MK Stalin said that Governor Ravi cannot keep the bills in cold storage. (file)
Chennai:
Tamil Nadu Governor RN Ravi’s comment that he had the discretion to withdraw Bills passed by the state legislature came under fire from the DMK government, which said the delay in approval was a “dereliction of duty” on the part of the governor.
Reacting to the Governor’s comments, Chief Minister MK Stalin on Thursday said Ravi cannot keep the Bills in abeyance. He said, “It is an act of ineffective paralysis. If the pressure mounts, the governor will ask a question and send it back to the government and with that his duty is done.”
During an interaction with civil services aspirants for the ‘Think to Dare’ series at Raj Bhavan here on Thursday, Ravi commented on assembly bills sent to him for the President’s assent and said that “the governor has three options: Give assent, withhold – meaning the bill is dead – which the Supreme Court and the Constitution use as civilized language to reject, and the third reserve the bill for the President. It is the discretion of the Governor.” Stalin said it was “indecent” for a person who holds a constitutional position to hold bills “without boldly accepting or opposing them”.
The Chief Minister also claimed that the Governor had become in the habit of delaying Bills, Ordinances and amendments envisaged by the people’s representatives and sent for approval.
He accused the governor of “failing” in his administrative duties and “slipping” from his responsibilities. There was no proper reason for their action and no answer to the government. He said that so far about 14 files have been stopped with him.