of Procedure of the West Bengal Legislative Assembly, which were in force before the commencement of the Constitution, were again adopted by the Speaker with necessary modifications in pursuance of the provisions of clause (2) of Article 208 of the Constitution. A "Farewell Address" was presented to His Excellency Dr. K. N. Katju, Governor of West Bengal, on the 31st October, 1951 by the Leader of the House, Dr. Bidhan Chandra Roy inside the Chamber on the eve of Dr. Katju relinquishing his charge of the Governorship of West Bengal. The agenda of the House was interrupted for a temporary period to accommodate this Programme.

After the General Elections in 1952, the new Assembly which was fully constituted on the 31st March, 1952, met for the first time under the new Constitution of India on the 18th June, 1952 and elected Shri Saila Kumar Mukherjee its first Speaker on the 20th June, 1952. The number of members of the Assembly was 240 including two members nominated by the Governor from the Anglo-Indian community under Article 333 of the Constitution of India. The Congress Party headed by Dr. Bidhan Chandra Roy formed the Government in the State. The new Constitution again provided for a bicameral Legislature for West Bengal, i.e., the Legislative Assembly and the Legislative Council and hence after the General Elections in 1952 the Council which was a permanent body not subject to dissolution was constituted on the 5th June, 1952 with the members elected and nominated under the Constitution. The Council consisting of 51 members with Shri Bijoy Singh Nahar as the Acting Chairman held its first meeting on the 18th June, 1952 and elected Dr. Suniti Kumar Chatterji as its first elected Chairman on the 19th June, 1952. It may be stated here that although the Legislative Council under the Government of India Act, 1935 had its own set of Rules of Procedure, the Acting Chairman of the Council had, under clause (2) of Article 208 of the Constitution, to adopt with necessary modifications the Rules of Procedure of the West Bengal Legislative Assembly, which were in force before the commencement of the Constitution in the Legislature of the Province of West Bengal. The Council made its own Rules of Procedure under Article 208(1) of the Constitution afterwards and those rules came into force after the February-April session, 1961 of the Council.

It may be noted here that after the formation of the new Legislature under the Constitution, a Branch of the Commonwealth Parliamentary Association was formed for the Legislature of West Bengal in pursuance of a resolution passed by the West Bengal Legislative Assembly on the 5th August, 1952 and by the West Bengal Legislative Council on the 6th August, 1952. In fact, there was a Bengal Branch of the Commonwealth Parliamentary Association since 1939 but after the partition of Bengal it did not function.

It may also be mentioned here that from the February-May Session, 1953 of the West Bengal Legislative Assembly, Tape-recording Machine Equipment was installed and tape-recording of Bengali Speeches commenced from the 23rd March, 1953. It deserves further mention that Automatic Vote Recording Equipment which was given a trial at a sitting of the Assembly on the 2nd April, 1954 with partial success came into operation with complete success from the August-September Session, 1954 of West Bengal Legislative Assembly and this minimized to a great extent, time of the House lost in divisions. For the purpose of taking such mechanical divisions, Speaker's regulations on this matter were suitably modified. This particular fact deserves special mention because Automatic Voting System was first introduced in India in this Assembly. However, a confusing thing happened on the 22nd September, 1954 while voting in a division on clause 5 of the West Bengal Development Corporation Bill, 1954. As the Members were not at first well-accustomed to this new system of voting, some of the Members on the Government side pressed the wrong buttons and voted 'NOES' instead of 'AYES'. This resulted in a snap defeat of the majority Party.

The most remarkable feature of this House was the passage of the West Bengal Estates Acquisition Bill, 1953. This ended the 160-year old Zamindaries set up as a result of the Permanent Settlement.

Among other procedural changes, from the February-April Session, 1955 for the first time the hours of the time of the House on Fridays came to be devoted to non-official business followed by the disposal of the Government business fixed for the days. On the 28th February, 1956, the resolution brought before the House by Shri JyotiBasu and admitted by Mr. Speaker, for rescinding the entire proceedings of the House on the 24th February, 1956, was carried nem con—an event first of its kind in the history of the Indian State Legislatures.

Coming back to the topic again, the strength of both the Houses of the Legislature was increased after the States Reorganisation Act, 1956, was brought into force. The number of members of the Assembly now became 251 including two nominated Anglo-Indian members while in the Council the number of members became 75. After the General Elections of 1957, the Assembly had 256 members including four nominated members from the Anglo-Indian Community.

At the General Elections of 1957 and 1962 too the Congress Party won absolute majority in the Assembly and formed the Government of the State. The Rules of Procedure and Conduct of Business as modified and adopted under the Constitution had been governing the proceedings of the Assembly so long. In 1960 those rules were replaced by a new set of the rules framed in pursuance of Article 208(1) of the Constitution by a Committee appointed for that purpose. These new rules were adopted by the House on the 13th December, 1960 and came into force after the November-December session, 1960 of the West Bengal Legislative Assembly.

A new practice developed regarding Calling Attention of Minister to urgent matters although there was no rule in support thereof from the June-August Session, 1958 of the West Bengal Legislative Assembly.

At the General Elections of 1967, the Congress Party which had so long formed the Government of the State secured only 127 seats out of total 284 seats including four nominated Anglo-Indian members' seats and failed to form the Government. Fourteen political parties whose members were elected to the two Houses of the Legislature at the General Elections, now joined to form a "United Front" and formed the Government of the State under the leadership of Shri Ajoy Kumar Mukherjee. The new Ministry was sworn in by Smt. Padmaja Naidu, the Governor, on the 2nd March, 1967. The Congress, the largest single party, constituted the Opposition after the United Front took office. The newly constituted House first met on the 8th March, 1967 and elected Shri Bejoy Kumar Banerjee and Shri Haridas Mitra its Speaker and Deputy Speaker respectively. But very soon a crisis was precipitated in the Ministry. On the 2nd November, 1967, the State Food and Agriculture Minister, Dr. P. C. Ghosh resigned his post and with seventeen other members of the State Legislative Assembly resigned from the ruling United Front and informed the Governor, Shri Dharma Vira (who succeeded Smt. Naidu on 1st June 1967) in writing that they had withdrawn their support to the Ajoy Kumar Mukherjee Ministry. A new parliamentary party, namely, the Progressive Democratic Front, was formed by Dr. Ghosh with the resigning M.L.A.s from the ruling United Front, and the leader of the Congress Party in the Assembly announced his Party's support to a new Ministry if formed by Dr. Ghosh. On the resignation of Dr. Ghosh from the U.F. Ministry several representations were made to the Governor from the Congress Legislature Party as well as from Dr. Ghosh himself that the U.F. had lost majority support in the State Assembly and therefore had no right to continue in office. The Governor sent a letter to the Chief Minister requesting him to call the Assembly into session as early as possible, and not later than the third week of November, 1967, on the ground that doubts had been raised about the support of the majority of the members of the Legislative Assembly to the United Front Ministry. The Council of Ministers could not, however, accede to the request of the Governor as it had decided to call the Assembly into session on the 18th December, 1967. The Governor repeated the request to the Council of Ministers to agree to the Assembly being summoned not later than the 30th November, 1967. The Governor was informed that the Assembly could not be summoned before the 18th December, 1967. On the 21st November, 1967 the Governor made an order under Article 164(1) of the Constitution of India that Shri Ajoy Kumar Mukherjee should cease to hold office of the Chief Minister with immediate effect and also that the Council of Ministers headed by him stood dissolved. By another order of the same date the Governor appointed a new Ministry, headed by Dr. P. C. Ghosh, known as P.D.F. Ministry. Summoned on the advice of the new Chief Minister, the Assembly met on the 29th November, 1967 to obtain the necessary vote of confidence for Dr. Ghosh's Ministry. Two Motions expressing full confidence in Dr. P. C. Ghosh and his Council of Ministers had been tabled by 129 members of the Congress Party and 14 members of Dr. Ghosh's newly formed Progressive Democratic Front. Immediately after the Assembly met, the Speaker Shri Bejoy Kumar Banerjee made a statement suomotu and adjourned the House sine die on the ground that the dissolution of the U.F. Ministry, the appointment of Dr. P. C. Ghosh as Chief Minister and the summoning of the House on Dr. Ghosh's advice were "unconstitutional and invalid" as they had been "effected behind the back of the House" (Annexure II). The Speaker also said that he was adjourning the House in exercise of his powers under rule 15 of the Rules of Procedure and Conduct of Business in the West Bengal Legislative Assembly. In the West Bengal Legislative Council, however, a contrary opinion was expressed by the Chairman, Dr. Pratap Chandra Guha Ray, on the same day to the effect, inter alia, that in any event the action of the Governor in dismissing the Mukherjee Ministry could not be challenged or called in question in any manner whatsoever (Annexure III). After the adjournment by the Speaker, the Governor prorogued the House with effect from the 30th November, 1967. On the 29th January, 1968, the Legislature was summoned to meet on the 14th February, 1968 for its Budget Session. After the joint sitting of both the Houses, when the Assembly met separately the Speaker, Shri Banerjee, immediately after entering the Chamber again adjourned the House sine die, referring his ruling of the 29th November, 1967, and observing, inter alia, that there was no "compelling necessity" to change his ruling. This session of the Legislature was scheduled to consider the State Budget and a number of important legislative measures. But it could not meet on account of the Speaker's ruling. Position in regard to the relative strength of various parties became fluid. There were doubts about the majority enjoyed by the Ministry of Dr. P. C. Ghosh. So, to overcome this situation the Governor recommended the dissolution of the Assembly and the imposition of the President's rule in the State. Accordingly, the State came under the President's rule under Article 356 of the Constitution with effect from the 20th February, 1968, following the resignation of Dr. P. C. Ghosh's Ministry the same day. The Assembly was dissolved simultaneously.

After the mid-term election on the 9th February, 1969, the Assembly was constituted on the 25th February, 1969. The President's Proclamation under Article 356 of the Constitution, which was then in force, was revoked on the same day. This time the total strength of the House was 282 including two nominated Anglo-Indian members. In this House, the Congress Party won only 55 seats and formed the major Opposition Party. The C.P.I.(M), C.P.I., Bangla Congress, Forward Bloc, R.S.P., S.S.P. and a few other parties who fought the election unitedly under the banner of "United Front" won the total seats of 210. The United Front formed the Ministry in the State with Shri Ajoy Kumar Mukherjee as Chief Minister on the 25th February, 1969. The newly constituted Assembly met first on the 6th March, 1969 and elected Shri Bejoy Kumar Banerjee and Shri Apurba Lai Majumdar its Speaker and Deputy Speaker respectively. The first joint sitting of both Houses of the Legislature was addressed by Shri Dharma Vira, the Governor, on the 6th March, 1969 under Article 176 of the Constitution; but while reading out his address, prepared by his Council of Ministers, he skipped two paragraphs which contained critical references to the events culminating in the dismissal of Shri Ajoy Kumar Mukherjee's Ministry in 1967. This led to bitter criticism from the members of the United Front both inside and outside the House regarding the Governor's action.

On the 21st March, 1969, a resolution was passed by the Assembly for the abolition of the West Bengal Legislative Council under Article 169 of the Constitution and accordingly the Parliament passed the West Bengal Legislative Council (Abolition) Act, 1969, abolishing the West Bengal Legislative Council with effect from the 1st August, 1969.

On the recommendation of the Committee on Rules duly approved by the House and published in Bulletin Part II dt. 29.1.1970 the hour of meeting, which had hitherto been 3.00 p.m., was changed to 1.00 p.m.

Though the U.F. Ministry was formed in the State for the second time with the backing of overwhelming majority in the House, this Government could not function in the State for more than 13 months on account of sharp differences and inner conflicts among the constituent parties of the Front. The situation became so tense that at one time the Chief Minister, Shri Ajoy Kumar Mukherjee himself described his own Government as "barbarous" and "uncivilised" and launched Satyagraha movement against it. The ultimate result was that Shri Ajoy Kumar Mukherjee, the Chief Minister, resigned on the 16th March, 1970. The then Governor, Shri S. S. Dhavan (who took office of the Governor of West Bengal after Shri Dharma Vira in April, 1969) explored the possibility of formation of an alternative Ministry in the State, but finding no prospect of such an alternative Ministry being formed recommended President's Rule in the State under Article 356 of the Constitution. The proclamation was issued on the 19th March, 1970. The Assembly was suspended on the 19th March, 1970 under Article 356 of the Constitution and subsequently dissolved on the 30th July, 1970.

Again the mid-term election was held in the State on the 10th March, 1971. President's Proclamation under Article 356 of the Constitution was revoked on the 2nd April, 1971 and the new House was constituted on the same day. Now, the House had only one nominated Anglo-Indian member and thus the total strength of membership of the House was 281. After the election results were out, six parties, Viz., Congress (R), Bangla Congress, Muslim League, S.S.P., P.S.P. and Gorkha League formed a Democratic Coalition under the leadership of Shri Ajoy Kumar Mukherjee and formed Democratic Coalition Ministry with Shri Ajoy Kumar Mukherjee as the Chief Minister on the 2nd April, 1971. The C.P.I., the Forward Bloc and the Congress (O) also supported this Government. The strength of the Democratic Coalition with the three parties supporting it came to 141. The C.P.I.(M) who won 113 seats in the election was the main constituent party of the United Left Front fighting the election and now, along with the other constituent parties of the United Left Front, took seat in the Opposition. The new House first met on the 3rd May, 1971 and elected Shri Apurba Lai Majumdar and Shri PijushKanti Mukherjee its Speaker and Deputy Speaker respectively. This Government also came to an end within three months of its coming into being. The Chief Minister, who had been enjoying a thin majority in the Legislative Assembly since assumption of office, advised the Governor on the 25th June, 1971 to dissolve the Legislative Assembly and accordingly, the Assembly which was due to meet on the 28th June, 1971 was abruptly dissolved on the 25th June, 1971. On the 28th June, 1971, the Chief Minister tendered the resignation of his Council of Ministers and the President's rule under Article 356 of the Constitution was again imposed on the State on the 29th June, 1971.

The 1972 General Elections were held in the State on the 11th March, 1972 and this time the Congress Party, who fought the General Elections in alliance with the C.P.I. as Progressive Democratic Alliance, won 217 seats out of total 281 seats (one seat reserved for nominated Anglo-Indian member) and formed the Ministry in the State under the Chief Ministership of Shri Siddhartha Sankar Ray. At the time of the formation of the Ministry, Shri Siddhartha Sankar Ray was not a member of the House. He was, however, elected to the Assembly on the 6th June, 1972 in a bye-election from the Malda Constituency. The proclamation was revoked by the President on the 20th March, 1972 and the new House was constituted on the same day. The new Ministry was sworn in on the 20th March, 1972. The first meeting of the Assembly was held on the 24th March, 1972 on which date Shri Apurba Lai Majumdar and Shri HaridasMitra were elected Speaker and Deputy Speaker respectively. The Left Front comprising CP.I.(M), R.S.P., S.U.C. and Workers' Party won 19 seats in the House; but the C.P.I.(M) who won 14 seats along with the S.U.C. Party and the Workers' Party (who had one M.L.A. each from their parties) abstained from attending the House all through on the ground that the House was, in their opinion, constituted by members who had won the elections by unfair means. The seats of these absentee members of the House were, however, not declared vacant under Article 190(4) of the Constitution as no motion to that effect was moved in the House.

On the midnight of August 14-15, 1972, the Assembly held a sitting to commemorate the 25th year of Independence of the Country. The life of this Assembly, the Seventh Legislative Assembly of this State under the Constitution of India, was made six years by the Constitution (Forty-second Amendment) Act, 1976 but it also could not run its full term. It was dissolved on the 30th April, 1977, by the President's Proclamation and Order under Article 356 of the Constitution after the Lok Sabha Elections in 1977 when the Janata Party came to power at the Centre.

After the General Elections of 1977, the Eighth Legislative Assembly was constituted with a total number of 295 members including one nominated Anglo-Indian member. The Left Front which comprised C.P.L(M), Forward Bloc, R.S.P., R.C.P.I., Forward Bloc (Marxist) and Biplabi Bangla Congress fought the General Elections and won 229 seats in the House. The C.P.I.(M) alone won 177 seats. The President's Proclamation was revoked on the 21st June, 1977 and on the same day the new House was constituted. The new Ministry was sworn in on the 21st June, 1977 with Shri JyotiBasu as Chief Minister. Janata and Congress won 29 and 20 seats respectively and took the role of main Opposition parties. The newly constituted Assembly met first on the 24th June, 1977 and elected Shri S. A. M. Habibullah and Shri Kalimuddin Shams as its Speaker and Deputy Speaker respectively.

The major change that one can notice in the Eighth Legislative Assembly is the formation of a Coalition Government which remained in power for nearly 34 years.

The Eighth Assembly under the Speakership of Hon’ble Shri S. A. M. Habibullah, started transaction of its business, as far as practicable, in Bengali from the very first day of its sittings and the Rules Committee of the House was entrusted with the task of making a Bengali version of the Rules of Procedure and Conduct of Business in the West Bengal Legislative Assembly resulting in the publication of a Bengali version of the said Rules of Procedure and Conduct of Business in 1984 and a bilingual version of the same in 2001. In the sequel, Assembly Bulletins, List of Business, etc. are now published both in Bengali and English versions.

After the dissolution of the Eighth Legislative Assembly on the 24th May, 1982, the Ninth Legislative Assembly was constituted on the same day with those who returned in the General Elections of 1982. The total number of members including two Independent members and one nominated Anglo-Indian member was 295. The Left Front comprising C.P.I.(M), Forward Bloc, R.S.P., C.P.I., R.C.P.I., Forward Bloc (Marxist), W.B.S.P. and D.S.P. secured 237 seats out of which C.P.I. (M) alone won 174. The new Ministry was sworn in on the 26th May, 1982 with Shri JyotiBasu as Chief Minister. Congress (I), Congress (S), S.U.C.I. won 49, 4 and 2 seats respectively and took the role of Opposition parties. Later Congress (S) was merged in Congress (I) and they formed the main Opposition party. The Assembly so constituted met first on the 14th June, 1982 and elected Shri Hashim Abdul Halim and Shri Kalimuddin Shams its Speaker and Deputy Speaker respectively on the same day.

Passing of Vote-on-Account by the 31st day of March prior to detailed discussion on the demands for grants is one of the significant procedural changes brought in by the West Bengal Legislative Assembly in 1983. The related Appropriation Bill is also passed by the House without discussion. Thereafter, demandwise discussion is taken up. This procedural change was effected to give the members sufficient time to study and scrutinize the Annual Financial Statements minutely so as to equip themselves for an effective discussion thereon. This procedure proves itself very helpful to the subject committees which were formed in 1989 and subsequently renamed as Standing Committees, in the course of their scrutinizing the Budget proposals of different departments in detail.

During the tenure of the Ninth Assembly, Assembly Secretariat did have another luminous feather added to its cap when it successfully hosted the All India conferences of Presiding Officers and Secretaries of Legislative Bodies in India in 1984 for the second time (such Conferences were first held in West Bengal at Darjeeling in 1958) though it ended abruptly owing to the tragic and odious assassination of the then Prime Minister, Smt. Indira Gandhi.

The Ninth Assembly was dissolved on the 30th March, 1987 and the Tenth Assembly was constituted on the same day with the members elected in the General Elections of 1987. The total number of Members in the Tenth Assembly was 295 including one Anglo-Indian member nominated subsequently on the 6th May, 1987 under Article 333 of the Constitution of India. The Left Front comprising C.P.I.(M), Forward Bloc, R.S.P., C.P.I., R.C.P.I., Forward Bloc (Marxist), W.B.S.P. and D.S.P. secured 251 seats of which C.P.I.(M) alone won 187.

The new Ministry was sworn in on the 31st March, 1987 with Shri JyotiBasu as the Chief Minister. Congress (I) won 40 seats, S.U.C.I. secured 2 seats and Muslim League 1 seat. The newly constituted Assembly first met on the 6th May, 1987 and elected Shri Hashim Abdul Halim and Shri Anil Mukherjee its Speaker and Deputy Speaker respectively on the same day.

The Assembly completed its fiftieth anniversary in 1987. The Golden Jubilee Celebration of the Assembly was held on the 5th and 6th February, 1990. It was a landmark event in the history of Revolution of Legislatures in India. An Exhibition on the ‘Historical evolution of the Legislature vis-à-vis the People’s struggle’ was inaugurated by Shri Rabi Roy, Hon’ble Speaker, Lok Sabha. As a part of this celebration the erstwhile Council Chamber, Room No. 41 and Room no. 46 (Committee Rooms of the Assembly) were named after Syed Nausher Ali, Sir AzizulHaque and Shri Bejoy Kumar Banerjee (all Ex-Speakers of the Assembly) respectively and the new library Building of the Assembly was named as ‘Golden Jubilee Building’ which was inaugurated by Shri JyotiBasu, Chief Minister on the 3rd August, 1995. To commemorate this historic occasion a Commemorative Volume was published.

The Tenth Assembly pioneered the introduction of the Subject Committee System in its full-fledged form to oversee the performances of different Government Departments vis-a-vis their respective Budget Grants approved by the House as also the objectives underlying the individual Grants. The Executive's accountability to the Legislature is a sine qua non for successful functioning of the Parliamentary Democracy. This principle stands conspicuously enshrined in our Constitution. The West Bengal Legislative Assembly took up and initiated this novel experiment in 1989 with the constitution of three subject Committees relating to the Departments of 'Education', 'Panchayat' and 'Health and Family Welfare'. Gradually, all the departments have been brought under the fold of this vibrant Committee System. At present 26 (twenty six) such Standing Committees of the West Bengal Legislative Assembly are in operation to exercise Legislature's supervision over the activities of all the Government departments. It is a matter of great pride that the Lok Sabha adopted the Subject/Standing Committee System much after the West Bengal Legislative Assembly had introduced and acted upon the system very successfully.

Since West Bengal Legislative Assembly is a pioneer in introducing the Standing Committee System in its full-fledged form, its expertise, opinions, advice and suggestions are often sought for by other Sister Legislatures in India. The success in this sphere is rightly attributable to foresight of the Tenth Legislative Assembly to anticipate the changing demands of the time.

After the dissolution of the Tenth Legislative Assembly on the 31st March, 1991, the Eleventh Legislative Assembly was constituted on the 19th June, 1991 with those who returned in the General Elections of 1991. The total number of Members including one nominated Anglo-Indian member was 295. The Left Front comprising C.P.I.(M), F.B., R.S.P., C.P.I., S.P., D.S.P., F.B.(M) and R.C.P.I. secured 244 seats.

The new Ministry was sworn in on the 25th June, 1991 with Shri JyotiBasu as Chief Minister. Congress (I), S.U.C.I., Jharkhand Party, Gorkha National Liberation Front and one unattached Member took the role of Opposition Parties. The Congress (I) formed the main Opposition Party. The Assembly so constituted met first on the 18th July, 1991 and elected Shri Hashim Abdul Halim and Shri Anil Mukherjee its Speaker and Deputy Speaker respectively on the same day.

The hour of meeting which had hitherto been 1.00 p.m. was changed to 11.00 a.m. on the recommendations of the Rules Committee duly approved by the House and published in Bulletin Part II dt. 16.3.1992.

With a view to promoting and inspiring institutionalised studies on diverse aspects of Parliamentary processes, a Forum for Parliamentary Studies was constituted in the year 1994.

The Forum under the Chairmanship of Late Professor Hiren Mukherjee endea-voured to familiarise the newly elected legislators with the role of Parliament/ Legislature in a Parliamentary Democracy and its operational aspects. It has thus helped the people's representatives to understand the technicalities involved in the apparatus of institutionalised democracy so as to make them able to discharge their usual Parliamentary duties effectively in the House quite in consonance with the prescribed rules and established norms and practices as also to cater to the needs and aspirations of the people whom they represent. The Forum has also been accredited for organising seminars, symposia, workshops and orientation and appreciation courses on Parliamentary themes for the officers of this Legislature Secretariat.

The Eleventh Legislative Assembly was dissolved on the 16th May, 1996 and the Twelfth Legislative Assembly was constituted on the same day with the members elected in the General Elections of 1996. The total number of members in the Twelfth Legislative Assembly was 295 including one nominated Anglo-Indian member. The Left Front comprising C.P.I.(M), F.B., C.P.I., R.S.P., S.P., D.S.P., F.B.(M) and Biplabi Bangla Congress secured 203 seats.

The new Ministry was sworn in on the 20th May, 1996 with Shri JyotiBasu as Chief Minister. The newly constituted Assembly first met on the 10th June, 1996 and on the same day Shri Hashim Abdul Halim and Shri Anil Mukherjee were re-elected its Speaker and Deputy Speaker respectively. Shri JyotiBasu resigned the post of Chief Minister owing to his failing health and Shri BuddhadebBhattacharjee assumed the charge of Chief Minister w.e.f. the 6th November, 2000.

The Twelfth Legislative Assembly was dissolved with effect from the 15th May, 2001 and the Thirteenth Legislative Assembly was constituted on the same day with the members elected in the General Elections of 2001. The total number of members including one nominated Anglo-Indian member stood at 295 as before. The Left Front comprising CP.I.(M), F.B., RS.P., C.P.I., S.P., D.S.P. and F.B.(M) secured 199 seats. All India Trinamool Congress which had bagged 60 seats was recognised as the main Opposition Party. Indian National Congress, G.N.L.F. and S.U.CI. won 26,3 and 2 seats respectively and took the role of Opposition parties.

The new Ministry was sworn in on the 18th May, 2001, with Shri BuddhadebBhattacharjee as Chief Minister. The newly constituted Assembly first met on the 14th June, 2001 and on the same day Shri Hashim Abdul Halim and Shri Anil Mukherjee were again re-elected its Speaker and Deputy Speaker respectively. After the sad demise of Shri Anil Mukherjee on the 17th February, 2002, Shri Kripa Sindhu Saha was elected to the Office of the Deputy Speaker on the 7th March, 2002. During the tenure of the Thirteenth Assembly, All India Conferences of Presiding Officers and Secretaries of Legislative Bodies in India was successfully hosted in 2004 for the third time.

The Thirteenth Legislative Assembly was dissolved with effect from the 13thMay, 2006 and the Fourteenth Legislative Assembly was constituted on the same day with the members elected in the General Elections of 2006. The total number of members including one nominated Anglo-Indian member stood at 295 as before. The Left Front comprising C.P.I.(M), F.B., R.S.P., C.P.I., S.P., F.B.(M), D.S.P. and R.J.D. secured 235 seats. All India Trinamool Congress which had bagged 30 seats was recognised as the main Opposition Party. Indian National Congress, G.N.L.F., S.U.C.I. and Jharkhand Party (Naren) bagged 20, 3, 2 and 1 seat respectively and took the role of Opposition parties.

The new Ministry was sworn in on the 18th May, 2006 with Shri BuddhadebBhattacharjee as Chief Minister. The newly constituted Assembly first met on the 12th June, 2006 and on the same day Shri Hashim Abdul Halim was again re-elected its Speaker. Shri Bhakti Pada Ghosh was elected Deputy Speaker of the House on the 16th June, 2006.

The Fourteenth Legislative Assembly was dissolved with effect from the 14th May, 2011 and the Fifteenth Legislative Assembly was constituted on the same day with the members elected in the General Elections of 2011. The total number of members including one nominated Anglo-Indian Member stood at 295 as before. The All India Trinamool Congress and Indian National Congress alliance secured 225 seats and formed the Government. The Left Front comprising C.P.I.(M), F.B., R.S.P., C.P.I., S.P. and D.S.P. secured 40,11, 7,2,1 and 1 seats respectively and took the role of Opposition. S.U.C.I. which bagged 1 seat took the seat in the Opposition.

The new Ministry was sworn in on the 20th May, 2011 with Smt. Mamata Banerjee as the Chief Minister. At the time of the formation of the Ministry, Smt. Mamata Banerjee was not a member of the House. She was, however, elected to the Assembly on the 28th September, 2011 in a bye-election from the Bhabanipur Assembly Constituency and took Oath as a member of the House on the 16th November, 2011. The newly constituted Assembly first met on the 30th May, 2011 and on the same day elected Shri Biman Banerjee as its Speaker. Smt. SonaliGuha (Bose) was elected the Deputy Speaker on the 17th June, 2011.

The Platinum Jubliee of the Wset Bengal Legislative Assembly, a momentous historic occasion in the evolution of the Parliamentary Democracy in India, was celebrated in two phases. The first phase commencing with the inaugural session and comprising a programme of two days was held on the 13th and 14th August, 2012 and the second phase ending with the formal valedictory Session, was a programme of three days on the 4th, 5th and 6th December, 2013. Both the phases were eventful and very attractive. In the Opening ceremony, former Speaker and former Deputy Speakers of West Bengal Legislative Assembly, Shri Somnath Chatterjee, former Speaker of Lok Sabha and Eight senior Members West Bengal Legislative Assembly were felicitated.

In the second part of the first day of the opening ceremonial programme, West Bengal Legislative Assembly arranged an exhibition on “Role of Bengal in Freedom Struggle” which was inaugurated by Hon’ble Chief Minister Smt. Mamata Banerjee. On this occasion of First phase of the Platinum Jubilee Celebration, there were Seminars on two important issues, viz, ‘Strengthening Parliamentary Democracy’ and ‘Executive Accountability to the Parliament /Legislature’ and many eminent personalities took active part in the discussion.

The opening of the second phase of the closing ceremonial programme which was held inside the Assembly Chamber from 4th to 6th December, 2013 was marked with the arrival of the Hon’ble Governor of West Bengal followed by the welcome Address from the Hon’ble Speaker, West Bengal Legislative Assembly. The opening day programme was historically significant with warmful reception of Smt. Meira Kumar, Hon’ble Speaker, Lok Sabha which was followed by the welcome address by Hon’ble Speaker, West Bengal Legislative Assembly. Smt. Mamata Banerjee, Hon’ble Chief Minister and Dr. Partha Chatterjee, Hon’ble Minister also delivered their valuable speeches. The inauguration of a full day discussion on the topic “Challenges Before Parliamentary Democracy” was held by Smt. Meira Kumar, Hon’ble Speaker, Lok Sabha. On the second day of the Programme, i.e., on the 5th December, 2013 a long constructive discussion was held on the topic by various personalities who highlighted on the problems of Democracy as well as on the correct pathway for development. Presiding Officers from the Sister Legislature also participated in the programme. On the last day of the closing ceremonial programme, i.e., on the 6th December, 2013, the valedictory session got a special attraction because of benign presence of Hon’ble President of India Shri Pranab Mukherjee. The Hon’ble President of India delivered his invaluable speech for the first time in the 75 years-history of the Legislature. The valedictory Session came to an end with the vote of thanks by Dr. Partha Chatterjee, Hon’ble Minister followed by a group photograph of the Hon’ble President, Hon’ble Speaker, Hon’ble Ministers, Members and other dignitaries. On this historic occasion all Members of the Assembly and all officers and Members of staff of the West Bengal Legislative Assembly Secretariat were presented with a beautiful memento. To commemorate this historic occasion a colourful souvenir had been brought out by the West Bengal Legislative Assembly.

The Fifteenth Legislative Assembly was dissolved with effect from the 25th May, 2016.

The Sixteenth Legislative Assembly was constituted on the 20th May, 2016 with the Members elected in the General Election held in March-April-May, 2016. The total number of members including the nominated Anglo-Indian Member stood at 295 as before. The All India Trinamool Congress secured 211 seats and formed the Government for the second time. Indian National Congress which had bagged 44 seats was recognized as the Official Opposition Party. CPI(M), R.S.P., F.B., GJM, and BJP secured 26, 3, 2, 1, 3 and 3 seats respectively and took the role of Opposition parties.

The new Ministry headed by Smt. Mamata Banerjee as the Chief Minister was sworn in, on the 27th May, 2016. The newly constituted Assembly first met on the 31st May, 2016 and elected unanimously Shri Biman Banerjee as its Speaker for the second term. Shri Haider Aziz Safwi was elected Deputy Speaker of the Assembly on the 23rd June, 2016. It is a landmark event added in the history of this Assembly that the Foundation stone for Platinum Jubilee Memorial Building was laid by the Hon’ble Chief Minister of West Bengal on the 29th November, 2017 and this ceremonial function was presided over by the Hon’ble Speaker, West Bengal Legislative Assembly. The tenure of the Sixteenth Legislative Assembly is due to expire in May, 2021 according to the provisions of the constitution.