Chennai, Apr 8: Tamil Nadu Chief Minister 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.
“Our Hon’ble Chief Minister MK Stalin has once again registered a significant victory in his steadfast commitment to protect state rights and resist attempts to impose a unitary structure on the country,” Stalin’s son said in the post.
Tamil Nadu would continue to fight and will continue to win. “Our spirit and our resolve remain unshakable. #StateRights #Federalism #TamilnaduLeads,” he added.
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.
“Its 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 reporters at the Secretariat here.
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.
Earlier, the Supreme Court came down heavily on Ravi and said reservation of 10 Bills by him for consideration of the President was in contravention of constitutional provisions.
A bench of Justices J B Pardiwala and R Mahadevan said that under Article 200 of the Constitution, the governor does not possess any discretion and has to mandatorily act on the aid and advice of the council of ministers.
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. “Those remaining silent on this historic development will be confined as opposed to the verdict in history,” he remarked.
Later, Stalin asked the Treasury Benches to celebrate the win by thumping the desks.
“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. (PTI)
