Victory for all states: Stalin
CHENNAI: Tamil Nadu Chief Minister and DMK supremo M K Stalin on Tuesday welcomed the Supreme Court’s verdict on the issue of Tamil Nadu Governor R N Ravi’s pending assent to bills adopted by the state Assembly, hailing it as ‘historic,’ and a victory for all state governments in the country.
The SC ruled the bills are now considered having been given the Governor’s assent, Stalin told the Assembly, shortly after the apex court’s order.
Hailing the Supreme Court’s ‘historic’ judgment, Deputy Chief Minister Udhayanidhi Stalin said “Tamil Nadu’s legal battle has once again shone light on the entire nation.” The Supreme Court made it clear that the Governor’s act of reserving 10 bills for the President’s consideration is illegal and legally erroneous.
“Significantly, the Court has also held that the Governor cannot indefinitely withhold assent, and it has set a timeframe — ranging from one to three months — within which Governors must act on bills passed by State Assemblies,” Udhayanidhi said in a post on the social media platform X.
Senior advocate and DMK’s Rajya Sabha MP P Wilson claimed that with the 10 bills coming into effect, the state government’s nominee would become the Chancellor of state-run University.
“It’s a landmark judgment. The Supreme Court has directed that the 10 bills will come into effect. Through this, the Chief Minister has ensured the autonomy of all states,” Wilson, who earlier called on Stalin, told journalists.
In November 2023, the Tamil Nadu Assembly re adopted ten bills returned by Governor R N Ravi including a bill for the establishment of a separate Siddha Medical University for Indian system of medicine near Chennai, with the CM as Chancellor.
“This also included a bill passed by the AIADMK regime to name the Tamil Nadu Fisheries University as Dr J Jayalalithaa Fisheries University,” Assembly Speaker M Appavu said lauding the Chief Minister for the ‘big’ victory.
“We thank and welcome today’s historic judgment of the Hon’ble Supreme Court, reaffirming the legislative rights of State Legislatures and putting an end to the trend of Union government-nominated Governors stalling progressive legislative reforms in Opposition-ruled states,” Stalin, also the DMK President, said in a social media post.
In the Assembly, the Chief Minister said “I would like to inform this House about good news. Our Tamil Nadu government has obtained a historic verdict. The Supreme Court has said that the Governor withholding the Bill is illegal.”
He said many bills that had been sent to the Governor after the Assembly adopted them were returned by Ravi. They were re-adopted and again sent to him.“The Constitution mandates Governor to approve the bills once adopted for the second time but he didn’t. He was also delaying...” Stalin said, adding the state government moved the SC against this.
The SC accepted the state government’s just arguments and ruled “it has to be considered as the Governor having given his assent” and gave the historic verdict, he said. “This verdict is a victory not just for Tamil Nadu but all state governments in India,” Stalin said.
Barring the opposition AIADMK and BJP, other parties including BJP’s ally the PMK welcomed the verdict. Taking a dig at the two parties maintaining a stoic
silence, Leader of the House Duraimurugan said, he
chose to appreciate the Chief Minister’s role in safeguarding the state autonomy.
“This is another crucial step in restoring balance in Union–State relations and a landmark victory in Tamil Nadu’s continuous struggle to usher in a truly federal India. My congratulations to the people of Tamil Nadu and our legal team!,” the chief minister said in a social media post.The DMK and the Governor have been loggerheards over a number of issues.
In Thiruvananthapuram, Kerala Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan also hailed the Supreme Court verdict against TN Governor R N Ravi, saying it upholds the federal structure and the democratic rights of the state Assembly.
Vijayan, whose government had earlier clashed with then-Kerala Governor Arif Mohammed Khan for withholding key bills, said the apex court has repeatedly made it clear that governors must act in accordance with the advice of the cabinet.
In a statement, Vijayan added that the judgment also sets a specific time frame for the passage of bills.
Calling the verdict a warning against the tendency of governors to usurp the powers of the state legislature, the Chief Minister said it marks “a victory for democracy”.
“We have been faced with a situation where bills passed by the Legislative Assembly have been held up and left in limbo for up to 23 months,” he said.
Kerala is already engaged in a legal battle against such tendencies, and the present verdict highlights the significance of the issues raised by the state, Vijayan added.
