Chennai: Testing the patience of the DMK government of MK Stalin, Tamil Nadu Governor RN Ravi is sitting on as many as 21 bills passed by the Assembly. Even after the Chief Minister met him and pressed for their early assent, the gubernatorial occupant remained unmoved, inviting criticism over his functioning. In yet another attack on the Raj Bhavan, the DMK's official organ, 'Murasoli' on Thursday came out with an editorial and a write-up questioning the governor's reluctance to give assent to the bills.
More than being an activist governor, Ravi, seen as one bent on implementing the BJP-led Centre's diktat, faces criticism for functioning contrary to the elected government. The very appointment of Ravi to the Raj Bhavan here in September last after being transferred from Nagaland has raised the hackles of the DMK and its allies. Now, it has become very evident that the Raj Bhavan and Fort St George, the seat of Government, are not on the same page.
The editorial headlined, “Will his excellency consider”, (methagu manam vaikka vendum) appears to be a pun on the word 'excellency' by indicating that the governor ought to have an enlightened mind. It also cites the supreme court judgment in the Perarivalan case, which makes it clear that the governor is but 'a shorthand expression for the state government'. The editorial also lists all the 21 Bills that are pending before the governor.
Out of the 21 Bills that await the nod of the Governor, 9 strips the Raj Bhavan of the power to appoint Vice Chancellors of state-run universities and vest them with the Chief Minister as is the case in Gujarat and a few other states. Interestingly, one of them was passed during the previous AIADMK regime. This has created uncertainty in the Higher Education sector with some of the Vice-Chancellors continuing on extensions granted by the Governor, despite having completed their tenure. A case in point is the Tamil Nadu Dr. MGR Medical University and Manonmaniam Sundaranar University. The selection of a few vice-chancellors too is not to the liking of the state government.
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Even the Bill seeking exemption for Tamil Nadu from NEET (National Eligibility cum Entrance Test) for undergraduate medical aspirants, was referred to the President after an inordinate delay of 200 days after it was first passed by the assembly. Prior to this, the Bill was returned only to be passed again, forcing Ravi with no other option but to send it to the President.
In his write-up, former advocate general R Viduthalai argues that the governor's inaction on the Bills pending before him is inconsistent with the constitutional scheme of things. That the constitution has not given a time frame for the governor to take a decision on giving assent to Bills does not hold water anymore following judicial pronouncements, he explains adding, “Given the present situation, it is no surprise that a question has come up among legal luminaries on whether Ravi is qualified to hold the office of governor. Hence, the continuation of this impasse is not fair for him and at least now, he should realize his duty and responsibility and act accordingly.”
