Kolkata, Dec 25 (PTI) Dismissing media reports that claimed he had approved exclusion of areas of Bally Municipality from the jurisdiction of Howrah civic body, West Bengal Governor Jagdeep Dhankhar on Saturday said it is under consideration as inputs from Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee are awaited.

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He had earlier accused the TMC government of not providing information he sought on Howrah Municipal Corporation amendment bill sent to him for his assent.

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Taking to Twitter, he said "Reports in media that West Bengal Governor Shri Jagdeep Dhankhar has put his seal of approval on the Howrah Municipal Corporation (Amendment) Bill, 2021 are not correct. It is under consideration under Article 200 of Constitution as inputs @MamataOfficial are awaited."

Article 200 of the Constitution empowers a governor to either give or withhold assent to a bill or reserve it for the consideration of the President.

The Howrah Municipal Corporation (Amendment) Bill, 2021 that proposed to separate Bally Municipality from the jurisdiction of the HMC, was passed by the state assembly recently.

Ruling Trinamool Congress spokesman Kunal Ghosh said, "The governor is going beyond his jurisdiction. He should give assent to a bill passed by the house if he hasn't as he claims."

Opposition leader Suvendu Adhikari said the governor has already pointed out that he has not given his nod to the bill. "It is upto the governor, it is his discretion. The TMC should not force him and use the gubernatorial office for its political gains," he added.

West Bengal State Election Commissioner Saurav Das had called on Dhankhar on Friday and discussed issues related to pending municipal polls in the state, amid allegations of rigging and intimidation against the ruling TMC by opposition camps during the December Kolkata Municipal Corporation election.

Election to 111 municipal bodies are due in West Bengal.

(The above story is verified and authored by Press Trust of India (PTI) staff. PTI, India’s premier news agency, employs more than 400 journalists and 500 stringers to cover almost every district and small town in India.. The views appearing in the above post do not reflect the opinions of LatestLY)