Days after the Supreme Court expressed serious concerns over Tamil Nadu Governor R.N. Ravi sitting on key bills passed in the state assembly, the governor, on Thursday, returned 10 bills pending his assent. The bills returned include those passed during the erstwhile AIADMK regime in 2020. Most of the bills returned relate to the amendments in various universities.
Following the governor’s move, a special session of the assembly is all set to be convened on November 18 to readopt the bills. “A special session has been convened to readopt the bills on November 18. It has been convened as per the government’s request,” Speaker M. Appavu told the media.
A three-judge SC bench had come down heavily on Tamil Nadu governor for not acting on the bills. The bench, while hearing the petition filed by the state government, noted that as many as 12 bills are pending with the governor and expressed concern over the same.
However, this is not the first time Ravi returned the bills after the DMK government under M.K. Stalin took charge. Earlier, he had returned the anti-NEET bill and the online gambling bill that were passed in the assembly. The anti-NEET bill was, however, readopted by the assembly and resent to the governor. The bill has now been sent to President Draupadi Murmu. Ravi signed the online gambling bill after it was readopted in the assembly
Tamil Nadu governor sitting on bills passed in the assembly has always been a matter of concern in the state. During a recent event held at Raj Bhavan, Governor Ravi had said if a bill doesn’t get his assent, it means that the bill is dead.
According to highly placed sources, the governor has returned 10 of the 12 pending bills after the apex court's intervention. Of the ten bills, two were adopted by the assembly in 2020 during the erstwhile AIADMK regime. The bills returned include The Tamil Nadu Fisheries University (Amendment) Bill, 2020; The Tamil Nadu Veterinary and Animal Sciences University (Amendment) Bill, 2020; The Chennai University (Amendment) Bill, 2022 (L.A. Bill No.25 of 2022); The Tamil Nadu Dr. Ambedkar Law University (Amendment) Bill, 2022; The Tamil Nadu Dr.M.G.R. Medical University, Chennai (Amendment) Bill 2022; The Tamil Nadu Agricultural University (Amendment) Bill, 2022; and The Tamil University (Amendment) Bill, 2022. (L.A. Bill No.31 of 2022).
It may be recalled that the governor-government tussle had led to Higher Education Minister K. Ponmudy choosing to boycott the convocation of Madurai Kamaraj University, as a protest against Ravi’s refusal to confer honorary doctorate to freedom fighter N. Sankaraiah.
Ravi’s actions have always attracted the ire of the state government that CM Stalin went to the extent of bringing in a resolution in the floor of the assembly immediately after the governor finished his customary address. Ravi walked out in a huff after understanding that the resolution was against him.
