West Bengal Governor C V Ananda Bose on Friday referred the anti-rape bill passed by the assembly to President Droupadi Murmu for consideration, a Raj Bhavan official said.
Chief Secretary Manoj Pant submitted the technical report of the bill to Bose earlier in the day. After reviewing it, the governor decided to send the bill to Murmu, the official said.
“Governor refers the ‘Aparajita Bill’ to President Droupadi Murmu for consideration. He referred it after receiving the mandatory technical report from the state government,” the official told PTI.
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On Thursday, Bose slammed the Mamata Banerjee administration for “failing to send” the technical report along with the anti-rape bill, which is required for granting assent.
The Raj Bhavan also expressed its displeasure over the assembly and secretariat’s “failure” to provide the text of the debates and its translation, as mandated by the rules, the official said.
“Now, the ‘Aparajita’ Bill will join the lot of similar other Bills pending with the President from Maharashtra, Andhra Pradesh and Arunachal Pradesh,” he said, PTI reported.
The governor “pointed out the omissions and commissions in the hurriedly passed Bill”, he said, adding, Bose has “warned” the state government not to “act in haste and repent at leisure”.
Bose highlighted the “glaring defects and lapses” in the anti-rape bill and advised the state government to “do their homework instead of going in for knee-jerk responses,” according to a Raj Bhavan official.
The official added that Bose stressed the administration’s duty to “wipe the tears of the bereaved mother who lost her dear daughter,” referring to the young doctor allegedly raped and murdered at RG Kar Hospital last month.
The governor also noted that people cannot wait until the bill is implemented; they demand justice now, and it should be delivered within the framework of existing laws. He urged the state government to act effectively to ensure justice for the people, the official said.
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On September 3, the West Bengal Assembly unanimously passed the ‘Aparajita Woman and Child (West Bengal Criminal Laws and Amendment) Bill 2024.’ The bill seeks capital punishment for rape convicts if the crime results in the victim’s death or leaves her in a vegetative state, and a life sentence without parole for other offenders.
(With PTI Inputs)