Kolkata, West Bengal Assembly Speaker Biman Banerjee on Tuesday criticized the Raj Bhavan for not signing a bill passed by the House in 2019, which was aimed at stopping mob lynching and punishing those involved in the crime.
His comments came after four deaths due to mob lynching recently in the state.
The assembly passed the West Bengal (Prevention of Lynching) Bill in August 2019 with the support of both Left and Congress MLAs. The BJP, which had only three MLAs at that time, neither supported nor opposed the bill.
Despite being passed, the bill was not signed by then Governor Jagdeep Dhankhar and was not sent back to the Assembly for reconsideration.
"The bill should have been signed by the Governor. Had it been so, we would not have seen incidents of mob lynching in West Bengal as it would have acted as a deterrent," Banerjee told reporters.
The bill includes provisions for death penalty and imprisonment ranging from three years to life, depending on the seriousness of the crime.
The Speaker said, "The Governor can sign, not sign, or send it back to the Assembly. But none of these happened. Even the Sarkaria Commission said that a bill cannot be delayed indefinitely. To withhold undermines its purpose.”
His comments came after four deaths due to mob lynching recently in the state.
The assembly passed the West Bengal (Prevention of Lynching) Bill in August 2019 with the support of both Left and Congress MLAs. The BJP, which had only three MLAs at that time, neither supported nor opposed the bill.
Despite being passed, the bill was not signed by then Governor Jagdeep Dhankhar and was not sent back to the Assembly for reconsideration.
"The bill should have been signed by the Governor. Had it been so, we would not have seen incidents of mob lynching in West Bengal as it would have acted as a deterrent," Banerjee told reporters.
The bill includes provisions for death penalty and imprisonment ranging from three years to life, depending on the seriousness of the crime.
The Speaker said, "The Governor can sign, not sign, or send it back to the Assembly. But none of these happened. Even the Sarkaria Commission said that a bill cannot be delayed indefinitely. To withhold undermines its purpose.”
