11 Bills passed by Assembly pending clearance after being referred to Prez: Bengal Guv's office

This information was revealed in a clarification statement issued from the office of the West Bengal Governor, C.V. Ananda Bose, amid claims by a section of the ruling Trinamool Congress that several Bills passed in the Assembly are pending clearance from the Raj Bhavan in Kolkata.

The matter surfaced following a recent order by the Supreme Court setting aside the decision by the Tamil Nadu Governor to withhold Bills passed in the Assembly there.

The clarification statement from the office of the Governor also stated that of the 11 Bills reserved for Presidential consideration during 2024 and 2025, as many as 10 are related to state university matters and one is the Aparajita Women and Child (West Bengal Criminal Law) Bill, which seeks capital punishment for convicts in rape and murder cases.

The Bill was passed on the floor of the West Bengal Assembly in September last year amid nationwide protests over the ghastly rape and murder of a woman junior doctor of state-run R.G. Kar Medical College & Hospital in Kolkata in August.

To recall, in February this year, a delegation of Trinamool Congress Parliamentarians, from both Lok Sabha and Rajya Sabha, met President Droupadi Murmu and sought quick approval of the Aparajita Bill.

In the statement, the office of the Governor also refuted claims that in 2023, there were 22 Bills pending clearance from Raj Bhavan.

According to the statement, after being assessed by the office of the Governor, Raj Bhavan's assent had been given for five Bills and two are pending with the state government for want of information sought.

In the statement by the Raj Bhavan, it has also been claimed that the "office of the Governor had been particular in abiding by constitutional proprieties in dealing with all matters, including those in regard to the passage of Bills".