“As per the rule, the state government is duty bound to send the technical report to the Governor before a decision is taken on giving assent to the Bill… This is not the first time that the TMC government has withheld the technical reports and then blamed the Raj Bhavan for keeping the Bills pending,” a Raj Bhavan official said.

“The Governor (CV Ananda Bose) also pulled up the state government for failing to do its homework in important matters such as this. He pointed out that the (Aparajita) Bill appears to be a copy-paste of similar Bills passed by Andhra Pradesh, Maharashtra, and Arunachal Pradesh Assemblies,” the official said.

The official said, “Governor took strong objections to such inept gimmicks at such a critical juncture in Bengal’s contemporary history… in such a sensitive issue ignoring the sentiments of the parents of the victim. the Governor advised the Chief Minister ‘honesty is the best policy’.”

On Tuesday, the Assembly unanimously passed the Bill that seeks capital punishment for a rape convict if the assault results in the death of a victim or leaves her in a vegetative state, and life sentence without parole for any other offender.

The Bill includes provisions for the completion of a probe into a rape case within 21 days of the initial report, a reduction from the previous two-month deadline, and women officers leading investigations by a Special Task Force into such incidents.

During the discussion on the Bill, Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee had urged the Opposition BJP to impress upon the Governor to sign the Bill without delay while asserting that it would be the state government’s responsibility for its effective enactment following the assent of Raj Bhavan and the President.

Earlier in the day, Governor Bose on Thursday criticised the state administration for its handling of the situation arising out of the rape-murder of the trainee doctor.

“What I see in West Bengal today, especially in administration, is going from wrong to wrong. They should realise that two wrongs, even if they are mutually contradictory, will not constitute one right. The (state) government has to act and has to take people into confidence. Punishment should be given,” Bose said.

The people of Bengal no longer feel they can expect justice from the government, he said pointing to the widespread protests, including a candlelight vigil – Reclaim The Night –held across the state on Wednesday night. “People should feel that they can expect justice from the government. Now, the feeling is not there. That is what was reflected in the massive protest that culminated yesterday,” Bose added.

With PTI Inputs 

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