THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: Kerala will consider "with utmost seriousness" the Tamil Nadu government's proposal to pass a resolution in the state assembly urging the Union Government and the President to fix a time limit for Governors to approve Bills passed by legislatures.
The move comes amid reports of Governors appointed by the BJP sitting on bills approved by the legislatures.
Lately, Chief Minister MK Stalin on Monday gave a call for amending the Constitution to remove the anomaly of giving powers to enact legislation to the state Assemblies, which are composed of people’s representatives, and governors, who are appointed, having the power to assent to the bills passed by the House. “This arrangement does not augur well for upholding the dignity of democracy. We have to take steps for amending the Constitution” Stalin said while moving a resolution censuring the activities of Governor R N Ravi.
Against this backdrop, Kerala Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan gave the assurance to his Tamil Nadu counterpart Stalin who wrote to him urging the Kerala assembly to pass the resolution, as done by the Tamil Nadu Assembly on April 10. Stalin had also enclosed the extract of the resolution passed by the Tamil Nadu assembly in his letter to Pinarayi.
In his letter, Stalin said his government took several efforts to clarify the doubts and concerns raised by the Governor on the bills sent for approval. "As our efforts failed and as we came to know that many other states have similar issues, we in Tamil Nadu deemed it fit to pass the resolution," Stalin said.
In Kerala, Governor Arif Mohammed Khan is yet to give assent to bills passed by the state assembly, including a bill to remove him as Chancellor of state universities. The issue of Bills pending gubernatorial assent has been the subject of frequent confrontations between the state government and the Raj Bhavan.
In his response, Pinarayi "fully appreciated" the views expressed by Stalin. He said the views are in consonance with the stand taken by Kerala. "I recall the support given by the Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam to the Left Democratic Front in Kerala when the public articulated their views in a democratic manner on the issue of delay on the part of the Governor in giving assent to the bills passed by the legislature," Pinarayi said.
"As defenders of the federal spirit of our Constitution, we have to cooperate in every effort to prevent the curtailing of the functioning of elected State governments," Pinarayi said in his letter. The Kerala Chief Minister also assured Stalin that the state government was ready to extend "wholehearted cooperation" to Tamil Nadu on the matter.