Stalin welcomes SC’s verdict on Governor Ravi’s assent to bills, hails it as ‘historic’

Tamil Nadu CM welcomed the Supreme Court's verdict on the issue of Tamil Nadu Governor R N Ravi's pending assent to bills adopted by the State Assembly, hailing it as 'historic,' and a victory for all State governments in the country

Chennai: Tamil Nadu Chief Minister M K Stalin on Tuesday welcomed the Supreme Court’s verdict on the issue of Tamil Nadu Governor R N Ravi’s pending assent to bills adopted by the State Assembly, hailing it as ‘historic,’ and a victory for all State governments in the country.

The SC ruled the bills are now considered having been given the Governor’s assent, Stalin told the Assembly, shortly after the apex court’s order.

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“We thank and welcome today’s historic judgment of the Hon’ble Supreme Court, reaffirming the legislative rights of State Legislatures and putting an end to the trend of Union government-nominated Governors stalling progressive legislative reforms in Opposition-ruled states,” Stalin, also the DMK President, said in a social media post.

Earlier, the Supreme Court came down heavily on Ravi and said reservation of 10 Bills by him for consideration of the President was in contravention of constitutional provisions.

A bench of Justices J B Pardiwala and R Mahadevan said that under Article 200 of the Constitution, the governor does not possess any discretion and has to mandatorily act on the aid and advice of the council of ministers.

The Chief Minister told the House that many bills that had been sent to the Governor after the Assembly adopted them were returned by Ravi. They were re-adopted and again sent to him.

“The Constitution mandates Governor to approve the bills once adopted for the second time, but he didn’t. He was also delaying…” Stalin said, adding the State government moved the SC against this.

The SC accepted the State government’s just arguments and ruled “it has to be considered as the Governor having given his assent” and gave the historic verdict, he said.

“This verdict is a victory not just for Tamil Nadu but all State governments in India,” Stalin said. “This is another crucial step in restoring balance in Union–State relations and a landmark victory in Tamil Nadu’s continuous struggle to usher in a truly federal India. My congratulations to the people of Tamil Nadu and our legal team!,” the Chief Minister said in a social media post.