Centre resending fresh T Bill after President Pranab asks for clarifications

President Pranab Mukherjee apparently asked for some clarifications on the draft of the T Bill the Centre sent to him. The Centre withdrew the Bill and is now busy sending a fresh one. The modified AP Reorganisation Bill is still with the Prime Minister’s Office and is likely to go to President only on or after Monday.

Due to this, the T Bill may not be referred to AP assembly now, in contrast to the contention of Union Minister Jairam Ramesh and AICC general secretary Digvijay Singh that the Bill will reach state Assembly on Monday. The President left on Monday night for Johannesburg to attend the memorial service for South Africa’s anti-apartheid icon Nelson Mandela and will return on Dec 12.

Official sources told this newspaper that the original Bill sent to President contained crucial information relating to the severe objections raised by the Department of Legal Affairs and Legislative Affairs on contentious issues like Article 371 D and entrusting the law and order in common capital to Governor. These objections have been overruled by the cabinet but somehow still were in the copy of the bill sent to the President.

“The Bill has been modified removing all that information,” sources said. The two departments made it clear that Article 371 D cannot be applied post bifurcation and the lengthy procedure of amending the constitution with two thirds majority in Parliament and approval of 50 per cent the state legislatures was suggested even to repeal or modify the Article. The departments also expressed their view that law and order subject can’t be entrusted to Governor in the common capital without a Constitutional amendment through which they suggested to insert an Article on the lines of 371 H. Special powers have been given to the Governor of Arunachal Pradesh through 371 H.

In addition to these, the President seems to have asked the law ministry on whether the AP Assembly is entitled for a specific time to consider the Telangana Bill, as per Constitution.

Source: Asian Age