Raj Bhavan is taking its time on the stringent new Bihar Prohibition and Excise Bill, 2016, which the state legislature has passed and which has exposed cracks in the Grand Alliance. Nine days have elapsed since the lawmakers passed the excise bill but the governor is yet to give his consent.
Governor Ram Nath Kovind, sources in Raj Bhavan revealed, wants to understand the likely implications of the bill becoming an Act.
Important bills passed by the legislature reach the office of the officer on special duty (OSD), judiciary, at Raj Bhavan. The officer is of the same rank as a civil judge and goes through the provisions of the bills and gives his nod after consultation with the governor. Abhimanyu Lal Srivastava holds the OSD rank at present.
"The new bill is stringent and cannot be compared with any law of the state," said a Raj Bhavan official who did not want to be identified. "It has some scary provisions. Raj Bhavan is not in a hurry to give its nod as Kovind is a reputable advocate himself and wants to first understand the salient features of the bill."
Kovind has a four-decade career in law, including stints at Delhi High Court and the Supreme Court.
Chief minister Nitish Kumar claims successful implementation of the stringent provisions is the need of the hour. His alliance partners Congress and the RJD have made it amply clear that they are not on the same page as the JDU, but the cumpulsions of coalition politics forced their hand.
The BJP has called the bill so draconian that it infringes on the fundamental rights of citizens.
BJP leader and former deputy chief Sushil Kumar Modi, who has termed the bill as "Talibani", said: "The law gives sweeping powers to law enforcing authorities (police and excise officials), proposes tough penalties and has provisions that could be easily misused to harass the innocent."
The Bihar BJP had also submitted a memorandum to the governor, pointing out the strict provisions in the bill. BJP state general secretary and Digha MLA Sanjeev Chaurasia, who was part of the delegation, said: "In the memorandum, we have stated that the BJP is with the state government over prohibition but the party is against a few provisions in the bill which are anti-people."
Senior high court advocate Y.V. Giri said: "There is no time limit for Raj Bhavan to give its nod on any bill."
He added that even the use of alcohol for medical value has been prohibited in the bill, but the state government cannot regulate medicine as it is under the Centre's purview.
It is for the governor to take any step once a bill is presented before him after both Houses pass it. The governor can okay the bill, in which case it becomes a law, or he may withhold assent.
Also, unless it is a money bill, the governor can return the bill with a message. As a fourth option, the governor may reserve a bill for the President's consideration. In case it is not a money bill, the President may instead of giving or refusing assent direct the governor to return the bill to the legislature for reconsideration. If that happens, the legislature must reconsider the bill within six months and if it's passed again, the bill shall be presented to the President again. But it will not be obligatory upon the President to give his assent in this case too.
As the Constitution vests more powers on the President and the governor than the state government in terms of giving assent to a bill, various political parties, including Nitish's JDU, have been demanding that the post of governor be abolished.
Last month, while attending the interstate council meeting chaired by the Prime Minister in New Delhi, Nitish had said that the post of the governor should be abolished as the existing federal democratic structure does not warrant its continuance.