BHUBANESWAR: The State Government, which is on the back foot after Governor SC Jamir returned the Odisha Police Bill, 2015 with several suggestions and asking it to reintroduce it in the Assembly for discussion, on Thursday maintained that it will decide on the next course of action after considering the points raised by him.
The State Government has now two options before it after the Governor returned the Bill which was passed in the last session of the Assembly on August 28 in the absence of Opposition parties.
Either it will make the changes suggested by the Governor and place the Bill again in the Assembly or it will re-submit the Bill as it is for his assent. The Governor will have to give assent if the Cabinet decides to resubmit the Bill.
Sources said the Governor has raised objection to the manner in which the Bill was passed in the Assembly, constitution of the State Security Commission without the membership of the Leader of the Opposition and several other provisions in the Bill which violated the Supreme Court judgment.
Though the National Police Commission and several other committees wanted the Leader of the Opposition to be in the Commission to maintain impartiality in the functioning of the police, the Odisha Police Bill, 2015 had no representation from the Opposition parties.
The passing of the Bill in the Assembly had sparked off strong protest from the Opposition parties and civil society. A team of Congress MLAs, led by Leader of the Opposition Narasingh Mishra, had submitted a memorandum to the Governor on August 28 drawing his attention to the undemocratic manner in which such an important Bill was passed and requested him not to give assent to it.
The Opposition parties have welcomed the decision of the Governor. “It shows that the Chief Minister and his Government have no respect for democratic functioning,” Mishra said and hoped that good sense will prevail now and the State Government will bring in the changes suggested by the Governor. Leader of the BJP Legislature Party Basant Panda said the Governor’s action is a reminder to the Government that it should not resort to such undemocratic practices in future.
The Odisha Police Bill, 2015 proposes tenurial security of at least two years for Director General of Police (DGP), Inspector General of Police (IGP), Superintendent of Police (SP) and officer-in-charge (OIC) level officers.
The Bill, which will replace the archaic Police Act, 1861 and Odisha State Armed Police Act, 1946, not only proposes autonomy through security of tenure but also aims at streamlining appointment and transfer processes apart from separating criminal investigation from the routine policing job.