The Tamil Nadu Chief Minister MK Stalin on Wednesday, 12 April, wrote to the chief ministers of non-BJP-ruled states to urge them to pass a resolution seeking a timeframe for Governors in deciding on a bill.
In his letter, Stalin stated that Indian democracy today stands at a crossroads, and people are increasingly witnessing the fading away of the spirit of cooperative federalism from the governance of the nation.
“The Constitution of India has clearly defined the roles and responsibilities of the Union and state governments along with the role of the Governor. However, it is observed that such time-tested principles are neither respected nor followed now, affecting the functioning of the State governments,” said Stalin in the letter.
“Some Governors today are indefinitely holding various Bills that have been duly passed by the state legislature and sent for approval which brings the respective state administrations to a standstill in such areas,” he added.
Pointing out the standoff between Governor RN Ravi and the Tamil Nadu government in the bill to ban online gambling, Stalin said: “Considering various aspects of the issue, we took several efforts to clarify the doubts and concerns raised by the Governor on the bills sent for approval including the ‘Bill to Ban Online Rummy’. As our efforts failed and as we came to know that many other states have similar issues.”
He further stated that the Tamil Nadu government passed a resolution in the Assembly urging the Union government and the President of India to fix a time limit for Governors to approve Bills passed by the legislature.
Enclosing an extract of the resolution in his letter, Stalin stated: “I am sure that you will agree with the spirit and content of the Resolution, and extend your support in this regard to uphold the sovereignty and self-respect of the state governments and the legislature by passing a similar resolution in your state Assembly.”
Aloor Shanavas, an MLA from the Viduthalai Chiruthaigal Katchi, told South First that it was high time for unity among other parties to bring down the BJP and its autocracy in non-BJP-ruled states through Governors.
He said the move made by MK Stalin was highly commendable.
“There is no cooperation between the non-BJP-ruled parties. Mamta (West Bengal Chief Minister and Trinamool Congress chief) is not amicable with the Congress. (Samajwadi Party leader) Akhilesh Yadav has issues with other parties, and so on. But everyone is amicable with Stalin, and he is playing a key role in uniting the state parties at the national level. It is the need of the hour to build such a bond against the ruling BJP,” he said
Senior journalist Dhanaraj observed that Stalin had decided to take a role in national politics in the upcoming parliamentary elections against the BJP.
“When other non-BJP heads of states believe that the BJP and Prime Minister Narendra Modi cannot be taken down, Stalin wants to prove that unity among state parties could bring down the BJP government at the Centre. This move will put pressure on the Governors appointed by the BJP in the non-BJP-ruled states,” he said.
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