State Assembly likely to re-send returned bills to governor without any of the major changes sought by her.
All claws were bared on Thursday night when Gujarat chief minister Narendra Modi wrote to Prime Minister Manmohan Singh seeking a recall of Gujarat governor Dr Kamla. But the issue of Lok Ayukta’s appointment, which has apparently warranted this demand from Modi, may really be just the tip of the iceberg.
A bigger battle brewing between the elected head of the state and the Constitutional head is that of crucial bills returned by the governor. According to senior officials and ministers in the state government, at least four bills passed by the state assembly and returned by the governor are likely to be tabled again in the two-day Assembly session starting September 26. They will be presented again “more or less without any major changes as sought by her”.
The Regularisation of Unauthorised Development Bill (Impact Fee), Lokayukta (Amendment), Private Universities Bill and Bombay Inams Abolition (repeal) Bill - passed in the Budget session this year were sent back by governor in June-July. It is learnt that the bills were returned with sharp remarks seeking extensive changes in some - especially the Impact Fee Bill. If the Bills are passed again by the Assembly and returned to the Governor for clearance, she is unlikely to clear it till her concerns are addressed. This can result in a long-drawn stalemate - especially as the Impact Fee Bill needs to be implemented immediately to avoid
further demolition and sealing, as decreed by the Gujarat high court.
And we are not even yet talking about the other pending Bills like the Compulsory Voting-50% Women’s Reservation or GujCoc, which have been returned by Raj Bhavan. The stage is set for a fierce face-off. Modi’s think tank is busy strategising how to turn this into a spicy political controversy as countdown to the state elections begins.
It is the law minister in Modi's cabinet, Dileep Sanghani, who sets the tone for future course of action. In response to a question whether the government had considered making the amendments suggested by the governor in the returned bills, he retorted "We have made some changes and tried to discuss with her, but she is not interested in passing any of them. She only wants to play politics, so we will also respond accordingly. Raj Bhavan has turned into Congress Bhavan."
State Congress president Arjun Modhwadia argues that the government's confrontational attitude is the problem. "If there is a difference of opinion, why not convince her through your valid points or make the changes? Why turn it into a political issue," he asks.
Government spokesperson Jaynarayan Vyas refused to comment passing the buck to law minister Sanghani. Leader of opposition Shaktisinh Gohil is shocked at Modi's attitude and laments the absence of democratic values in the Assembly. "There is never any constructive discussion on any of the bills. They are passed within minutes without any application of mind. So when people have concerns, where do they go and represent? In a democracy, the establishment has to mirror the concerns of the society," he said
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