Opposition targets Suvendu government after anti-Goonda Bill hits Presidential hurdle

Targeting the government, TMC MP Abhishek Banerjee wrote on X, “Double engine on the posters. Reverse gear in governance. Homework returned for correction.”

Double engine on the posters.
Reverse gear in governance.
Homework returned for correction. 😅 pic.twitter.com/H5Ti0zX7pQ

— Abhishek Banerjee (@abhishekaitc) September 25, 2026

Opposing the Bill, Mamata-faction MLA Kunal Ghosh drew a parallel with British-era Rowlatt Act, saying the proposed law granted authorities sweeping powers of preventive detention without a trial based on suspicion.

“When the Bill was brought up in the legislative Assembly, we said that this act reminded us of the Rowlatt Act of the British period. We vehemently opposed this Act. The ruler can’t detain a person without trial. This Bill is anti-democracy and goes against human rights,” Ghosh said.

CPIM demanded that the Act be scrapped. Party state secretary Mohammed Salim said, “From the very first day we maintained that this Bill overlaps with the central legislation and can’t  be implemented. The BJP are basically resorting to ‘Gundami’ (hooliganism) across the state, their leaders are extortioning money and saying they are bringing in the  anti-goonda law. The BJP is a fascist force.”

Meanwhile, CM Adhikari asserted that his government will implement the law.

“We don’t do anything beyond law. The main thing is that goondas are now afraid of the administration. We will implement the anti-goonda law,” he said.

In a setback to the BJP dispensation in the state, the President registered a sustainable objection to the ‘anti-Goonda’ Bill and returned it for reconsideration after the Centre raised the issue of a conflict between the proposed legislation and the Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances (NDPS) Act, 1985.

In its note before returning the Bill, the Central government said, “Section (B) of the proposed Bill, insofar as it includes within the definition of ‘goonda’ a person who commits, attempts to commit, abets, promotes, finances or facilitates any offence punishable under the NDPS Act, 1985, may overlap with the preventive-detention framework provided under the PITNDPS Act, 1988, which is a specific Central legislation dealing with preventive detention of persons engaged in illicit traffic in narcotic drugs and psychotropic substances.”

“The proposed provision may, therefore, create an overlapping or parallel preventive-detention mechanism in respect of drug-related activities and may give rise to an issue of repugnancy under Article 254 of the Constitution of India. Accordingly, the reference to offences under NDPS Act, 1985 in Section 2(d)(iii)(B) may be deleted to avoid duplication and overlap with the existing Central statutory framework,” it added.

Government sources, however, have said that the administration is planning to make necessary corrections and table a fresh Bill in the Assembly.