The Tamil Nadu Assembly on Saturday re-adopted 10 Bills that were recently returned by State Governor RN Ravi, with Opposition parties AIADMK and BJP staging separate walk-outs.
The bills, covering different departments including Law, Agriculture and Higher Education, was passed by the House during a special sitting, convened in the wake of Ravi returning them on November 13.
Chief Minister M K Stalin moved a resolution to take up for reconsideration the 10 bills passed earlier by the House and returned by Ravi, alleging that the Governor was jeen on blocking the government’s initiative.
“Without giving any reasons, Ravi had returned the Bills, mentioning “I withhold assent” to them, Stalin said.
While 2 bills each were adopted by the House in 2020 and 2023, six others were passed last year.
He said the House takes note that under provisions of Article 200 of the Constitution of India, if the above said Bills are passed again and presented to the Governor for assent, he “shall not withhold assent therefrom.”
“This House resolves that under rule 143 of the Tamil Nadu Legislative Assembly rules the following Bills may be reconsidered by this Assembly,” the resolution moved by Stalin said, as quoted by PTI.
The Chief Minister also alleged that non-BJP ruled states were being targeted through Governors, apparently by the BJP-led union government.
Stalin said if a “power” that can stop the House from enacting a legislation emerges, it will severely hamper democracy and that this was his apprehension.
The CM further noted that it was the duty of a Governor to give assent to Bills passed by a House that has an elected government. “He can seek legal or administrative clarification from the government if required and the government has to give it,” he said, adding such clarifications have been given in the past.
“At no instances have such clarifications been not given. In such a situation, him (governor) not giving assent to the Bills passed by the Assembly due to his whims and fancies and returning them amounts to insulting the people of Tamil Nadu and this House,” Stalin said.
The move comes days after the Supreme Court expressed “serious concern” about Governors not acting on Bills.
A three-Judge Bench led by Chief Justice of India D Y Chandrachud had said Governors “must act” before the matter reaches the court, after governments of three states – Punjab, Kerala and Tamil Nadu – had filed separate pleas with the apex court against their Governors for allegedly sitting on pending Bills. Telangana filed a similar affidavit in the Supreme Court against its Governor in March, reported The Indian Express.
Notably, all the states are not BJP-ruled states.
On October 31, the Tamil Nadu government had filed an affidavit against the Governor, accusing him of neglecting constitutional duties and deliberately hindering governance. The writ petition alleges not only significant delays in legislation and crucial appointments but also a “systemic undermining” of the state’s elected machinery, asserting that the situation is leading to a “constitutional deadlock”.