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Union minister Kiren Rijiju on Wednesday criticised West Bengal chief minister Mamata Banerjee over her state government’s handling of the trainee doctor’s rape and murder case.
In a letter shared on his official X (formerly Twitter) account, Rijiju, who was the then law minister, shared a 2021 letter where he said that Parliament had already passed a stringent law in 2018 to deal with heinous crimes like rape.
Rijiju’s post comes a day after the unanimous passage of the Aparajita Women and Child (West Bengal Criminal Laws Amendment) Bill, 2024 by the West Bengal legislative assembly.
“I feel sad that Chief Minister of West Bengal ignored her most sacred duty of providing quick Justice for women & children. This letter of 2021 clearly shows it. In 2018, a stringent law was passed by- Parliament to deal with heinous crimes like rape. State governments must act”, he wrote while sharing a picture of the letter addressed to CM Banerjee on X.
Rijiju pointed out that in 2018, Parliament had passed a law which included provisions for establishing fast-track special courts (FTSC) to expedite trials under the Protection Of Children from Sexual Offences Act (POCSO).
“Department of Justice is implementing this Centrally Sponsored Scheme of FTSCs in pursuance of the Criminal Law (Amendment) Act, 2018. In addition, as per directions of the Hon’ble Supreme Court of India, one exclusive POCSO (ePOCSO) Court each was required to be set up in districts wherever pendency of POCSO related cases was more than 100”, the letter stated.
Also Read: Bengal Assembly passes Bill seeking death penalty for rape convicts
The letter also highlighted the pending rape cases in West Bengal as of May 2021 urging the state government to act on it.
“As per information available, there are 28559 rape and POCSO Act cases pending in the State of West Bengal as of May 2021… The need for early operationalisation and robust functioning of earmarked FTSCs and ePOCSO Courts needs no special emphasis. It would be highly appreciated if you could review the matter at your level so that the consent of the state government is expedited, and the Department of Justice can consider release of funds as per scheme conditionality”, the letter read.
The Aparajita Woman and Child (West Bengal Criminal Laws Amendment) Bill, 2024 will require Presidential assent under Article 254(2) of the Constitution to become law within the geographical jurisdiction of West Bengal.
According to Article 254(2), a state legislature can seek to amend an existing Union law on a subject mentioned in the Concurrent List, but it cannot become law without assent from the President.
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