Tamil Nadu Guv RN Ravi returns pending bills, state calls spl House session to readopt them
CHENNAI: Minutes after news emerged on Thursday that Governor RN Ravi has returned a set of bills that were pending with him for his assent to the Tamil Nadu Assembly, Speaker M Appavu said a special session of the Assembly has been convened on Saturday (November 18) to readopt the bills. As per the Constitution, when the Assembly passes a bill for the second time, the governor “shall not withhold his assent”.
Sources said the Tamil Nadu Assembly may pass the bills without any change for the second time at the special session. The development comes days after the Supreme Court expressed “serious concern” over inordinate delay by the governor in giving assent to the bills passed by the state legislature. A three-judge bench headed by the Chief Justice of India, D Y Chandrachud, made the observation while hearing a petition filed by the TN government asking the top court to fix a timeline for the governor to decide on bills.
Raj Bhavan and state law department sources are silent on the number of bills returned and whether the governor has made any recommendation regarding the bills for the reconsideration of the Tamil Nadu House. As per the petition filed by the Tamil Nadu government before the Supreme Court, 12 bills were pending with Governor RN Ravi for his assent.
Of them, eight bills pertain to powers of the state government in appointing vice-chancellors to various state universities, two bills are on Tamil Nadu Veterinary and Animal Sciences University Act and inclusion of finance secretary as a member in the syndicate of all universities (except University of Madras, Mother Teresa Women’s University and Tamil Nadu Teachers Education University) and the other two are bills passed by the previous AIADMK regime. Sources said the governor may have reserved two bills for the consideration of the President and sent 10 bills back to the Assembly for reconsideration.
‘Modi forgot how he opposed guvs’
Answering questions of a reporter in Thiruvannamalai regarding the possibility of observations made by the Supreme Court against the governor being discussed in the special session of the House, Speaker M Appavu said, “During the Assembly session, there won’t be any discussion on the Governor, President or the Judiciary.
The governor has now returned certain bills and the government wants them to be readopted.” Responding to another question, Appavu said when a bill is adopted for the second time by the State Assembly, the governor has to give his assent.
The governor had earlier returned the bills relating to online rummy and NEEneeT but when the rummy bill was readopted he gave his assent and had forwarded the anti-NEET bill to the President, the Speaker pointed out. DMK spokesperson Constantine Ravindran told TNIE, “Governor Ravi, appointed by the BJP government, acts according to the dictates of the centre.
As the SC has pointed out, democracy is in peril due to the way of functioning of governors appointed by BJP government. PM Narendra Modi has forgotten how he opposed the functioning of governors when he was CM of Gujarat. The DMK is happy that the SC has not only served notice to the governor’s secretary but also sought the views of the Union government on the issue.” AIADMK spokesperson Kovai Satyan said, “The CM has failed to exert sufficient pressure on Raj Bhavan to clear bills.”
Assembly session on November 18, no clarity on bills
As per the petition filed by TN before the Supreme Court, 12 bills were pending with Governor RN Ravi for his assent. Eight of them pertain to powers of the state to appoint V-Cs to universities. Sources said the governor may have reserved two bills for consideration of President