What happened to a bill that Bengal passed in Five years ago?
TMC requests that C V Ananda Bose approve the anti-lynching bill, which has been waiting with the Governor for five years, beginning with Jagdeep Dhankhar.
The state government led by Mamata Banerjee has come under scrutiny over the 11 lynching cases that have been reported in West Bengal in the last two weeks. They have pointed out that an anti-lynching bill that was passed by the government in 2019 is still pending the governor’s signature.
After several similar lynching events, the West Bengal (Prevention of Lynching) Bill was approved in August 2019. Mamata, the then-CM, has stated that the Bill’s goal is to defend the vulnerable people’s constitutional rights. She had claimed, “People are being lynched just because of rumors and fake messages that circulate on WhatsApp groups.”
But the Bill stayed unfinished business, first with former Raj Bhavan occupant Jagdeep Dhankhar, who is currently Vice-President, and then with current Governor C V Ananda Bose.
What was proposed by the Bengal anti-lynching Bill?
The law stated:”Anyone who aids or abets in lynching shall likewise be punished in the same manner as if he had committed lynching himself.”
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The Bill suggested a punishment of Rs 50,000 and a one-year jail sentence for “publishing any offensive material” that incites violence. Under the Bill, promoting violence against an individual or a group of people might result in a sentence of up to three years in prison and a fine of up to Rs one lakh. In contrast, causing harm to a person could result in a life sentence. The law stated that the penalty might be death in the event of death.
How come the Bill became stuck?
Governor Dhankhar wrote to the state Home and Law Secretary to request clarifications after it was passed and delivered to the Raj Bhavan. The explanation concerned the fact that the “death sentence” was not the maximum penalty in the draft version of the Bill, according to Raj Bhawan officials.
The highest penalty in the draft Bill, which was initially distributed around MLAs, was life in jail. The death penalty was inserted as the maximum penalty when the legislation was ultimately passed in the Assembly by voice note.
The Law Department responded that the draft Bill did not refer to the “death penalty” due to a “printing error” brought on by a “optical illusion.” This was rejected by Dhankhar as a legitimate explanation.
What is the Bill’s current status?
Ananda Bose became the governor in August 2022, following Dhankhar’s ascension to the position of vice president. He has been waiting on the Bill and twenty other pieces of legislation to be cleared.
The TMC government, which has engaged in drawn-out negotiations with Dhankar and Bose, has brought up the Bill’s long-overdue clearance in the wake of the lynching occurrences.
Speaker Biman Banerjee brought up the point, stating: “This Bill would have curbed the menace (of lynching).” However, the Governor has yet to sign the bill, and we are still waiting five years later.
In light of recent events, what actions has the state government taken?
The TMC government has declared compensation to the victims’ relatives, directed district administrations to take appropriate measures to prevent future lynchings, including identifying potential instigators, and encouraged people to use social media to verify rumors and false information.
Furthermore, the local police have been instructed to pinpoint the regions that fall under their purview and where these kinds of incidents have been documented during the previous five years.
The Chief Advisor to the CM, Alapan Bandopadhyay, stated on Tuesday that while no death can be made up for, the state will provide the victims’ next of kin with the position of a special house guard as part of its efforts to support their families. They will each receive Rs 2 lakh in addition.
Who has spoken for the opposition?
The BJP has maintained that the lynchings were an outcome of the TMC-led government in West Bengal.
“An uncontrolled, fearless society has been created in West Bengal during the TMC regime,” stated BJP MP Samik Bhattacharya. The Governor alone is qualified to comment on why he is refusing to sign the billHowever, under the TMC’s rule, no legislation can stop these occurrences due to the administration’s overall failing.
