The Tamil Nadu Assembly today unanimously passed the ten bills passed but returned by Governor RN Ravi. The move came after Prime Minister MK Stalin moved a resolution to revive the bills that RN Ravi had returned without stating reasons.
While two bills each passed the House in 2020 and 2023, six others were passed last year. The bills seek to curtail the governor’s powers by elevating vice chancellors of state universities to the position of chancellor.
Though AIADMK supported the move, the party walked out over another issue. The BJP, which also has four MLAs, walked out.
Stalin, in a sharp attack on Mr Ravi, told the meeting that withholding consent without any reason was unacceptable.
“He has sent back the bills due to his personal whims and fancies… it is undemocratic and anti-people not to give assent. The governor cannot withhold assent if the bills are re-passed in the assembly and sent to him” , he said. said.
Stalin also alleged that non-BJP ruled states were being targeted through governors, apparently by the Centre.
The battle between the Tamil Nadu Raj Bhavan and the ruling DMK has been going on for the past two years. RN Ravi, an appointee of the BJP government, had returned the NEET waiver bill after much delay and sent it to the President for approval only after the Assembly passed it for the second time.
He had even skipped parts of the official speech he had given during his convention speech. He avoided reading names of leaders including Ambedkar, Periyar, Kamaraj, Annadurai and Karunanidhi. However, the meeting passed a resolution not to record his dissenting speech.
In the past, Gujarat had held the position of chief minister of state universities for some time. Several states have also curtailed the governor’s powers in appointing vice chancellors to his or her role as chancellor.
Prime Minister Modi is the Chancellor of Visva Bharati University. When asked about similar changes intended by the Tamil Nadu legislature, BJP MLA Vanathi Srinivasan said, “PM Modi has been appointed chancellor by a special law for a special purpose. What is the need in Tamil Nadu if the governor appoints vice chancellors as per norms?”.
By hastily returning the bills before the next hearing by the Supreme Court, the Raj Bhavan tried to create an impression that there is no bill pending. However, the ruling DMK wants to get ahead of it by quickly rehiring them and presenting them to the Governor so that he has no option but to give his assent.
Citing inordinate delay, the state is also seeking a direction from the Supreme Court granting a deadline to the governors for passing bills.
The ruling DMK accuses the governor of behaving like an RSS/BJP agent and claims that the constitutional head, who should defer to the help and advice of the state cabinet, is trying to SHUT DOWN the development of the state by not giving consent to pass bills, thereby undermining the elected government.
Several opposition-ruled states have also moved the Supreme Court against their governor’s proposal on similar allegations, with the bench headed by Chief Justice Chandrachud taking a serious look at the issue.
The Opposition said that states hope that the court will also take note of the Centre’s inability to address the issue and that the President will also not intervene despite SOS by states.
The Supreme Court on November 10, while hearing a petition filed by the Tamil Nadu government, expressed “serious concerns” over the delay of the governors in assent to the bills passed by the state assemblies.
The petition filed by the Government of Tamil Nadu sought to declare that the inaction, inaction, delay and failure to comply with the constitutional mandate of the Governor of Tamil Nadu/first respondent in terms of consideration and acquiescence to the Nadu passed and forwarded bills The state legislature against him and non-consideration of records, government orders and policies forwarded by the state government for signature are unconstitutional, illegal, arbitrary and unreasonable apart from the malafide exercise of power.
However, the court has sought a response from the Center on the allegations against the governor.