Herald: What do you feel about B R Wanchoo’s decision to return the bill to the
chief minister Manohar Parrikar and not the Assembly?
Cleofato Coutinho: I feel that it was not proper for the Governor to return the Bill
to the Chief Minister. The Governor ought to have returned the Bill to the House
and not to the Chief Minister. A Bill is the property of the House and the governor
should have returned it to the House. A Chief Minister has nothing to do with a
Bill. The Governor cannot ask the Chief Minister to clarify on a Bill when it is the
property of the House.
May be the Governor did not want a head on confrontation on the issue and hence
might have taken a mid path. The Bill ought to have come to the house.
Herald: What, do you feel is the next step?
Cleofato Coutinho:The Chief Minister now have the option to either return the Bill
to the new Governor or place the Bill in the House for consideration. Even the MLAs
can demand that the Bill is placed before the House for reconsideration since it was
passed in a desperate hurry.
