Growing rift between Raj Bhavans and State Legislatures is disturbing

Governor-DMK rift takes a new turn, Governor leaves TN Assembly after a resolution is moved against him for skipping portions of his prepared address.

The ongoing  tussle between the ruling DMK and the  Tamil Nadu Raj Bhavan hit a new low on Monday as Governor R N Ravi  made references outside s customary address by skipping the prepared address at the opening session of the State Legislature.

Taking a serious view of the Governor taking liberty in speaking from outside the prepared address,  the Chief Minister M K Stalin piloted a resolution to exclude from the House records whatever he spoke outside the State drafted speech.

Soon after the Governor concluded his address, Stalin expressed regret over the Governor avoiding certain portions from the prepared address. He then moved a resolution  that was adopted and Ravi left the House immediately. This unprecedented legislative  wrangle, perhaps for the first time in the history of Tamil Nadu assembly, has once again. Catapulted  ongoing tussle between the Governor the ruling DMK.

It may be pertinent to mention here that in November last year, a memorandum  signed by members of Parliament belonging to ruling DMK-led Progressive Alliance was submitted to Rashtrapati Bhavan in November  to demand the removal of the TN Governor R.N. Ravi.

“We must place on record our dissatisfaction that the work being done by the Tamil Nadu Government and the Legislature is being obturated by the office of the Governor by openly contradicting its policy in public and unduly delaying assent to Bills,” the memorandum  had said.

“The Tamil Nadu Legislative Assembly has enacted several important Bills and sent the same to the Governor for assent. We are pained to note that the Governor is unduly delaying assent to the Bills passed by the State Legislature,” it noted.

The memorandum listed out a total of 20 bills including The Tamil Nadu Universities Laws (Amendment) Bill 2022, which empowers the State Government to appoint the Vice-Chancellors of the State Universities under the administrative control of Higher Education Department, Tamil Nadu Prohibition of Online Gambling and Regulation of Online Games Bill, 2022 among others.

“This amounts to interference in the administration of the State and transaction of business by the Legislature. It impedes and obstructs a democratically elected Government from serving the people, which is ex-facie unconstitutional,” the memorandum added.

“It is trite that under the scheme of our Constitution, a Governor cannot sit as an appellate authority over the decision of the Cabinet or the Legislature. The need, requirement or necessity of a Bill cannot be inquired into by the Governor. That is within the sole prerogative of the Legislature, which extensively debates the necessity of the Bill. Once a Bill is passed it is deemed to be the will of the people and the Governor has to Act within the frame work of constitution,” it further noted.

Similar conflicts between Raj Bhavans and elected governments in different States, including Kerala and Punjab, too have been hawking media headlines. Some of the issues that led to rifts related to appointment of Vice-Chancellors. One State Assembly even passed a resolution taking away powers of Chancellor from the Governor. Though the resolution had to go through the Governor for assent and subsequent ratification as law, it had thrown open an animated debate over the growing differences in the constitutional relationship between the State Legislature and the Governor.

In the recent case of Tamil Nadu Assembly’s opening session of the New Year, ‘Dravidian model’ were among the words skipped by the Governor and he also spoke on his own on certain aspects.

Ravi began his address, marking the commencement of the year’s first session, amid slogan shouting against him by MLAs belonging to allies of the ruling DMK.

As soon as Ravi began his address in Tamil, greeting members on the New Year and the harvest festival ‘Pongal,’ legislators raised slogans including ‘Tamil Nadu Vazhgave’ (Long live Tamil Nadu) and ‘Engal Nadu Tamil Nadu’ (Our land is Tamil Nadu).

After a while the slogan shouting ceased. The Congress, CPI and CPI(M) are among the allies of the ruling party.

BJP MLA Vanathi Srinivasan alleged that the government did not get the Raj Bhavan’s concurrence for the prepared speech to be read by the Governor and defended Ravi and hit out at the DMK regime.

Prabhjot Singh