Council of Ministers of West Bengal

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The Council of Ministers of West Bengal is the collective decision-making body of the Government of West Bengal, composed of the Chief Minister and 34 Cabinet Ministers, the most senior of the government ministers. The Cabinet is the ultimate decision-making body of the executive within the Westminster system of government in traditional constitutional theory.

The Union Council of Ministers of the Government of West Bengal was formed after the West Bengal state assembly election, 2011 held in six phases in 2011: on 18 April, 23 April, 27 April, 3 May, 7 and 10 May 2011. The results of the election were announced on 13 May 2011 and led to the formation of the 15th Vidhan Sabha. Mamata Banerjee took oath as the 11th Chief Minister of West Bengal on 20 May 2011, followed by the oath-taking ceremonies of the present 'Council of Ministers'.

Constitutional requirement

For the Council of Ministers to aid and advise Governor

According to Article 163 of the Indian Constitution,

1. There shall be a Council of Ministers with the Chief Minister at the head to aid and advise the Governor in the exercise of his function, except in so far as he is by or under this Constitution required to exercise his functions or any of them in his discretion.
2. If any question arises whether any matter is or is not a matter as respects which the Governor is by or under this Constitution required to act in his discretion, the decision of the Governor in his discretion shall be final, and the validity of anything done by the Governor shall not be called in question on the ground that he ought or ought not to have acted in his discretion.
3. The question whether any, and if so what, advice was tendered by Ministers to the Governor shall not be inquired into in any court.

This means that the Ministers serve under the pleasure of the Governor and he/she may remove them, on the advice of the Chief Minister, whenever they want.

For other provisions as to Ministers

According to Article 164 of the Indian Constitution,

1. The Chief Minister shall be appointed by the Governor and the other Ministers shall be appointed by the Governor on the advice of the Chief Minister, and the Minister shall hold office during the pleasure of the Governor:
   Provided that in the States of Bihar, Madhya Pradesh and Orissa, there shall be a Minister in charge of tribal welfare who may in addition be in charge of the welfare of the Scheduled Castes and backward classes or any other work.
2. The Council of Minister shall be collectively responsible to the Legislative Assembly of the State.
3. Before a Minister enters upon his office, the Governor shall administer to him the oaths of office and of secrecy according to the forms set out for the purpose in the Third Schedule.
4. A Minister who for any period of six consecutive months is not a member of the Legislature of the State shall at the expiration of that period cease to be a Minister.
5. The salaries and allowances of Ministers shall be such as the Legislature of the State may from time to time by law determine and, until the Legislature of the State so determines, shall be a specified in the Second Schedule.

Government and politics

West Bengal is governed through a parliamentary system of representative democracy, a feature the state shares with other Indian states. Universal suffrage is granted to residents. There are two branches of government. The legislature, the West Bengal Legislative Assembly, consists of elected members and special office bearers such as the Speaker and Deputy Speaker, that are elected by the members. Assembly meetings are presided over by the Speaker or the Deputy Speaker in the Speaker's absence. The judiciary is composed of the Calcutta High Court and a system of lower courts. Executive authority is vested in the Council of Ministers headed by the Chief Minister, although the titular head of government is the Governor. The Governor is the head of state appointed by the President of India. The leader of the party or coalition with a majority in the Legislative Assembly is appointed as the Chief Minister by the Governor, and the Council of Ministers are appointed by the Governor on the advice of the Chief Minister. The Council of Ministers reports to the Legislative Assembly. The Assembly is unicameral with 295 Members of the Legislative Assembly, or MLAs,^[1][2] including one nominated from the Anglo-Indian community. Terms of office run for 5 years, unless the Assembly is dissolved prior to the completion of the term. Auxiliary authorities known as panchayats, for which local body elections are regularly held, govern local affairs. The state contributes 42 seats to Lok Sabha and 16 seats to Rajya Sabha of the Indian Parliament.^[3]

The main players in the regional politics are the All India Trinamool Congress, the Indian National Congress, the Left Front alliance. Following the West Bengal State Assembly Election in 2011, the All India Trinamool Congress and Indian National Congress coalition under Mamata Banerjee of the All India Trinamool Congress was elected to power (getting 225 seats in the legislature).^[4] West Bengal had been ruled by the Left Front for the past 34 years, making it the world's longest-running democratically elected communist government.^[5][6]

Council of Ministers

Chief Minister of West Bengal, Mamata Banerjee heads her first Cabinet, May 2011 to present

Mamata Banerjee's Oath of Office Taking the Oath at Raj Bhavan, Kolkata Mamata Banerjee takes the oath of office as Chief Minister administered by Governor M. K. Narayanan on May 20, 2011.

This is a list of members of the Council of Ministers of the Government of West Bengal after the 2011 state assembly election. All ministers are based in offices of their respective Ministries in Kolkata. All Cabinet members are mandated by the constitution to be members of the Vidhan Sabha of West Bengal. In a departure from the norm the Chief Minister, Mamata Banerjee, did not join the cabinet as a member of the Vidhan Sabha.^[7]

Cabinet Ministers

There are two categories of ministers, in descending order of rank, the seniors being Cabinet Ministers:

• Cabinet Minister – Senior minister in-charge of a ministry. A cabinet minister may also hold additional charges of other Ministries, where no other Cabinet minister is appointed

Ministers of State

There are two categories of ministers, in descending order of rank, the juniors being Ministers of State:

• Minister of State (MoS) – Junior minister with overseeing Cabinet Minister, usually tasked with a specific responsibility in that ministry. For instance, an MoS in the Finance Ministry may only handle taxation.

References

11. Council of Ministers from wbxpress.com