Chandigarh: Punjab governor Banwarilal Purohit appears to have softened his stance over the recent sittings of the assembly session days after the state government said it would move the Supreme Court against his objections.
Purohit is said to have written to the chief minister Bhagwant Mann on Sunday that he would examine, on merits, all the Bills passed by the assembly, he had withheld.
Promise to Examine Bills
He said that he had 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. He said that he would convey to him (Mann) his decision on each and every Bill in the coming days.
Status of Pending Bills
Stating that he had approved 22 of the 27 Bills passed by the state assembly during the present government, the governor further said that the rest of the five Bills passed by assembly as well as the three money Bills sent by the government recently were under his consideration.
Background of the Assembly Session
It may be recalled that the recent two-day sitting of the so-called "extended" budget session of the Punjab assembly which was scheduled to be held for two days from October 20 was cut short on the day one itself in the wake of the governor Banwarilal Purohit’s objections over its legality.
Government's Response and Legal Action
Mann informed the House in the midst of the day one sitting that since governor Banwarilal Purohit had not given his assent to the three money Bills passed in the last sittings, the government would now resume the session after settling this issue. The chief minister said that the government would move the Supreme Court against the governor’s terming the session illegal and file a petition in the top court on October 30.
SYL Canal Issue
A day ago – on October 19 - Purohit had written to the chief minister withholding his approval for the three Bills, to be tabled in the two-day assembly session beginning October 20. The AAP government had called the session amid the raging political row over the Sutlej Yamuna Link (SYL) canal following the October 4 Supreme Court order asking the Centre to survey the portion of land in Punjab which was allocated for the construction of a part of the SYL canal in the state and make an estimate of the extent of construction carried out there.
Repeated Conflicts between AAP Govt and Raj Bhawan
This is the second time this year that a row between the ruling Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) government and the Raj Bhawan has erupted over the summoning of the House sittings. The governor had earlier called the June 19-20 special sitting as “patently illegal”.
For the record, in the past about one year, Mann and Purohit have been at loggerheads over a number of contentious issues, including fiscal prudence, steps taken against the drug menace, appointment of vice-chancellors, besides the latest – convening of special assembly sessions.
