The Mamata Banerjee government and governor C.V. Ananda Bose got into a feud yet again on Friday, this time over a delay in sending a technical report that was supposed to accompany the sterner bill against sex crimes in Bengal, passed in the Assembly on Tuesday in the wake of the RG Kar tragedy.
In the morning, a Raj Bhavan statement said that Bose was “very disappointed” in the state government, as delay in sending technical reports, along with passed bills, and then blaming the governor’s office for not clearing them, had become a regular practice.
“The governor criticised the state administration for failing to attach the technical report (to the Aparajita Woman and Child Bill, 2024)…. According to the rules, it is mandatory for the (state) government to send the technical report before a decision on giving assent to the bill is made,” read the statement.
A technical report accompanies a newly passed bill when it is sent for gubernatorial assent. The report usually comprises details of the why and the how of the legislation, besides the financial implications on the state coffers for its implementation and the differences or similarities with the central legal structure.
Later on Friday, according to sources in the Treasury benches, the Assembly sent the technical report later in the day to Raj Bhavan following a meeting between Speaker Biman Banerjee and law minister Moloy Ghatak.
“This isn’t the first instance of the government withholding technical reports, and blaming Raj Bhavan for not clearing bills,” read the statement. “This appears to be a government of half-wits run on half-truths.”
On Tuesday, in her address during the discussion in the House ahead of the unanimous passing of the bill, Mamata had advised the BJP to urge Bose against sitting on it.
In July, her government had moved the Supreme Court against Bose for allegedly sitting on eight bills without giving any reason for not signing them. Bose had clarified that six of them were reserved for the consideration of President Droupadi Murmu; a seventh bill was sub judice; while for the eighth bill, no representative of the state government had turned up, despite being called for clarifications.
According to Raj Bhavan, Bose also accused the state government of inadequate preparation on important matters.
“He has pointed out that this bill is apparently a copy-paste of similar bills passed by Andhra Pradesh, Maharashtra and Arunachal Pradesh,” read the Friday statement.
“(In Bose’s opinion) the chief minister was threatening a dharna only to hoodwink the people of the state, as she too was fully aware of similar bills remaining pending with the President,” it added.
In the evening, Raj Bhavan issued another statement saying Bose had forwarded the bill for President Murmu's consideration. "But the Raj Bhavan expressed its displeasure over the failure of the Assembly secretariat in providing the text of the debates and its translation as required under the rules," it read.
"At the end of acrimonious debates, mutual accusations, political threats and ultimatum, the chief minister had threatened dharna outside of Raj Bhavan if the bill is not assented to by the governor," it added.
"The governor took umbrage at the intimidatory stance of the CM and admonished government for their failure in observing legal and constitutional proprieties."
According to the statement, Bose pointed out the "omissions and commissions" in the "hurriedly passed" bill. "Don’t act in haste and repent at leisure," he was quoted as having told the government.
Later on Friday, Speaker Biman Banerjee urged Bose against issuing political statements.
“I request the honourable governor to please look into the Constitution and determine for himself whether the bill passed by the Assembly requires any further clarification,” said the Speaker.
