Bengal Governor Dhankhar yet to clear lynching and SC/ST commission bills

West Bengal Governor Jagdeep Dhankhar had still not given his assent to two bills, one aimed at preventing lynching and the other setting up a state commission for scheduled castes and scheduled tribes, Raj Bhavan said in a statement in Kolkata on Friday.

Raj Bhavan’s explanation

The statement said progress on the legislation depended on the state government and the legislature supplying information that only they held about the issues raised. It said the delay was due to the lack of this information, and that the matter had been raised with those concerned several times and at every level.

Raj Bhavan said it hoped the matter would be given top priority so that legislative work was not affected, and that all inputs required under the Rules of Business under Article 166(3) of the Constitution should be provided on time.

The two bills

• Lynching bill: Dhankhar had earlier asked the Assembly Secretary to respond to opposition parties’ claim that the copy of the lynching prevention bill of 2019 handed out to members was “not in consonance” with the version he had recommended for introduction.
• SC/ST commission bill: the 2019 bill to set up an SC/ST commission for the state reached Raj Bhavan on November 29. On December 3 the Governor sought a briefing from a senior official, and a follow-up letter went to the Secretary of the Backward Classes Welfare Department the same day, according to Raj Bhavan.

Bills cleared

On January 2 the Governor did approve two other bills: the Hindi University, West Bengal, Bill 2019, and the West Bengal Lifts, Escalators and Travelators Bill, 2019.

See also: Election news

Originally published on 4 January 2020. Rewritten on 9 October 2026.

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