CHENNAI: Tamil Nadu Chief Minister MK Stalin on Wednesday urged non-BJP ruled states to pass resolutions in their respective assemblies and urged the Center to fix a deadline for governors to clear bills passed by assemblies.
Writing letters to his counterparts, Stalin said that some “Governors are today indefinitely stalling various Bills” which have been duly passed by the State Assemblies and sent for approval. He said that the concerned state administrations came to a standstill in such areas related to the bills.
Considering various aspects of the issue, the Tamil Nadu government made several efforts to clarify the doubts and concerns raised by Governor RN Ravi on the Bills sent for his assent. This includes a bill to ban online rummy – the Tamil Nadu Prohibition of Online Gambling and Regulation of Online Games Bill – which has received the governor’s assent and was notified on April 10, the chief minister said in his letter dated April 11. .
“As our efforts failed and as we came to know that there are similar issues in many other states, we urged the central government and the President of India to set a deadline for Tamil Nadu to pass a resolution in its state assembly. Governors to approve the Bills passed by the respective Assemblies;’ Stalin said.
Enclosing a copy of the resolution passed by the Tamil Nadu Assembly on April 10, 2023, he said: “I am sure you will agree with the spirit and content of the resolution, and extend your support in this regard to preserve the sovereignty and self ” Honor the state governments and legislatures by passing a similar resolution in your state assembly.”
The Constitution has clearly defined the roles and responsibilities of the Governor as well as the Union and State Governments. However, it is observed that such time-tested principles are neither respected nor followed now, thereby affecting the functioning of the State Governments.
“As you are aware, Indian democracy today stands at a crossroads and increasingly we are seeing the spirit of cooperative federalism disappear from the governance of the nation.”