Chennai: Two days after he moved a resolution against Governor R.N.Ravi which was passed unanimously in the State Assembly, Tamil Nadu Chief Minister and DMK President M.K.Stalin tonight wrote to Chief Ministers of non-BJP ruling States to adopt a similar resolution to uphold the sovereignty and self-respect of the State Government and the Legislatures.
In the letter, Stalin also enclosed the copies of the Resolution adopted in the State Assembly to condemn Governor R.N.Ravi’s remarks that “a Governor withholding a Bill passed in the Assembly meant that it is dead” and also for his comments on March 2018 Anti-sterlite protests which he said was foreign funded.
In the letter to CMs of non-BJP ruled states, Mr Stalin said “as you are aware, Indian democracy today stands at crossroads and increasingly we are 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”, he said.
“Some Governors today are indefinitely holding various Bills that have been duly passed by the State Legislatures and sent for approval which brings the respective State administrations to a standstill in such areas”, Mr 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’”, he said.
“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 a Resolution in our State Assembly urging the Union Government and the President of India to fix a time limit for the Governors to approve the Bills passed by the respective Legislatures”, Mr Stalin added.
“I am enclosing an extract of the Resolution passed by the Tamil Nadu State Legislative Assembly for your kind perusal. 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 Legislatures by passing a similar resolution in your State Assembly”, he said.
It may be noted that a couple of hours after the resolution was adopted I the State Assembly, the Governor gave his assent for the Bill banning online gambling in the State after which it was notified in the government gazette.
