The governor has consented to give assent to two of the three Money Bills that the state has given him, just days before the first hearing of the petition the Aam Aadmi Party government filed against him in the Supreme Court.
On November 3, the Supreme Court will consider the state government’s plea, which was submitted on October 28.
According to official sources at Raj Bhawan, Governor Banwarilal Purohit has approved two bills: the Indian Stamp (Punjab Amendment) Bill, 2023, and the Punjab Goods and Services Tax (Amendment) Bill, 2023.
The first bill will make it possible to impose GST on online gaming and to establish a GST Appellate Tribunal. The second bill aims to levy stamp duty on real estate mortgages.
The third Bill, The Punjab Fiscal Responsibility and Budget Management (Amendment) Bill, 2023, has still not been approved.
The Governor’s position earlier this week, when he wrote to Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann stating that he was reviewing the Bills, and the assent given to the Bills to be tabled in the Vidhan Sabha appear to be well-thought-out plans to complete the “cause of action” prior to the petition’s hearing on Friday.
Nonetheless, some in positions of authority are celebrating the adoption of the Bills, arguing that this indicates the Governor has given his blessing to the last two extraordinary sessions of the Vidhan Sabha, which were held in June and October. Raj Bhawan insiders, however, claim that no decision has been made to change the governor’s previous position, in which he had deemed these most recent sessions to be “patently illegal.”
It has also come to light that, as Purohit had declared the two-day June session of the Vidhan Sabha illegal, no decision has been made yet regarding the assent of four other bills that the Vidhan Sabha had already passed in June of this year: the Sikh Gurdwaras (Amendment) Bill, 2023; the Punjab Universities Laws (Amendment) Bill, 2023; the Punjab Police Amendment Bill, 2023; and the Punjab Affiliated Colleges (Security of Service) Amendment Bill, 2023.