Punjab guv Purohit softens stand, says will examine pending bills on merit
Move comes days after Mann govt decided to move apex court against Purohit for withholding three money bills that were to be tabled in the assembly
Chandigarh
With the Punjab government in the process of moving the Supreme Court (SC) against him for withholding three money bills, governor Banwarilal Purohit has informed chief minister Bhagwant Mann that he will examine all the bills on merit.
Purohit, who has been sitting on five bills passed by the state assembly in 2022 and 2023 and then also withheld approval to money bills about 10 days ago, conveyed his decision to examine the pending bills to the CM through a brief letter on Sunday. “I have in consultation with all the concerned and in the larger interest of the welfare of people of Punjab, decided to examine all the bills on merit as well as in terms of various provisions of the Constitution of India. I will convey to you my decision on each and every bill separately in the coming days,” he wrote.
Purohit further said that he had approved 22 of the 27 bills passed by the state assembly during the present government. “Rest of the five bills passed by assembly as well as three money bills sent by the government recently are under my consideration,” he added.
After the two-day (October 20 and 21) sitting of the state assembly was announced by the state government, the Raj Bhawan had strongly objected to summoning of the House as an “extension of the budget session”. In a letter to the Punjab Vidhan Sabha secretary on October 13, the governor’s office wrote that any such extended session is bound to be “illegal”, and any business conducted during such sessions is “unlawful, and ab-initio void”.
On October 19, the governor withheld his approval for the three money bills, which pertained to imposition of the GST on online gaming and establishment of GST Appellate Tribunal among other things, hours before the two-day meeting of the state assembly was to start on October 20. He also warned the Aam Aadmi Party government that if it continued with the “patently illegal session”, he would be compelled to consider an appropriate course of action, including reporting the matter to the President.
Mann responded by announcing that his government would move the apex court against the governor for refusing to approve the bills. The government also had to curtail the assembly proceedings just after they began, and the House was adjourned side die on October 20.
In Sunday’s missive, the governor, who called it a continuation of his October 19 letter, again questioned the propriety of summoning of the state assembly. “Serious doubts have been raised about propriety and constitutionality of the summoning of the Punjab Vidhan Sabha as well as the continuation of the session, in violation of the various provisions of the Constitution of India as well as the rules of procedure and conduction of business of the Punjab Vidhan Sabha,” he wrote, while agreeing to examine the bills.
Both Purohit and Mann have had frequent run-ins over a slew of issues, particularly summoning of sessions of the state assembly and adherence to legal procedures, over the past one year.
This is the second time the AAP government is approaching the Supreme Court against the governor this year. In February also, the state government had moved the apex court after the governor refused to summon the budget session.
The bills, which have been pending with the governor, are The Sikh Gurdwaras (Amendment) Bill, 2023, The Punjab Universities Laws (Amendment) Bill, 2023, The Punjab Police (Amendment) Bill, 2023, The Punjab Affiliated Colleges (Security of Service) Amendment Bill, 2023, and The Punjab State Vigilance Commission (Repeal) Bill, 2022. The Sikh Gurdwaras (Amendment) Bill, 2023, is aimed at ensuring free-to-air telecast of Gurbani from Amritsar’s Golden Temple in Amritsar by amending the British-era Sikh Gurdwaras Act, 1925, whereas the Punjab Universities Laws (Amendment) Bill, 2023, seeks to replace the governor with the CM as chancellor of state-run universities. The Punjab Police (Amendment) Bill, 2023, seeks to do away with the Supreme Court-mandated procedure in the selection of the state police chief, while the Punjab Affiliated Colleges (Security of Service) Amendment Bill, 2023, is aimed at streamlining the working of the Educational Tribunal. All four were passed on June 19 and 20. The Punjab State Vigilance Commission (Repeal) Bill, 2022, passed on September 30 last year to dissolve the State Vigilance Commission, is also awaiting the governor’s assent.
AAP calls it ‘U-turn’
Reacting to Purohit’s letter, the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) claimed that the governor had taken a “U-turn”.
During his address in the state assembly on October 20, Mann said that the government would challenge the governor’s letter in the Supreme Court on October 30, and on October 29, the governor took this U-turn and said that he would examine all the bills, the party said.
It alleged that this letter was proof that the governor just wanted to hinder the works of the AAP government. “The Punjab government only filed a petition in this matter in the court and Mr Purohit already took the U-turn,” it claimed.
The AAP also demanded that the opposition leaders should apologise to the people of Punjab because in the session, they were calling it illegal.