Fresh stand-off: Telangana Governor yet to give assent to eight bills passed by state Assembly

Decision to keep bills on hold is being seen as her way of getting even with government for not extending protocol courtesies.

ByRaj Rayasam

Published Oct 25, 2022 | 8:12 PMUpdatedOct 25, 2022 | 8:12 PM

Tamilisai Soundararajan

The relations between Governor Taimilisai Soundarajan and the state government appear to have been further stretched when she said she was yet to give her assent to eight bills passed by the Telangana State Assembly recently.

In an interaction with media persons at Raj Bhavan on the occasion of Diwali, the Governor said it was left to her discretion whether or not to give assent to any bill.

“I will take a decision soon after studying them,” she said.

She, however, said that she did not have anything personal against anyone in the government as she was going by the rule book.

“I have discretionary powers and I intend to use them,” she said, emphasising the need for her to uphold the Constitution in whatever action she takes.

Tit-for-tat move?

Her decision to keep the bills on hold is being seen as her way of getting even with the government for not extending protocol courtesies to her when she visited flood-ravaged Bhadrachalam.

She was also not allowed her to address the Budget Session of the Assembly and Council on technical grounds and was prevented from unfurling the national flag on Republic Day, with Covid-19 being cited as the reason.

The relations began straining between the Governor and the government after she sent into cold storage a Cabinet decision nominating Padi Kaushik Reddy from Karimnagar to the Legislative Council as she felt that he did not qualify for it under the Governor’s quota.