Panjab in a Constitutional Crisis

18
October
2023

Within 20 months of its tenure, the AAP government in Panjab, India has landed in a Constitutional crisis. The government keeps calling Legislative Assembly sessions but the Center’s appointed Governor does not prorogue the sessions – call for the end of a session. Hence, every subsequent session can either be considered an extension of the previous session or an invalid session. This started with the February session in 2023. The Governor did not give his assent to conduct the session, nor did he call its end. The government then called a session in June and now has called for another session on 21-22 Oct. In the June session, the government passed four Bills. The Governor has not given the Bills his assent. In the upcoming session, the government wants to bring in a new Bill – the Goods and Service Tax. It is unclear how the Governor can accept the Bill(s) without accepting the legality of the session. On the other hand, government representatives are calling the session legal. These are not matters dependent on the whims and fancies of the government and Governor to be debated in the media. Panjab has a government with a four-fifth majority – unprecedented in the history of the state – but might just end up with not being able to get the Governor’s nod on any Bill, and according to rules, they will lapse.

Photo by Shanmugamp

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