Now Reading: President returns Bengal anti-goonda bill, CM denies
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President returns Bengal anti-goonda bill, CM denies
President Droupadi Murmu has returned the West Bengal Public Safety and Control of Anti-Social Activities Bill, 2026, for reconsideration over a provision that may overlap with central narcotics laws, rediff.com reports. The…
President Droupadi Murmu has returned the West Bengal Public Safety and Control of Anti-Social Activities Bill, 2026, for reconsideration over a provision that may overlap with central narcotics laws, rediff.com reports. The Centre's note flagged that Section 2(d)(iii)(B), which brings NDPS Act offences under the definition of a 'goonda', could duplicate the preventive-detention framework under the PITNDPS Act, 1988, and raise repugnancy under Article 254. The note recommends deleting the NDPS reference.
Opposition parties have attacked the Suvendu Adhikari government. The Trinamool Congress, Congress and CPI(M) called the bill legally flawed and a tool to suppress dissent, according to nationalheraldindia.com. However, Chief Minister Suvendu Adhikari has rejected the reports as 'fake news', saying the bill is still under home ministry consideration and has not reached the President, thefederal.com reports. He said the bill is 'crystal clear' and framed within state powers under Article 254(2).
The state government can amend the disputed provision and retable the bill in the assembly before sending it back for presidential assent. Adhikari said the property attachment part of the bill is already in effect.
Indian Opinion Analysis
Rediff.com and nationalheraldindia.com both report the President returned the bill, while thefederal.com leads with Adhikari's denial, framing the return reports as 'fake news'. The pro-government account emphasises legal correctness and blames a media 'manufactured' term, omitting the opposition's detailed legal objections. The critical account foregrounds those objections and the government's earlier contradiction of treating the bill as operational before assent. The core factual dispute is whether the bill reached the President. The home ministry's next public communication will settle that point.
Coverage: 3 sources, 1 pro-government, 1 government-critical, 1 neutral
Sources (3): rediff.com (neutral report), nationalheraldindia.com (government critical), thefederal.com (pro government)
This brief was synthesised by AI from the 3 sources linked above, so one read covers every framing they carry.
Updated: this story now draws on 3 sources.
